ST. PETERSBURG — A visit to this sunny storefront off Central Avenue is like strolling right into a fantasy of Florida’s previous.
Racks of T-shirts line the partitions, the buttery yellow and cream material coated in orange groves, bathing beauties and seashells. There are felt and wool pennants. Classic postcards. Pillowcases designed with Florida-room furnishings in thoughts.
“For a style of paradise…” screams one tote bag, textual content hovering round a woman straddling an alligator. “Come to Florida!”
This isn’t the reward store for a long-lost roadside attraction, although it positive was impressed by the thought of 1.
After promoting their creations at markets and on-line, Alexa Schneider and Lauren Sampson opened the brick-and-mortar location of 5801 Print Home a number of weeks in the past. The area at 5725 Central Ave. is a component print studio, half reward store, half shrine to all issues Florida nostalgia.
The old-school designs (plus the store’s terrazzo ground and wooden paneling) give the area a classic memento stand vibe. However whereas the designs of shark enamel and water skiers appear to be they have been ripped from outdated brochures and posters, the ladies behind the art work aren’t from that period — and even the Sunshine State itself.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/WUKABZSGUBF6PLX5E2BGJUD7IE.JPG "5801 Print House in St. Petersburg offers hand-designed and screen-printed T-shirts, pennants and greeting cards, as well as found vintage postcards and other decor.")
A street trip-inspired starting
Schneider and Sampson grew up in Titusville, Pennsylvania, a city with a inhabitants simply above 5,000. By means of dance courses and faculty, they fashioned a friendship as young children.
Schneider, now 23, has fond recollections of Midwestern street journeys together with her mother. The household typically drove by quirky points of interest round Route 66. Schneider puzzled: “What was this like in its heyday?”
In 2017, Sampson moved to Florida to check advertising and marketing on the College of Tampa. When she got here dwelling in the course of the early days of the pandemic, the outdated associates reconnected.
“Someday, we have been simply courting,” Schneider stated.
When Sampson, now 24, returned to Tampa to complete her diploma, Schneider got here, too. In 2021, they discovered a home in St. Petersburg. And within the storage, Schneider might begin display printing.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/VGC3CMAG7VCU3OCSRVJTJRQYXA.JPG "Alexa Schneider, owner of 5801 Print House, screen prints a shirt on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 5801 Print House in St. Petersburg.")
Discovering a marketplace for nostalgia
Schneider had solely been practising the craft for a yr, working for a display printing firm in Clearwater to hone her abilities. By April 2022, she had sufficient designs of her personal to begin promoting on the Indie Flea market in St. Petersburg. She and Sampson selected the title 5801 Print Home, taking the quantity from their dwelling handle.
/files.tampabay.com/resources/newsletters/newsletter-widget--one-day-in-tampa-bay.jpg "Looking to explore the Tampa Bay area?")
Seeking to discover the Tampa Bay space?
Subscribe to our free One Day in Tampa Bay e-newsletter sequence
As soon as every week, you’ll get insider recommendations on issues to do, eating and extra that can assist you plan an ideal day in an area metropolis or neighborhood.
You’re all signed up!
Need extra of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get began.
Discover all of your choices
Their first market was in April 2022. The designs, impressed by classic objects from eBay and property gross sales, have been a giant hit with the market crowd.
Longtime Floridians appreciated seeing photographs that evoked childhood. The youthful customers have been drawn to the aesthetic.
“I feel a whole lot of it’s the nostalgia that you’ve, with out ever experiencing it,” Schneider stated.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/O2DUEDGSZNENBMLT3OYPSJXPAE.JPG "5801 Print House in St. Petersburg offers hand-designed and screen printed T-shirts, pennants and greeting cards, as well as found vintage postcards and other decor.")
Quickly their work may very well be present in locations like Pete’s Bagels in St. Petersburg and Pineapple Market on Anna Maria Island. Then so far as Rainbow Springs and St. Augustine. The market circuit expanded, too, from Intermezzo’s month-to-month out of doors Mezzo Market to Floridania Fest on the Gulfport On line casino.
Schneider attracts the designs on her iPad, then creates screens so the art work could be mass-produced. Sampson joins in on the display printing, plus schedules occasions and strategizes for social media.
Each the advertising and marketing and the designs are closely influenced by vacationer traps from the previous.
“It’s inspiring seeing what they did simply to get folks within the door,” Sampson stated. “Particularly with out the web.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/U6ASI57QSVCTTB3RUON22PHDLA.JPG "Kristen Smith, 25, shops for reminders of home while visiting from South Carolina on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 5801 Print House in St. Petersburg.")
A contemporary memento store to serve classic vibes
Earlier in 2023, the couple lastly discovered their dream area: a former dance studio in west St. Pete. After some DIY renovations, the entrance half was reworked right into a mid-century-inspired retail area. The again of the shop, behind the checkout counter, is the place the couple display prints.
On the window, they added their slogan: “Sunshine Metropolis’s Memento Alley!”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/BIKMRNQLGBEJ5F2IUMVEB5HGDA.JPG "5801 Print House owner Alexa Schneider, 23, left, and her girlfriend and business partner, Lauren Sampson, 24, are pictured outside their new St. Petersburg store.")
The placement has that means for a number of causes. The subsequent-door neighbor, Webb’s Tattoo, obtained its title from famed former roadside attraction Webb’s Metropolis.
Ken Breslauer, the collector and creator who based the annual Floridania Fest, identified one other layer:
“He was actually enthusiastic about us opening a storefront on Central Avenue, as a result of the wealthy historical past of St. Pete souvenirs is a number of the strongest within the state of Florida,” Schneider stated.
In the course of the grand opening in July, customers obtained to strive display printing and take dwelling the product as a memento — one thing the couple hopes to do extra of.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/4WPRFJXOSFBRXLOU2CNFHQX75Q.JPG "Shoppers were able to print and take home this design during 5801 Print House's grand opening celebration in July.")
Merchandise vary from koozies ($3) to child onesies ($16). Some objects are extra fleeting, just like the fruit-themed earrings constituted of plastic beads Schneider discovered on eBay ($12 a pair). Others could be custom-made upon request, like shirts ($26-$28, relying on the reduce).
In true St. Petersburg style, the vibe is as hyper-local because it will get. Decor features a banner from St. Pete’s Pageant of States, outdated images of Sunken Gardens and a complete wall of classic brochures and ephemera. Snacks are bought out of an outdated show case rescued from Munch’s Restaurant.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/DXYACOCGVJGPHDC2ZHTA35MSQE.JPG "Vintage souvenirs, signage and furniture decorate 5801 Print House, including the snack shelf owner Alexa Schneider, 23, is hoping to fill with local foods. The shelf came from Munch's Restaurant after it closed.")
You may choose up a coloring e-book of iconic indicators round St. Petersburg ($20) or a macrame plant holder from Treasure Island-based Knotted Roots. There are bottles of St. Pete Ferments kombucha in a mini fridge.
The couple is hoping to inventory extra native food and drinks quickly. It’s what they love — and what sells.
“It doesn’t matter the place you’re from. When you’re born right here, in case you weren’t, in case you’re older or youthful,” Schneider stated. “It simply appeals throughout to all, and I feel it’s a very nice strategy to join with all types of individuals.”
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/VBDYU3ZMLVEY7OKKNUQFQ22QSU.JPG "5801 Print House in St. Petersburg offers a locally designed coloring book called “Love Letters from St. Pete” as well as found vintage postcards and hand-designed greeting cards, shirts, pennants and other decor.")
5801 Print Home is open midday to six p.m. Thursday via Tuesday. Observe instagram.com/5801print or go to 5801print.com for extra info.
