New shop in Moses Lake carries a little of everything

MOSES LAKE — Determining exactly what kind of store Plume is feels a lot like nailing Jello to the wall. 

“Some of (the merchandise) was in my house when I was 25 years old,” owner Janine Coutts said. “I lived on a farm that had six outbuildings and was 100 years old, so it was very easy to store stuff.” 

“This is part of my personal collection,” she said, gesturing at a display of western-themed items. “There are probably 10 more boxes at my house. I barrel raced and I rodeoed pretty much my whole life, so I had a dedicated room in the house I used to live in that had my trophy saddles and things like that, and I had all vintage cowboy collectible stuff.” 

Lots of businesses can be said to have a little of everything, but with Plume it’s undeniably true. There’s all the cowboy memorabilia, but there’s also vintage furniture, china, jewelry, some clothing and a rack of socks with pictures of everything imaginable on them. 

“Do you like horses?” Coutts said. “Do you like beer? Well, there you go. I have a sock for everybody.” 

Coutts opened Plume about a month ago in the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Catalyst Center, a project to nurture small businesses. So far, Coutts said, the store has been bringing people in pretty steadily. 

The selection covers a pretty broad time span as well. Plume has Fiestaware from the 1940s and ’50s, some old postcards and a collection of books — Zane Gray, naturally, in keeping with the cowboy theme. 

“I had a lady in her 90s and she was (seeing) stuff that her mother had, and she was just delightful,” Coutts said. “I’ve had a couple of ladies like that, and I’ve had younger women who had never seen some of the dish sets and (didn’t understand) what handkerchiefs were for. I have (a basket of) little hankies here, and they were like ‘What are those?’ But they thought they were really beautiful, so they bought a few of them.” 

Some of Coutts’ offerings are more hands-on, like the watercolor painting supplies. 

“I really love for people to try art and crafts and stuff like that,” she said. “Maybe because I've tried so many of them, and I just enjoy it. It's just a way to get off your screens and (do) something real, and absorb and get creative. So I brought in these watercolor art books, and they've been very popular. They're kind of a do-it-yourself to teach yourself the basics of learning water. It's a new thing I've been passionate about.” 

The finishing touch is a glass case next to the till with truffles and chocolates, the kind you don’t find in ordinary stores, from a small chocolatier in California. 

“I am just trying to let go of some of (these things), because I don't want to see it in the landfill, to be honest,” Coutts said. “I don't want it to become garbage and get broken. These are people's prize possessions.” 

Plume 

301 W. Broadway 

Moses Lake 

Thursday-Friday 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 

Saturday 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. 

    Janine Coutts, owner of Plume, stands in front of a display of vintage tableware, with furniture, clothing and art in the background.