Among the many landmarks in beautiful Santa Clara, Utah, there is none quite so followed recently as “The Merc.”
Officially known as the Santa Clara Mercantile, the Merc earned its catchy nickname from its current owner/DIY blogger Mandi Gubler with Vintage Revivals.
About the owner
Almost daily, thousands of readers and Instagram followers witness the work of Mandi Gubler and her husband Court, often from inside the walls of the Merc. But the Merc hasn’t always been the hub of all things Vintage Revivals. It started years ago with a simple desire to branch into the world of do-it-yourself projects. Now, the Merc owner will be the first to tell you that even though things have grown leaps and bounds, she’s still the stay-at-home-mom who wants to express herself through her designs.
As the Vintage Revivals web site so aptly puts it, Mandi’s projects, at the Merc or anywhere else, “run on paint fumes and blind enthusiasm.”
The Merc backstory
So many posts have been written on VintageRevivals.com to explain the ins and outs of The Merc backstory. It was complicated at times.Funny at others. But a recent open house and Christmas pop-up shop at the Merc allowed the public to view the Merc in real life. Not just through their phone screens.
Mandi first posted about The Merc back in November 2017.Since that time, thousands have followed its progress. And more than a few have driven past the Merc on Santa Clara’s main drag to catch a glimpse. It’s a little bit like a small town celebrity now.
The house itself is probably as recognizable as its owners.
It took some hoop jumping and a lot of legwork to make the Merc a possibility. But when something is your passion, you go for it, right Mandi? This would not be the project for just anyone’s personality. But somehow the Merc fits perfectly into the Vintage Revivals world. And once you step inside, you feel that even more.
The Merc open house
One of the documented challenges of putting the Merc back on the map was dealing with a residential space in a commercial zone. One of the ways the Gublers worked around that is by having a combination of the two. The Merc is a residence. But it also doubles as an office; a hub for all things Vintage Revivals. And the inclusion of pop-up shops and other events.
The first of these pop-up shops at the Merc took place on Dec. 7.
Using the Merc’s renovated space as well as the unfinished brick room open space, the Merc transformed for the event. Vendors selling a variety of local wares set up in the empty space. Food from the newly remodeled Merc kitchen was brought into the vendor space. And people were allowed to wander through all of the completed rooms. Self-guided tours of someone else’s home while they visited with patrons in the foyer.
The vendors were great. They all offered unique designs in clothing, calendars, jewelry and more. It was exactly the kind of vendors one would expect the author of a vintage DIY blog to be in tune with.
The food was incredible. Most of it was not prepared in the Merc kitchen itself. Although Mandi’s relatively recent forays into the world of food preparation make one think she might have tried her hand at something. But bringing it in from fantastic food vendors was an excellent idea.
The Merc tour
The tour was fabulous. Seeing the room remodels in person made the blogging world seem so much more personal. A real Merc perk — not the sarcastic kind joked about on the Vintage Revivals site.
As people often say, the spaces did feel different size-wise than you would expect after seeing them on camera. Not in a disparaging way — just different. The Merc space is vast. You can feel it from the spacious entryway. High ceilings. Enough wall space for an enormous print wallpaper most people wouldn’t have the space, or courage, to try.
But some of the bedrooms, while spacious enough, did seem smaller than they appear on screen. And the layout of the Merc as a whole is something that is difficult to see until you, well, see it.
Driving by the Merc
If you live in the Santa Clara area, or have any roots there, you will probably see the Merc in person at some point. And many likely have stories about its time as Santa Clara Mercantile and more. It’s a part of the Santa Clara community. And just one example of the amazing real estate options in this beautiful corner of the world.
If you love the idea of living in Santa Clara or the surrounding area, check out these great listings here.