TAKE A SLAB AT IT. Co-owners Jordan Stoll and Tyler Henderson recently opened a hobby-focused storefront in Banbury Place.

Whether you’ve been curating your card collection since the playground, or picked up the pastime during the pandemic, Eau Claire’s newest and hippest hobby hangout, Slab Factory, is here to bulk up that binder. The card-focused shop, whose Kickstarter-funded start-up came to fruition in late 2022, officially opened the doors to its retail space in Banbury Place in October, and it’s been nothing but hobby heaven since opening day.

Co-owners Jordan Stoll and Tyler Henderson (full disclosure: he’s this correspondent’s husband!) first came up with the concept of Slab Factory after looking for a way to improve the preservation and display options for collectible cards. Once their customizable cases (also known as – you guessed it – SLABS) hit the market the business continued to grow – as did the need for more space.

“During the pandemic, the two of us were reintroduced to something in card collecting that we loved as kids,” Stoll says. “I knew I wanted to do something in the collecting space and while working together, Tyler and I came up with the Slab Factory case.”

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Banbury is such a cool Eau Claire staple for us to be a part of. in addition to the incredibly creative retail spaces throughout the building itself, the collecting hobby is already well-represented in the area. We’re lucky to join such a vibrant community of shops.

TYLER HENDERSON

co-owner, SLAB FACTORY

Stoll and Henderson are excited to not only have a brick-and-mortar space to grow their brand, but to also offer a pressure-free, fun environment for locals to learn about buying, selling, and trading any variety of sports cards and beyond. Additionally, they look forward to building on the ever-growing collecting community the Chippewa Valley has cultivated in the last few years. “Banbury is such a cool Eau Claire staple for us to be a part of,” Henderson says, “in addition to the incredibly creative retail spaces throughout the building itself, the collecting hobby is already well-represented in the area. We’re lucky to join such a vibrant community of shops.”

As far as what comes next for the store, Stoll and Henderson hope to expand their shop offerings and plan to include new releases of longtime favorites like Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, One Piece, and many more. They also plan to host small, in-person trading events and hobby-related hangouts as they establish themselves.

“Having an actual retail space was just a pipe dream for two guys who loved card collecting,” Henderson says. “We took the leap and have met some incredible people with similar interests. We couldn’t be more grateful and can’t wait to see where Slab Factory goes.”

Slab Factory is in suite 15 of Building 13 at Banbury Place, 930 Galloway St., Eau Claire. Their current hours, offerings, and events can be seen on their website or on socials @slabfactory_.