Petunia and Loomis: A Family Business

Petunia and Loomis is an indelible name. Coupled with its fabulous facade, the outside of this shop alone makes it a must-visit for anyone living in the Northwest.

If you’re looking for bizarre gifts, unique antiques, or just have a love of the macabre (and not just during October!), add a visit to Petunia and Loomis to your list.

Something for Everyone

I don’t know about you, but if I put my deep-rooted obsession(s) into a store, it would result in a hodgepodge of clothes, odd framed art and cooky decor. 

But, when Samantha Fetters, owner of and curator for Petunia and Loomis, takes her inveterate infatuation and fills a store with it, the results are E-P-I-C. 

“This is what I was meant to do,” Fetters said. Serving the special clientele of Petunia and Loomis is her calling! 

Printed on their front window, Petunia and Loomis proclaim to be full of “Antiques, Oddities, Macabre and Bizarre” and we can testify that is for sure the truth! 

“[We have] a little bit of everything for the weirdos,” Fetters said. 

But, honestly, after perusing the store with my entire family, including two kiddos, the shop has something for literally anyone. 

While there, I purchased the cutest little spoon for tea, a vintage green fish vase, the coolest chess pieces and more. You better believe that I was right back in the store the next week! And I’m not the only frequent shopper.

Come one, come all and come often!

Making regular visits is almost necessary as Fetters, and Jesse McCauley, Fetters’ finance and manager of Petunia and Loomis, put new items out on the floor almost every single day. 

Some of their most popular items are the wet specimens, including diaphonized fish and mice. 

They also offer smaller options like just the limbs or tails, eyes, tongues, etc. of other animals – You better believe I had McCauley set some of those aside for my son’s birthday –

They boast cat, raccoon, bobcat and small-animal skulls for sale as well, and their taxidermy pieces are so popular that they can hardly keep them stocked in-store! 

Staircase leading to the second floor of Petunia and Loomis. Photo by Hailey Keller

McCauley manages the shop’s social media accounts and can barely keep up with the demand after posting images of new wet specimens or taxidermy. In fact, he was packaging wet specimens during our interview to send to a customer in New Mexico who had messaged McCauley a few minutes after a recent Instagram post. 

At the time of my interview, Fetters and McCauley had totally updated the floor layout of the store to make room to add more goodies, including McCauley building a landing at the top of the second floor (YES! There’s two floors of amazing finds!). The pair is building up instead of out to fully maximize the space they have at 421 W Riverside Avenue. 

A family affair

Some of the displayed cutouts, such as the Space Girls and Peter Pan, had to be shifted during the move, but are definitely always going to have a presence in the shop, as Fetters’ mother painted them. 

Although McCauley has come to have a passion and fascination for the “odd and bizarre” featured in their shop, Fetters said she was raised by a mother very into the macabre. 

Fetters’ mother, who died in 2020, had just as big of a collection of horror and Halloween as Fetters does.

In fact, the monsters sitting in theater seats in the front window of Petunia and Loomis belong to Fetters’ mother. 

“She had a huge display around tables,” Fetters said about her mother’s home when Fetters was a child. “[She] made it look like the monsters were having dinner there.” 

The entire Petunia and Loomis family: Scarlett (right) Samantha, Jesse, baby Clementine and Venture. Photo by Humble Honey Photography

Collecting and outfitting Petunia and Loomis remains a family affair, with Fetters and McCauley’s daughter behind the counter and Fetter’s children in the back room. 

The couple’s youngest has been raised in this shop, which is pretty incredible. 

When asked how many hours, particularly McCauley (as Fetters also cuts hair for a living) spends at Petunia and Loomis, the pair laughed.

“We’re here for at least 80 hours a week,” McCauley said. “We really like being here, though. We feel really comfortable here and would rather be at the shop than at home.”

The couple jokes that one day, they could just live in Petunia and Loomis. But, with three dogs, a bearded dragon and a Greek tortoise, they don’t quite have enough room. 

To bring more interest to the shop and expand their clientele, Fetters and McCauley will begin offering workshops and other events in the future. 

For example, Douglas Lovecraft of Lovecraft Tarot, and Petunia and Loomis are teaming up to host a tarot class during October offering a deeper insight, connection and understanding of tarot and tarot cards. 

So whether you intentionally make your way into the shop or gracefully stumble in off the streets, we highly recommend spending at least an hour in the shop to really take everything in and to chat with McCauley about everything the store has to offer. 

Petunia and Loomis is located at 421 W Riverside Ave Suite 102, and their hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. *Their shop is open during construction on the road in front of their store.