This week’s Spotlight in on Mindi VanHulst, one of the co-owners of Gear Barn. Originally from Wisconsin, Mindi has been in the area since 1996. Her husband Billy is a salesman, and her son Taylor works with the engraving and Charles O’Bryant who is a co-owner in the store, is also a truck driver. Mindi herself works in the dental field. Joelena VanHulst and Sue Martin also have a gift business at the store to design custom baskets for all occasions.
Gear Barn offers a variety of products, including tools, sports memorabilia, hats, and custom engravings. Gear Barn actually started as an eBay store, mostly selling tools, and they got the idea of opening a store and opened in April of last year, during Rice Festival, was our grand opening in 2024. Mindi says, “We wanted to do an Amazon dump bin type things, our son Taylor is really good with the engraving side of the business, he works behind the scenes. He does the engraving for hats and cups and license plates. And we just wanted to expand and get more in here for your everyday people.
The original store was downtown on East Washington Street Mindi but they moved to Ivanhoe Shopping Center. Mindi explains, “We loved where we were because it was where we started. That's home. But moving here allowed for us to expand and have more room for inventory. We sell a lot of RYOBI tools; we have some Craftsman tools as well. We started selling sports memorabilia such as autographed jerseys, football, baseball, and basketball cards. We've got plaques and figurines, signed mini helmets. We have a $1 $2 $3 and a $5 dump bin, where you just dig through it and get what you get. You just get a whole different vibe, being next door to Ollie's and the movie theater and restaurant, so we see a lot more traffic.”
Gear Barn also has t-shirts, license plates, and cup coasters for your car. Mindi adds, “The air fresheners actually sell pretty quickly. We engrave trophies, cutting boards. We've engraved hats and have quite a few businesses that get hats from us.” Gear Barn also has Bluetooth speakers and frost buddy cups.”
Joelena VanHulst and Sue Martin are the designers of custom baskets. They can design a basket for any holiday, birthday, or any special occasion. The baskets are handmade and very creative.
Mindi says Gear Barn wants to serve the local people. “We want to be a Hometown Store, to make things affordable for those who don't always travel outside the area. Times are tough for a lot of people, so we wanted to bring something from Charleston and Summerville areas into Walterboro at a more affordable price.”
The store is currently working on an online site and Mindi maintains a strong social media presence on their Facebook page. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 6 pm, Friday from 9 am to 6 pm, and Saturday from 9am until 2pm.
