DIY store crafts sense of community

John Hindman shuffles between displays of paints and DIY materials, recommending supplies to a customer for their project.

He draws on his 30-plus years of experience to best help his patrons.

At Thistle & Co., each inch of wall space is filled. Shelves and display tables showcase an eclectic mix of knick-knacks and decor pieces with art supplies sprinkled between.

Unfinished picture frames, boxes and trays.

Stencils. Vases. Seasonal items. 

Hindman’s studio can be found in a partially separate room. It’s here that the shop owner teaches his DIY workshops.

Part store, part art studio, Thistle & Co. has been the go-to place for DIYers and crafters in the Lehigh Valley and beyond since 2020.

Hindman’s journey of running an art store began more than 20 years ago in Frenchtown, New Jersey, with his original venture — Thistle. 

He and his partner Jack Weeks are educated in interior design, and Hindman has a passion for decorative painting.

“I needed an outlet for that, so we opened up a little store,” Hindman said.

They continued to run their original shop when they moved to Bethlehem seven years ago. But after a year of lengthy commutes, they closed their New Jersey location and looked for property closer to home. 

He thought it would take at least a year to find the perfect spot. Instead, it took six months. 

The Victorian mansion-turned-DIY store, located at 835 Broadway, previously housed a florist shop and, before that, a funeral home.

For Hindman, keeping Thistle was important for name recognition. After seeing a sign in England on a store with “& Co.,” Hindman’s partner thought it should be added, and Thistle & Co. was born. 

“The name of the store is actually kind of unique,” Hindman said. “To some people, a thistle is a weed, and to other people, it’s a flower. So, we help you turn furniture weeds into flowers.”

Craft items are exhibited in one corner of Thistle & Co. on Sept. 6, 2024. The store sources many of its supplies from online wholesale sellers. (Tommy Wang/B&W Staff)

Instead of an in-person opening, Hindman pivoted online. To open the store online, he contacted Iron Orchid Designs and Fusion Mineral Paints — which he had previously bought items to sell in-store — to purchase additional inventory. 

Neither company sells directly to customers; rather, they direct them to retailers such as Thistle & Co.

Online sales flourished. Thistle & Co. continues to sell products to customers across the country, and even had its first order to Canada in the spring. 

Bethlehem resident Sue Hicks first found the Thistle & Co. website through Fusion Paints. 

Having re-painted furniture in the past and been unsatisfied with the paint job, someone recommended Fusion Paints. 

Hicks looked up the brand and found it was sold on Amazon, but she said she always prefers to buy local when she can. That’s when she found Thistle & Co.

 Now, she’s a frequent customer in the store. 

“Every time I go, I’m there for quite a while because it’s fun to go and visit with (John),” Hicks said. “He makes it a fun experience. He loves showing you things and taking the time. I would rather have a local person that can put their heart and soul into it and be the beneficiary of my time and money.”

Thistle & Co. is also a DIY studio where Hindman teaches workshops.

He offers a wide variety of classes, from introductory projects, such as a picture frame or porch sign, to more advanced options, like bringing a piece of furniture into the store to refurbish. 

“The workshops take precedence,” Hindman said. “So when I have one, it can be any time. It can be scheduled outside of or during regular hours. And in that case, I have people who can run the store while I’m doing a workshop.”

When Stella, a 14-year-old poodle pinscher, wanders around the store following customers or napping in her dog bed at the front, Suzy Weeks, Hindman’s sister-in-law, is behind the register.

“There’s a specific following for the store; we’re a destination,” Weeks said. “We have repeat customers who come in and know what they need, and we have others who don’t know a thing about all this, and we can help out and recommend projects. It’s really half and half.”

Thistle & Co. is a local DIY store located at 835 Broadway, Fountain Hill, PA. The store has been providing home decorations, craft supplies and a customized workshop for over 4 years. (Tommy Wang/B&W Staff)

For Hindman, workshops are about allowing customers to try something new and experiment with DIY. 

He said it’s important to him to provide a space and act as a resource for people to create something they’re proud of. 

“I am happy to share my knowledge and my passion with them,” Hindman said. “I will not let anyone walk out of the door with a project that I don’t consider proper, so it’s a win-win for everybody.”

Lehigh Valley resident Betsy Schneekloth has taken two workshops with Hindman and said she hopes to do more in the future.

Similar to Hicks, after being introduced to Thistle & Co. through Fusion Paint, Schneekloth learned about the workshops offered on the website.

Schneekloth and two of her friends took a class together and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

“He would help us and give advice,” Schneekloth said. “But he was never doing the work for us. He was just giving suggestions of what might work for our piece: ‘This might not look good there. You might want to do this.’”

She said for Christmas she gave each of her friends a gift certificate for another class, which they took together.

For Hindman, Thistle & Co. is his semi-retirement job. He plans to continue and see where the path takes him., but it depends on how long the DIY trend lasts.

The store has regulars, and Hindman said he is content with that.

“I’m not looking for foot traffic; otherwise, I’d be on Main Street,” Hindman said. “It’s just me. This is a pre-retirement job, and I don’t want to have to manage a huge staff.”

Still, Hindman is considering a search for another space because the studio isn’t big enough for large classes. While Hindman loves teaching small classes of three, he said a space that could accommodate classes of 10 or more would give him more flexibility.

Hindman also hopes to introduce a new addition soon: open studio time on Wednesdays. 

If added, customers would be able to pay by the hour to use the store’s studio. 

They’d have access to Hindman, his expertise and his crafting supplies, limiting the need for personal investments in new supplies.

“I’ve met lots of people who say, ‘I’ve got a piece of furniture, will you paint it?’” Hindman said. “And I say, ‘No, but I can teach you how,’ and it’s almost like a virus in that it spreads.

“And they will keep painting and keep coming back.”