Wagner turns silverware into keepsakes

For most of us, reaching into our silverware drawer is a daily, routine activity that we hardly think about. But for Chandra Wagner, silverware is an outlet for creativity and joy. Owner of Riverside Market in downtown Glen Elder, Chandra has been taking spoons, forks along with other metal pieces and turning them into beautiful keepsakes. From rings, bracelets and key chains to necklaces, earrings and clips, Chandra has crafted, by hand, hundreds of unique items, using Grandma's silverware.

Chandra's journey as owner of this quaint and cozy shop began only a few blocks away from where her business is currently located. She was born and raised as Chandra Winkel in Glen Elder and credits her grandparents, Bill and Helen VanLeewen, for being solid role models in her young life. Her grandfather was a plumber and her father, a mechanic, which influenced her interest in working with her hands. She lived at Glen Elder until she was 5 years old. When her parents divorced, she moved with her family to nearby Jewell. Chandra believes it was by God's design they were planted right next to the Trinity United Methodist Church. It was there she developed a love for God and began to trust Him in her life. Later, she moved back to Glen Elder and in 1999, she met and married her husband, Chris. They have two children, Trinity and Zane.

Feathers, a trademark feature for Riverside Market, are incorporated into her exterior store sign and her packaging, as well as wall art and even a feather tree. This unexpected symbol is an expression of Chandra's faith and an essential part of her business success. She recalls walking her daughter to the school bus one morning when she saw a feather on the ground and gave it to Trinity. She told her it was a sign she had a guardian angel watching over her. Walking home after the bus had driven away, Chandra came upon a street that was littered with feathers everywhere! She picked them all up, knowing God was encouraging her in the same way she had encouraged Trinity. Feathers became one of the many ways God has given her signs and guidance throughout her life, which is why she has chosen to incorporate them into her business' aesthetics.

After living their first eight years in Glen Elder, the family moved to Beloit. Chandra and Chris unexpectedly became house flippers. Whenever they would purchase a home, they intended to fix it up for themselves. Yet time and again, after months of renovating and remodeling, they would find themselves called to sell and buy again. Chandra was an interior painter by trade and Chris, an independent contractor. Between their two skill sets, they were able to reclaim and restore many houses that were in desperate need. They were even recognized in the well-known magazine, This Old House, as being in the top 50 remodels for the contest, Curb Appeal. Yet with every house, when the work was finished, they would feel the call to move on. Throughout their 20 years of marriage, a total of 13 homes have been renovated, all while working full-time and raising their two children. Though it was often an exhaustive process, this experience taught them how to let go and not hold onto things too tightly. Looking back, Chris and Chandra realize, "these houses needed us, more than we needed them."

Chandra credits these years of restoring houses as God's blueprint for her business today. Just as she and her husband were catalysts between old homes and the owners to come, she now takes vintage pieces of tableware, shines them up and transforms them for others.

In June of 2017, the Wagners took the opportunity to purchase her father's gasoline station in Glen Elder, called The Castle Service Station, which was renovated into a home residence, as well as the small carwash nearby. Before the end of the year, they also purchased the building across the street from the carwash, where Chandra had spent weekends visiting her father during her childhood. By this time, it had been remodeled from an apartment building into a home, and this became their current residence. It was here Chandra's journey came full circle, as she discovered there had been personal restoration taking place within her own heart with each home they reclaimed. It became clear within the renovation of old things, inner healing could be found.

This led Chandra to an interest in antiques. She decided to open a shop of her own. Chris suggested they turn the small carwash across the street into her venue. Thanks to his support and encouragement, Chandra was able to open Riverside Market in November of 2019, receiving 60 patrons her first day.

One week later, she decided to try her hand at creating jewelry from some vintage silverware she had picked up at a local garage sale. With a workbench full of tools and a vision, her jewelry silverware soon became the focus of her work. She continually credits God for opening "divine doors" every step of the way.

Today, when visiting the simple but elegant boutique, you will find a gallery of silverware jewelry, including shiny spoon heads adorned with beads, a variety of rings made from the ends of forks, an array of spoons to dig through to use for your own custom jewelry and many other crafted pieces available to purchase. There is also a catalog of previously made products to browse through to help you decide what kind of custom piece you'd like to have made. Orders can be placed and the final product mailed right to your door.

One of the things Chandra most enjoys about her business is the way restoration happens beyond the forks and spoons. People will come in with stories to tell and their own personal pieces to renovate. Often, she takes something that was near and dear to a lost loved one, and has the privilege of recreating an heirloom design from it to be cherished in their memory. In this way, she infuses healing and comfort into the lives of her customers. When asked what her most valued lesson in life has been so far, she said, "I've learned that it's in the exchange of our giftings that we become catalysts that can reach into each other's hearts."

Riverside Market is located at 100 W Main Street in Glen Elder and is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and by appointment only Monday through Thursday. You can connect on Facebook and Instagram or by calling 785-738-8960.