When I was growing up my Granny and Papaw owned an Antique business. Storms Antiques was housed in a large white block building nestled into a hillside next to their house in Dawson Springs.
The store was filled with row after row of antiques and the inventory was always changing. Everything from the largest piece to the doily on a table had a reason for its placement and was an example of some sort of rarity. That always appealed to me.
I was pretty young when my grandparents retired and it wasn't until I was older that I learned about the type of operation they had really ran. I know it seems ordinary; the story of a couple running an antique business in a small town, but really it isn't. Because starting and sustaining a business is never ordinary.
What was once a dream of theirs became a reality and that especially appeals to me. They became experts on Antique furniture, clocks, glassware, pottery, quilts, linens, you name it...they knew about it. And through the years with those thoughts in my mind I have always wanted to have a store of my own. It's been a dream of mine to hang out a shingle and rekindle the dream that was once theirs...but where would I start?
In the beginning it sort of started out in the way it did for them. I was at a Goodwill in downtown Nashville and bought a beautiful colonial style wing back chair for a very low price. That's right I can't tell you how low, you know the rules. Regardless, it needed nothing but a bit of cleaning up. I was in the neighborhood because my friend Molly was having a yard sale that morning and her Craigslist advertisement boasted free Bloody Mary's and Mimosas. Done, done and done...I'm there. Those were my exact thoughts. I parked in front of her house, pulled out the chair to show her my latest find and a lady in a station wagon parked behind me made me an offer on the chair. Sold! I was hooked.
Now that I think of it my story is a little less romantic and a bit more simple than my Grandparent's, but they do have some similarities. Right? The scene for their story was set in Germany and started with an old clock. But the bottom is you never get anywhere unless you stick your neck out. Since that day at Molly's yard sale I have "ebayed", stopped at lots of yard sales and Goodwill's, trying to find that rare item. The item over looked and I'm learning! In an effort not to become a hoarder I often have to sell my finds. It always depends on how busy I am with my real career and my social life, but I do carve out time for this hobby in hopes that it may some day bud into a successful business like theirs. For now I show case items on my website and sell antiques on ebay and Craigslist. You always have to start somewhere and that is just what I did, I started. I often feel like that is the hardest part of projects is starting them. The trick is making it fun and that it is. When this idea first surfaced over dinner with friends in Nashville one of the first questions asked was:
"What will you call it."
I quickly replied with a twinkle in my eye and without pause: "Storms Antiques"
To learn more about Storms Antiques check out my website:
www.jes91681.Web.officelive.com
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