Risa Cowley began work as a floral designer when she was 14, creating bouquets and arrangements every day for hours on end in Keizer.
She loved the creativity and getting to play with color, but after being in several car crashes, Cowley wanted to give her body a break. The job demanded full days of being on her feet and lifting 5-gallon buckets of water.
“I thought, if I open a store I don’t have to do all that physical” work, Cowley said. “Of course I do, but I can pick and choose on days where I’m really not feeling good.”
Cowley opened The Fussy Duck in August 2010 on the 13th, a Friday, which she says is her lucky day. Since then, the south Salem store has become a go-to for donated items and handmade, one-of-a-kind goods.
For The Fussy Duck’s first year, Cowley continued working part-time as a floral designer. After one year, Cowley transitioned to giving the store her whole focus.
The store exemplifies Cowley’s love for creativity with items organized by color and theme, like the black and white room, the living room or the current Olympics-themed section. Items on display include vintage kitchenware, handmade children’s toys, colorful glassware, thrifted clothing, gardening tools, candles and home decor.
For almost 12 years, Cowley has operated her store in the building of a former buffet restaurant, Randall’s Chuck Wagon. Cowley says some people call or show up to the store assuming it’s still serving barbecue. To correct people, she has a sign outside that says, “Not a restaurant.”
The store at, 3170 Commercial St. S.E. is now home to the jewelry, dishware, furniture and clothing of around 200 people.
Cowley allows people to either rent a spot in the store to sell from or work on consignment. About half the people selling items are vendors who rent their own space. The other half are pickers, bringing in clean, ready-to-sell items which then are managed by the Fussy Duck.
Cowley works hard to make The Fussy Duck not feel or smell like a typical antique store. Instead of must, metal or mold, customers are greeted by the herbal smell of sachets.
“I like being right here by the door so that I can say hi to everybody that walks in, and I try and say bye to everybody that walks out. I don’t care if they’re spending money or not,” Cowley said.
Cowley believes that customer service is the biggest and best thing people can do for their business. She works hard on her relationships with customers and partners, and values the connections she makes through helping whoever walks through the door.
“I call it therapy, customers call it therapy,” Cowley said. “I jokingly say we sell memories here because so much of the stuff here is memories.”
Cowley put up a sign that reads, “Buy now or cry later,” to encourage people to go after what they find and fall in love with at the store. In the store’s early years, a woman wanted a hutch but didn’t buy it initially. She returned the next day to find it gone and cried, Cowley remembers.
Fortunately, a new hutch came to the store two days later and Cowley called the woman immediately. But the story serves as a lesson to customers: if your heart is set on something, take it home.
The store has no employees, but there are six or seven people who volunteer to organize sections of the store or work behind the counter.
“I love the spirit of the teamwork,” Connie Riecke, The Fussy Duck’s events coordinator, said. “We’re all finding ways to make this store bigger and better, and bringing our community in.”
Since its beginning, The Fussy Duck has held an annual flea market in August to mark its anniversary. About three years ago, Cowley passed the Fussy Flea Market’s reins to two volunteers who organized the market to run four times a year instead.
The market takes place on the second Saturday of the month from June to September. The event brings dozens of vendors from the Salem area together to sell vintage goods, crafted items and tasty treats. According to Riecke, the market is very popular as the checkout line is so long it winds throughout the store.
The flea market is one way The Fussy Duck supports other local small businesses and charities.
The Fussy Duck shares its large parking lot with local food truck Runaway Kitchen, which hosted its first “cruise-in” at the lot in June. Runaway Kitchen hosted around 80 cars of various makes and models in the lot while the truck ran a successful charity fundraiser.
“I was helped when I first opened, and it was everything to be helped,” Cowley said. “I have plenty of customers to share, why not share?”
Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].
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Madeleine Moore is working as a reporter at Salem Reporter through the University of Oregon’s Charles Snowden internship program. She came to Salem after graduating from the University of Oregon in June 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
