Von’s Shop

I love this store! I usually go in about once a month I enjoy all of the books and the vintage rings. However the woman typically working gets very annoyed when you ask to see rings and I usually always buy at least one. Other than that this is a great shop with an amazing variety of vintage finds!

Von’s is a great place to browse. By far the best book store in Indiana with a great range of new and used books.

How can you not have a soft spot for Von’s? A basement full of used books, beads for days, jewelry, cards, CD’s, and even a bin filled with stuffed animal… pathogens? Eccentricity is its calling. But that’s why you go to Von’s. I don’t often have a need to go, but sometimes on a bad day I will walk over and meander around. My boyfriend even got me this beautiful candle/​holder there that when you light it, different colors from the glass holder dance along the walls.

I once had a break up so bad that I wanted nothing more than to be found frozen somewhere on Purdue’s endlessly cold, culturally-​barren campus. Those two days of eternal sorrow (hey, I bounce back) led me to Von’s, where I hit up the ginormous bead shop and made jewelry my friends would pretend to like, bought a bunch of other stuff and rented movies.
The movies. Now this was grad school, sometime in the early-​mid 2000s. This means that I was poor and cheap was preferred (still preferred). They had different $ 1 deals everyday: foreign films, TV shows, horror, comedy, etc. Almodovar and Pan’s Labrynth and all the Swedish and Danish goodies happened on foreign film day, but on Wednesdays there was something else. I’m reluctant to admit it.
Here it goes: Sex and the City.
Before Netflix and Amazon Prime I rented 2 and 3 DVDs at a time on $ 1 TV show day, binging on a bunch of ladies who hailed from back where I’m from, dressed totally unlike how I could afford to dress, living in unrealistically fantastic apartments and going through some cray-​cray experiences. I sat in a desolate midwest hell where everyone marries by 21 and there’s hardly a soul to date and lived vicariously through S&tC. I was too ashamed to admit the addiction to anyone. I was especially shocked at my reaction to the final DVD of the show. Dramatic sigh.
It may have taken two days to get over a stupid boy but it took me a week to get over never seeing my «friends» from NY again. But then I went and rented them all over again and it was all fine. Anyway, thanks for being there, Von’s. If it weren’t for you and pals and ballroom, I wouldn’t have survived Indiana.

This place is seriously my favorite place to go on campus. It has everything you could want — from clothes, to books, to BUTTONS, to movies and games, to comic books, to stickers and posters… I can be frequently found spending a good 3 hours going through this place. It’s a treasure of the Purdue campus! I absolutely adore it.

Quite simply the coolest store in Lafayette/​West Lafayette. Von’s is a local treasure, and as such should be frequented as much as possible. Fortunately the chain bookstore down the hill failed some time ago… The used books down in the basement are a wonderful use of a former storage space, and it’s packed with cheap books of all varieties. They’ve done a great job with that. Also, back in the record store, they have a truly good selection of incense, some of which I still have all the way out here in Portland. Great vinyl selection, too. Von’s rocks.

Unbelievable amount and variety of beads, findings, strands, individual beads, glass, wood, bone, crystal, acrylic, aluminum, copper, you name it. The building has the high ceilings of older architecture and the beads are hung in rows and rows nearly to the ceiling with labels so you can read what is up there from the floor.
There are also hand cut precious stones and fine quality carbochons like Larimar and black opal in various sizes and grades.
The reason for four instead of five stars is because the strands are priced pretty high. I go to a lot of bead shows and shops across the country and know how much they are marking things up. Mark up is expected, but a strand that should be $ 4 would be $ 7 at Von’s. I would go here and pay the $ 7 before going to a big box store, however.
The store also houses several rooms of used books, stuffed animals, posters, cards, scarves, and all kinds of things I didn’t have a chance to look at.
Parking on the street is only 2 hours and I saw two cars get ticketed on my way back to my car, so watch your time.

I take my friends that lean a bit to the left, and are from out of town to this store. They love it. They, like I, have never seen a store like it. It as everything you can think of that you don’t need, but want, under one roof.
Make sure you have plenty of time to walk through the store. Because every time you visit here, it seems as if the store has new stuff you never saw before, and didn’t see the here before.

The selection here is never ending on the beads and books. If you can’t find it here you will have a hard time finding it. The younger employees are nice but not all that knowledgeable and the older employees don’t want to be bothered with you. I encounter this every time I have a question when I have shopped here. For a cool hippie kind of place there sure is bad energy here. I would give it 5 stars if the customer service was better.

I adore this place!
I shopped here when I was at Purdue, in the 80’s and didn’t have a lot of money. Now that I have a full time job (with a little more money) and live in Chicago I still like to shop here, when I am in town. I have yet to find a more plentiful selection of pendents and rings. Their bead selection is second to none.

I love the super eclectic bead collections here. You can get literally everything: different pieces of Sushi, Sumo wrestler faces with various expressions, ducks, owls, foxes, snakes, dinosaurs, books, pizza, doughnuts, cakes, clouds, stars, rain, etc. If it’s something.. . it’s a bead (and it’s probably here!). They also have more «traditional» beads of every color and shade. I feel like I spent an hour looking at beads alone.
They also have a wide selection of pre-​made jewelry. It wasn’t necessarily my style (Indian, Hippie) but they had some cute stuff.

