March 12, 2025
Written by: Sadie Latimer | News Editor
Located at 226 Main St., Independence, Oregon, The Little Mall on Main is a one-stop shop for all things arts and crafts.
One of the shops, Snickety Picks, sells fabric, sewing supplies, handmade items and resale clothing. The owner, Lisa Purkerson, also offers clothing alterations such as repairing and pant hemming. She first opened her shop because she noticed that there weren’t any local shops that offered things like needle and thread.
Snickety Picks isn’t the only arts and crafts shop in The Little Mall on Main.
Heartfelt Hideaway provides craft supplies, handmade gifts and classes for the community. The owner of Heartfelt Hideaway, Marena Ward, is currently running classes for crafts such as junk journaling and making Easter bunnies out of socks. Also in the mall is Rosemary Ridge Farm Yarn and Fiber Arts, a shop that provides classes and supplies for needle felting, spinning and other fiber arts.
The Little Mall on Main hosts events such as Saturday bake sales, craft supply exchanges and vendor weekends with free tables for anyone who wishes to be a vendor.
“It’s all about ‘shop local,’” Purkerson said. Shopping local helps these shops — and the community — thrive. These local shops provide Independence and Monmouth with goods and services that are crafted and planned with the utmost care.
Snickety Picks opened in November 2024, however, this May, Purkerson and Ward will have their shops combined to create the ultimate craft-lovers paradise. They are also combining shops in order to see more business.
Many of the shops in the mall — and others in Independence and Monmouth — use a Facebook group called “Shop the Shops Monmouth and Independence” to help promote each others’ businesses.
Even with social media such as Facebook and other forms of advertising, many of the shops in the mall struggle to see business from the Monmouth and Independence community. Purkerson emphasized — especially to Western students — that the Monmouth-Independence Trolley is a free and fun way to explore the shops of Independence. Supporting local businesses is a great way for students to get involved with the community that surrounds Western.
Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu
