It Was A Good Day

It was a good day to be me.... an antique dealer that is. Tired, yes; weary, just a little, but it was just one of those days filled with good customer's, good friends, lots of laughter and a shop filled with boxes loaded with new and exciting incoming consignments.

Bruce Rodgers with Discover Mid-America came in to drop off the latest publication, it is always a pleasure to see him. Be sure to read their blog - http://www.discovermid-america.blogspot.com/

A customer came in to show me the beautiful brass National cash register that he purchased for next to nothing. I  simply love when people get excited about a purchase and are kind enough to share it with me.

A gentleman was in purchasing items for his lovely wife "because he knew that she would enjoy looking at them." The items are not a Christmas present they were a "just because" gift and those are the best kind.

A dad came in with a terrific idea for a collection of small gifts for his daughter and I am going to do the very best that I can to help him pull it all together.

Everyone was laughing or smiling today, good moods abounded. I love seeing customer's sitting in the living room sharing their antique and collecting stories it adds to the homey, comfortable feel of the shop.

One of the consignments I took in today contains a few items made by local artists from artifacts and finds from New Orleans post Katrina... they are pretty cool. There are also so shabby chic or country items in the lot.

Another consignment and one I cannot wait to start pricing and getting on the floor contains loads of wonderful Victorian items as well as antique kitchen ware, antique lighting, a National cash register (not brass) but pretty awesome anyway, and much more.

Yes, it was a good day.

What's Going On At The Antique Shop?

We have dealer space available for anyone in the area interested in renting space. Selling the antiques and collectibles, refurbished shabby chic or country cottage created pieces is a great way to generate some extra income. My rent is the best you will find in the area and I don't tack on any additional fees or percentages. Some of the shops charge anywhere from 5% to 20% on top of the monthly booth rental fee for a wide variety of things such as tags and labels, credit card fees, bags and protective wrappings, tape, cleaning, etc. I have heard of some pretty wild extra charges that shop owner's are placing on their dealer's.

Anyone who knows me or has been in the shop will tell you that I am very particular about what I allow to be sold in the antique shop. I want quality, ready to use items but I am open to anything. I believe that there is a buyer for just about everything we put out for sale. For the items that don't meet my "quality control" standards there is the option of placing your items in our monthly BASEMENT SALE.... that's right, we have moved our parking lot sale to the basement so that we can have special sales throughout the winter months.

The new antique shop website is finally just weeks away from going live. This has been a 2 year struggle for me to get the new site developed and functioning. I have given away quite a bit of money to people who claim to be able to give me what I want but in the end don't deliver.

Items from the store will be available for purchase on the website, this includes consignments and dealer stock. I am really excited about this and can't wait to get the new site up and running.

Don't forget, we take items on consignment and have the best prices you will find on quality antique furniture, vintage furniture, giftware and new items. If I don't have it in stock I can probably find it for you through our extensive network of dealer's and consignor's.

I am very excited about several items we have recently taken in on consignment; a 1920's bedroom set including a bachelor's chest, a coverlet dated 1852 from PA which includes the name of the weaver and the person it was made for, a beautiful antique chaise lounge chair that has been beautifully recovered, a 1800s girls sampler, vintage Hummel figurines and many more wonderful items.

We are holding a class in November on how to determine the value of your antiques and collectibles. The class will cover resources available and professional's that you can turn to. We still have our free antique reference library in the shop which is available for use during normal business hours.

Speaking of business hours, I will soon have the shop open on Sunday afternoons and our days off will switch to Monday and Tuesday. I have to be closed sometime to keep up with my online sales and shipping.

Please stop by or call if you are interested in renting space. I look forward to meeting you.

Haunted Antique Shop, Cliche but Mine Is

It is official and I have gone public with the fact that my lovely, wonderful Lenexa, Kansas antique shop has what I refer to as "living history" aka ghosts or spirits. You can now read about some of my experiences in the shop  - Haunted Antique Shop Lenexa, Kansas

It was difficult for me to finally accept and admit what I had been seeing, hearing and feeling for almost a year now was real. I had too many people having experiences in the shop for me to simply ignore what I knew to be true.

There are not scary, jump out and say "boo" spirits they are gentle, playful and at times very noisy energies that for whatever reason have decided to stay in the shop (formerly a home built in the early 1900's) either because they lived there and love it or are just hanging around for the heck of it.

