Meet Stephanie Perkins | Co- Owner of Little Horse Vintage Fort Collins

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Perkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The Little Horse Vintage was founded in 2002 by Mike Price in Boulder, Little Horse Vintage has grown into a beloved Colorado institution, now with locations in Louisville, Boulder and Fort Collins. The Fort Collins location opened in 2018. Each store continues to evolve, with exciting new offerings and a shared mission: to connect communities through a love of vintage and thoughtfully curated design. We want everyone to feel welcome to our stores and become apart of the Little Horse family.

For years, Stephanie Perkins worked alongside Mike in various roles, drawn to his vision, creativity, and commitment to giving forgotten items a second life. United by a passion for sustainability, the team believes deeply in the idea that one person’s junk is our treasure — and that keeping unique pieces out of landfills is both meaningful and necessary. We never know what a box might contain or who we will meet at the stores.

In January 2025, I (Stephanie) became Mike’s partner in the Fort Collins location. The store has quickly become a joyful gathering place, inviting visitors to experience music, art, books, jewelry, clothing and nostalgic objects that spark connection and curiosity. Little Horse Vintage specializes in mid-century, retro, and vintage pieces, each with just the right amount of patina and character.

Each Little Horse locations have amazing things going on and plan on more amazing things in 2026. The Fort Collins location has a live band play in the store every first Friday of the month in Fort Collins. The Louisville store has introduced the Electric Room (basement of the shop) and have guest DJs on a few Fridays a month and the Boulder store is in collaboration with Portal, Portal is an amazing cold plunge/sauna wellness business. We would love everyone and anyone to come find their place in any of our locations.

From vintage jewelry and original artwork to retro stereo equipment and thousands of vinyl records, the Little Horse stores are offering something for everyone — items that don’t just decorate a space, but bring genuine joy. With inventory constantly changing, every visit promises something new to discover, encouraging guests to return again and again. Our goal is for you to feel welcome and we love meeting new people, seeing our return costumers and friends.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. We are very passionate about keeping items from the landfill and giving them a second life. Our love for music, books and art and sharing that with others will always be a priority.

How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Just working every single day and being open to experiences and people.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? Nothing is easy in life but with the love and support from family and friends, there is always a way. Sometimes you make the wrong decision but all you can do is learn from it and remember for next time.

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Learn to say yes and learn to say no. And saying those things can help guide you.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story? Little Horse Vintage is a community and all are welcome. We hope to have something special for everyone that walks into the door.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow, Fort Collins and the surrounding areas has so much to offer.

I mean the first thing is we need to visit all three locations of Little Horse Vintage – Fort Collins, Louisville & Boulder so there is plenty to do.

Fort Collins Little Horse – If it is a first Friday – then we have a live band that plays – The Book Club at the store so that has to happen. We would pop into the Elizabeth or even stay there for an evening. We provide all the vinyl at the hotel and helped set up the sound system in their Sunset Lounge. We also love our neighbors at the shop. A sandwich at La Boutique or a drive into the Poudre Canyon to the Mishawaka for a cold beer, lunch by the river.

Boulder – Our store is set up inside of an amazing cold plunge/sauna company called Portal. It is a wellness center that is all about community. So we would have a sweat and plunge then shop at that location.

Louisville – we would grab breakfast at our neighbor BOB’s Diner and then shop in our store there, Lunch/Coffee at Moxie Bread and then in the evening catch one of our events in the basement of Little Horse in our Electric Room. We have guests DJs a few Fridays a month. Listen to amazing music and have a cocktail.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We could go on and on with all the shoutouts to everyone that has ever helped Little Horse. The list would go on for 1000 pages. But I think we could first give a shoutout to every customer that has ever supported us once or has come in 100 times. We are here to make sure every single person that comes into Little Horse is seen and can find something special for themselves or for someone special.

Website: https://www.littlehorsevintage.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlehorsevintage

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LittleHorseBooks/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/little-horse-books-and-vintage-vinyl-stereo-housewares-louisville