The Bounty’s gray cinder block building near the intersection of Park Street and Fish Hatchery Road is unassuming compared to the colorful businesses that dot Madison’s south side.
But upon walking through the door, a chaotic collection of vintage goods — apparel, literature, artwork and furniture — fill every inch of the space. A row of old tube TVs flanks a 1960s Honda motorcycle displayed in the window.
The Bounty on Park Street in Madison has a vintage motorcyle restored by Driftless Motorworks in the front window.
J Henley, owner of The Bounty, said most first-time customers react with a mix of awe and befuddlement to his vintage clothing and furniture shop.
“I judge people by their expressions when they walk through the door,” Henley said. “If they have the ‘awe’ look, I’ll then ask, ‘Is this your first time at The Bounty?’”
If they say yes, Henley gives them the spiel about “everything I feel is important for them to know.” And with Henley’s guidance, the chaos starts to look more organized.
Turn your head one direction and you’ll see a Georgia O’Keeffe-themed blue jeans rack inspired by the time the Wisconsin native spent on her ranch in New Mexico. Turn the other way, and you’ll find yourself in a corner of the store neatly decorated to look like a cozy northwoods cabin, complete with a blaze orange midcentury fireplace and animal heads mounted on the wall.
The Bounty on Park Street is a vintage shop that hosts artists in residence.
The Bounty, open since August 2023 on 1041 South Park St., is one of several vintage clothing stores in Madison. But it’s also a place for Henley to tell stories through old objects and environments, and a hub for aspiring local artists to display their work.
The store is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. Henley also opens the store by appointment during the week to meet customers who can’t attend during weekend hours.
The Bounty is divided into three sections: the main storefront, which features vintage apparel and furniture arranged in themed environments, the back “warehouse” and a basement gallery.
Most of the items in the warehouse and gallery are also for sale. Those rooms also serve as storage for items that don’t fit the current themes, and provide a place to test new environments.
The warehouse of the Bounty on Park Street serves as storage for items that don’t fit the current themes, and provide a place to test new environments.
This vintage store tells a story
Henley is no stranger to design, particularly when it comes to apparel — it’s what brought the North Carolina native to Madison in 1999 after taking a job with Wisconsin-based retailer Lands’ End (which has its headquarters in Dodgeville). Henley worked in design for the company for 20 years before leaving corporate apparel.
“I’ve always had some idea of The Bounty,” Henley said. “I don’t know necessarily if in my head, 25 to 30 years ago, it was going to manifest itself like this. I just knew I wanted to do something, and that looked like designing my own clothes and opening up my own shop.”
“I’m still dealing in what I know best, that’s vintage clothing,” said J Henley, owner of The Bounty. “I’ve collected it my entire career, and I like to share that with others.”
With the help of business partners Joey Stocklein and Molly Schrott, Henley bought the building that would become The Bounty in 2022 and spent the next year developing the space.
Henley and Stocklein used their collection of vintage items as a base and purchased additional merchandise to complete each of the environments, which Henley also calls “narratives.” Midcentury apparel, artwork and furniture are a particularly strong focus, but they accept items from the 1990s or earlier.
J Henley and Joey Stocklein used their collection of vintage items as a base and purchased additional merchandise to complete each of the environments at The Bounty, which Henley also calls “narratives.”
Henley personally handpicks any new item to add to the store with an eye for telling a story. One of the narratives on display, titled “Mid-Ivy,” evokes the feeling of living as a Midwestern college student in the 1950s and 1960s, complete with tweed suit jackets, university pennant flags and a metal dormitory desk. All of those items are for sale, of course.
“I’m telling stories in spaces that I can then invite people to see and interpret,” Henley said. “That could be, ‘Hey, I just want to buy a shirt off the rack,’ or ‘I want my cabin up north to look just like this space.’”
In addition to The Bounty, Henley teaches an apparel collection development class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison two days a week.
The Bounty on Park Street has collections of vintage clothing, like tweed suit jackets, as well as vintage pennants and midcentury furniture.
The store does not have paid employees — Henley and Stocklein man the store without taking salaries — and both have jobs outside of the store, which is why it's only typically open on Fridays and weekends. Henley said this has so far been sustainable.
The business sustains itself through merchandise sales, and the revenue goes back into paying off debt on the initial investment, maintaining the store and purchasing more vintage items, Henley said.
“I’m still dealing in what I know best, that’s vintage clothing,” Henley said. “I’ve collected it my entire career, and I like to share that with others.”
J. Henley, owner of The Bounty, screenprints near the rear entrance.
Arists in residence work in rotation
Beyond the parameters of a vintage shop, The Bounty hosts an artist in residence program. Artists use the space free of charge for a rotation that typically lasts around one to three months.
These artists set up shop in a nook near the window at the front of the store, allowing passersby and customers to watch them as they work.
Mills Botham, owner of Driftless Motorworks, works inside The Bounty on Park Street.
Henley called this selfish — “I wanted to invite artists and creatives and makers into this space to learn from them, get exposed to their creative process and their art.”
The only stipulation is that a cut of the proceeds the artist makes selling their work out of the store goes to a south Madison-area charity of their choice.
Since Henley started the artist in residence program in August 2023, the windowsill nook has been a pottery studio and a sewing room.
Mills Botham, center, owner of Driftless Motorworks, works on a Honda motorcycle inside The Bounty.
The Bounty’s current artist in residence, Mills Botham, runs the vintage motorcycle repair shop Driftless Motorworks, fixing and repainting Honda motorcycles from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. On Fridays from Feb. 20 through March 28, Botham has come in to reassemble a 1972 Honda CL 350 he hopes to sell.
Botham knew Henley through their shared love of motorcycles, but it was Henley who taught him to see his work as a form of art.
Running The Bounty hasn’t come without stress. Having never run a business before, Henley said trusting business partners and hired experts has been key throughout the process of getting it off the ground.
But nothing beats seeing the look on people’s faces walking in the door for the first time.
“I wish that I were able to document what I see,” Henley said. “I get so much joy out of that.”
J. Henley, owner of The Bounty, stands at the rear entrance of the store on Park Street in Madison.
The Four Questions
What are the most important values that drive your work?
Number one: curiosity. Gotta stay curious. It’s not just about things. It makes me curious about people, so the second piece of it for me is having an open mind and an open heart.
How are you creating the kind of community you want to live in?
I have regulars here that live in the Bay Creek neighborhood that come here every week, and that feels good because it means that they feel welcome.
What I’ve set out to do is to create a welcoming community center for initially the south side of Madison, and ultimately Madison and the surrounding areas. It helps me support the arts by creating or offering a platform for artists to come showcase their work.
The Bounty sustains itself through merchandise sales. Revenue goes back into paying off debt on the initial investment, maintaining the store and purchasing more vintage items, owner J Henley said.
What advice do you have for other would-be entrepreneurs?
Step through your fear. Step through that concern or fear of, “Well, where do I find a space, how will I start it, where will I get the funding?”
Start by just asking questions. Don’t assume you know it all. When someone’s trying to help you with something or explain something to you, listen to them. You may pick up something along the way.
Are you hiring?
Yes, I’m hiring creatives. This is my call to the community. If you want to be a part of The Bounty and this space, come see me.