This store is one of the most unique and intriguing places that I’ve ever shopped. It seems like it’s almost endless with treasures. They have everything from vinyls to comic books to books to collectable rocks to beads to make jewelry. Von’s carries books for courses when you cannot find them anywhere else and all you have to do is take your course list in, tell them you have the class with whatever teacher and they will grab all the books for that class for you to purchase. Sometimes it is expensive, but that is only because there is no other place to get certain items in the surrounding area within walking distance. Von’s definitely has something for everyone, and if you are passing through and want somewhere that you can go and tell your friends and family about, Von’s is worth every second that you spend in there.

I can look through things here for hours. They have some really unique cards and jewelry. Especially rings.

There’s nothing else on campus like it. Besides the dorms, you can’t rent movies anyplace close without driving. If you’re into comics it’s the best selection in the tri state area. And the beads… oh the beads! It has been rumored that Von’s is the largest retailer of natural stone beads in the COUNTRY. On top of that, they have the funniest greeting cards, little gifty things, and books + records for every taste.
After spending 2 years shopping here, I decided to apply for a job. Although I may be biased as an employee for 2.5 years, I ended up being one of Von’s best customers. Damn you, John, your store is so awesome that I would find a million things I wanted then my paycheck disappeared! :-)
I learned how to make jewelry while working here — real, quality jewelry — and now sell it on the side for extra income. Even living in San Francisco/​Berkeley now I can’t find a bead shop for my supplies quite like Von’s.
Things you can find at Von’s:
movie rentals
CDs
records
posters
purses/​bags
extensive greeting card selection
stickers
beautiful jewelry — stone and sterling silver from around the world
body jewelry you can’t even find at a tattoo parlor
craft supplies
beads — literally millions (stone, Czech glass, metal, Swarovski, lucite, African Trade)
jewelry classes
candles and incense — really quality scents and brands
gifty things
room full of stones and gems (knowledgeable staff for questions)
comics
used books
textbooks
new books for every subject and genre

Who doesn’t love Von’s?! This quaint little shop has been around on Purdue’s campus for years.
They sell new and used books, CDs, and gifts. They even have a puppet closet! You can make your own jewelry in the magnificent bead room or buy unique sterling silver jewelry at the jewelry counter. There is no end to what you can discover there! And the people are always nice.
I recently sold a box of my old books there and they gave me a voucher for over $ 60 in used books! That beats donating them to the library!
I encourage you to check it out. For most, it’s love at first sight!

I LOVED this place. I finally went in the other day to check it out — because they have the coolest stuff up in the windows. This place is incredible! It has everything you could want + more! The walls were lined with beads. and there was a huge side with just containers of stones, and beads. The prices are pretty great, and there is a HUGE selection. If you’re looking for something quirky or funky this is the place to go. Such a unique place, and the people who work there seem to be pretty upbeat and nice!

I love everything about this place. They have new and used books, stuffed animals, cards, jewelry, CDs, and a bunch of rooms I have yet to explore. If you’re looking for something kind of quirky, you’ll probably find it at Von’s. My favorite thing to do in the area is to spend a Sunday afternoon exploring Von’s, or, if I have an awkward half hour before I have to be somewhere, it’s fun to stop in.
The staff has always been extremely helpful – and colorful. :) I love stopping here instead of the chain bookstores in town!

I remember my first discovery of Von’s before school even started when I was there for Boiler Gold Rush. Here I was, a young girl thrown out into the open college atmosphere all alone, no friends, nothing familiar. It was a beautiful summer day in August. I took a walk from Earhart Hall down to Chauncey Hill and wandered inside Von’s Cards & Beads. I suddenly felt comforted. Jewelry making has always been a therapeutic pass-​time, so when I walked into Von’s I instantly fell in love!
I graduated in 2005. I’ve taken countless trips to Von’s during my college years. A lot of times I would just go in to wander around and look at everything. There’s always something new. Sometimes I make the drive from Chicago to Purdue JUST to visit Von’s. I just love it that much.
The prices can’t be argued with. everything, from loose beads, to strands, to cards to candles to purses to jewelry… everything is extremely reasonably priced. Definitely fits the budget for a college student.
If you want variety, this is the place to be. I have yet to find a bead store that compares. If you can’t find it here, you probably can’t find it anywhere.
If I could give this place a million Unilocal stars, I would!

One of my all time favorite places to go crazy shopping. They pretty much carry everything that I love. Books, cds, posters, beads, rocks, cards, stickers, stuffed animals, posters and jewelry.
The book part is well stocked and staffed by some very helpful people. I recommend the discount card as it will save you a bundle of money. As an English major, several of my books for classes were carried here so the savings went far.
The CD part can be a little less friendly at times, but if your feelings get hurt, just take a spin around the stuffed animal room and you’ll feel better again. I bought countless posters there. Some, like the HUGE Miles Davis one I had framed and mounted, still with me years later.

Fun fun fun! I love Von’s. Pretty much three stores rolled into one. They all connect together. A bookstore on one end, jewelry/​bead shop in the middle and finally a cd/​record store.
If you’re a student at Purdue searching for books sometimes it’s cheaper to head over to Von’s rather than Follet’s across the street. They have a 10% discount card (you have to purchase it for 5 bucks, but in the end you save money always– since textbooks cost so much).
If you’re a bored Purdue student or just like making crafts, check out the jewelry shop. I spent many hours in here purchasing beads and then making funky necklaces back in my dorm room.
The music shop is superb as well. They always have the latest indie titles in the window, plenty of used and new cds, dvds and even fun tshirts and posters to clutter your college dorm walls in the back.
Von’s is a fun place to spend an afternoon with friends if you have some down time between studying at Purdue.