Mother-daughter duo open Kingsport vintage store

KINGSPORT — Tucked away in a corner of the Green Acres Shopping Center, Abigail and Diana Fraysier spent Tuesday morning preparing for their new vintage home decor and furniture store to open this week. It was something the mother-daughter duo spent years dreaming of, especially Diana Fraysier. "We've always loved vintage decor, or my mom had before me," said Abigail, Diana's daughter and co-owner of River & Ridge Vintage Co. "She always wanted to drag me to vintage boutiques or flea markets. And I was like, 'I don't want to go,' but it became a love of both of ours." As owner of the store, Diana said she has collected vintage items for around 20 years. After her collection began to outgrow their home space, she offered up the idea of opening a business with that they've acquired. She said the Fraysier family has spent the last 25 years in the Kingsport area. Abigail graduated from Dobyns-Bennett High School in 2024 and played on the school's softball team. "It has been my dream," Diana said of opening the new vintage-centered business with her daughter. "It's like it's a reality now. It's kind of surreal, but it's happening, and we're able to do it." The store was ready after about four or five months of preparations. Diana said the family had to paint, fix up the floors, move the merchandise in and price everything first. "We wanted it to be cute and for everybody to just come in and browse and look at everything, and even if they don't buy anything, just kind of get inspired," she said. Abigail Fraysier said the store features everything from vintage jewelry and brooches to handmade candles, books, pictures and quilts. All are handpicked items from the duo's trips to source the best vintage finds. 'Like a treasure hunt' When she is not working at Eastman, Abigail said she enjoys spending her free time finding new vintage items. She hopes that visitors to the store will be able to find "a wish list item" of their own, or at least have fun stopping by. "It's something like a treasure hunt, antique stores or flea markets," Diana added. "If you have anything on your list here, it's like a treasure hunt and you're excited. Even if you don't find something, you enjoy looking. So that's what I hope people find when they come into the store." While the store's opening day is scheduled for Wednesday, Diana said what took the longest was waiting for the exterior sign to go up. She is hoping they will have a good turning out for opening day and in the weeks to come. "We want to share our love for vintage decor and vintage items with everybody else and just spread the word," Abigail said. "This is definitely something me and my mom love to do together." River & Ridge Vintage Co. is located at 1167 N. Eastman Road, next to Pink's Nail Studio and Beaty's Shoes. The store is expected to be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, but closed Sunday through Tuesday. For more information, visit the River & Ridge Vintage Co. Facebook page.