You see this type of thing on TV and never think that it will affect you, bully to that. Thank goodness I have been documenting almost everything that has happened from day one and now have hardcore evidence to prove it.

If you are interested in hearing some of the spirits that inhabit my shop you can do so at - www.mygrannysatticantiques.com/evps you need to turn your speakers up full blast or put on headphones to hear what is being said. I have new evps to post from a recent investigation by the same group that caught these.

I have never been afraid of the occurrences nor have I felt threatened. I have come to be fairly protective of the spirits that reside in my shop to the point of having a few toys out for the children to play with. I have learned what they like and dislike such as me vacuuming the floor is not a favorite activity especially for the children.

So if you are ever in my neck of the woods drop by and say hi to us all.

The location of my antique shop

In response to a comment I received concerning the location of my antique shop and where one might find other Kansas antique shop listings;

Mike, I look forward to seeing you. I am located in a suburb of Kansas City
our town is Lenexa aka Shawnee Mission. The address is 9230 Pflumm Rd Lenexa, Kansas 66215

As for a website with other antique shops in Kansas I am not aware of one but I have a free publication in the shop "Discover Mid-America" and it lists quite a few antique shops. Each region of
the U.S. should have a version of this newspaper which is free to the public and
can be found in most antique shops.

Thank you for visiting, Michelle

Parking Lot Sale Season Starts at the Antique Shop

We have started our parking lot sales at the shop. We have items from the store, furniture that needs some TLC as well as good usable furniture and much more.

Many of the dealer's and consignor's from the shop participate and it is also open to the community to bring their stuff and a table and set up shop. There is a $5 fee for setting up but it is well worth it. We get a lot of traffic and have a great time.

The June sale is on the 13th from 10 am to 4 pm. The sale is in the shop parking lot behind the building so you need to park across the street.

If you are interested please call and reserve a space or just come on down and find some great bargains.

You never know what you will find!

I still have room in the store for dealer booth rental. I am looking for antiques, collectibles and quality crafts.

We are in the process of opening up the basement where you can find bargains on items, mainly furniture that need a coat of paint or refinishing and other items that need small repairs or just don't meet my QC for wares in the shop.

Classes start this week at my antique shop in Lenexa, Kansas

This week we kick off our monthly classes at the antique shop.

Thursday January 22 at 7 pm. we will make an altered art valentines day card using vintage graphics that I have.

If you are interested in attending please call and let us know so that we know how many kits to make. The fee is $6.00 for supplies.

913-825-1938

All classes will be on the 4th Thursday of the month at 7 pm.

Next month we will make a memory pillow.

The antique shop address is 9230 Pflumm Road in Old Town Lenexa, Kansas. Parking is behind the store.

Happy Holidays To You All

Happy Holidays to all who take the time to visit and read my rambling blog.

May next year bring us jobs, a better economy, health and happiness.

From my family to yours,
Michelle

P.S. Starting tomorrow.... Dec. 22 all holidays items in the live antique shop are 10% off.

9230 Pflumm Rd. Lenexa, KS

We Have Been Open 5 Weeks and I Love the Feedback

The shop has been open for 5 weeks now and the feedback has been amazing.

"It looks like Grandma's house" and I guess it would since the house/shop was built in 1920 and still retains the original woodwork, pocket doors, inset glass front cabinets and hardwood floors. The kitchen, even though it has been redone in white formica still has the original pantry lined in bead board. I put shelves in the bead board lined broom closet and use it for display too.

We held our first free appraisal clinic last week and it was a huge success even though the weather was a bit nasty.

Our November class will be "How to sell online" I don't have date set as of yet but will get that decided on next week. Of course this is free to the public.

Yesterday I finished my candy counter with a few of the popular yummy candies and of course Double Bubble Bubble Gum. I will soon be adding a "fudge of the week" which will be a speciallty fudge made by a local candy maker. I will have only one pan of fudge and it will be available until sold out then you have to wait until the next week for a new flavor. I also have sunflower seeds, trail mix, chips and biscotti.

New inventory for last week includes Victorian antiques and English antiques. As soon as my new website is up I will be adding some of these items for purchase online.

Next week we will start bringing out the Christmas items and begin our holiday decorating. I can't wait to work on my windows for the holidays. The store will be amazing. We have a Dept. 56 Santa's Village which will be on display and also for sale. It will be stunning.

I promise to get photos of the shop uploaded next week, they are at the shop on the shop computer.