WYOMING, Mich — It's no trick- although Randy and Gayle Vaartjes say it has been a treat transforming West Michigan every Halloween for decades, The Kostume Room will close at the end of the year.
The business, which offers thousands of costume rentals and accessories, started with Gayle's sewing skills.
She stitched together a side hustle after deciding to stay home with their young daughter.
"I never was a fan of Halloween. I never got involved in it," she explained. "I just made costumes for our daughter, and that's all I knew about Halloween...[my sister and I] made a bunch of costumes, and we put it in like a consignment store."
The costumes were a hit, leading Gayle to expand from kids' garb to outfitting adults.
"Adults are into Halloween too, and they're more into Halloween than the kids are I tell you," she told FOX 17 News.
Together she and Randy took the business full-time, opening seasonal storefronts in Rogers Plaza in the '90s, before buying a building on 36th Street in 2001 to serve customers year-round.
"We took a big chance, but we did," said Randy. "Our intent was when they had rent a costume, they would be from head to toe...one stop shop."
Gayle added, "So that's how it got larger. And then we found out there were Halloween shows to go to, to buy goods. And here we are."
Over the years the costume collection has become overwhelming with thousands of costumes, ranging from superheroes to movie stars, mascots, and everything in between.
You can still find some of Gayle's creations among the rows of rentals.
It's not just Halloween. The business also supplies costumes for school/theater plays, charity events, holiday parties and more.
Against the odds, The Kostume Room survived the pandemic and years of "scary" competition from big retailers.
But after 30 years, Gayle and Randy say it's time to close.
The couple plans to retire early now that a developer has offered to buy the building.
"It's been a long 30 years, but it's been well worth it," said Randy. "We're going to move on, we're going to move into our next chapter of our lives and do some traveling."
As Halloween season approaches the decision is bringing mixed emotions.
"It's hard, especially when I tell some of my customers that come here all the time. And they have tears in their eyes, and it's hard for me to see that," Gayle said. "I guess I just didn't realize how important we were to the community."
So many memories.
So many Halloweens.
Randy and Gayle say their customers have always mattered the most.
"Our customers are number one...and they always will be, you know, without them, you don't have a business," said Gayle.
The couple is hopeful someone will come forward to take over the e-commerce business so The Kostume Room can live on.
This year Halloween costume rentals are still available but everything is up for sale.
Gayle said markdowns have already begun, including on items online.
The couple emphasizes that all costume rentals are professionally cleaned on site.
To learn more, visit The Kostume Room online.
Kostume Room hours this Fall:
Monday through Saturday 12-8 pm
Sunday noon-5 pm
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