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New owner excitement (April 2008)
It’s hard to be more upbeat than Marie Landry. Since becoming owner of Washburn View Antique Mall in Topeka (formerly known as just Washburn Antique Mall), Landry has been on a roll.
The Feb. 1 Open House attracted hundreds of people, most there to wish Landry the best in her new venture, though she’s hardly in unfamiliar territory. Landry has worked at Washburn since Jan. 2001. But now it’s different.
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| “I’m enjoying myself,” said Marie Landry, new owner of Washburn View Antique Mall. (photo by Bruce Rodgers) |
“When you love something, you can’t give it up — that’s pretty much it,” Landry said when asked why she pursued ownership after the previous owner decided to close down.
“I really enjoy it…being into antiques. Now, I’m the owner, I make my own decisions, it’s awesome!”
Landry admits to having a different look about her. “I love my dealers (Washburn has 50, nearly full), they love me and it’s wonderful. I don’t think it’s ever going to wear off,” she said.
The big change is attitude she says, and that seems to be paying off quickly.
“We’ve been doing very well,” Landry said. “The last two months I’ve surpassed my goal — doubled the receipts of the former owner.”
Landry is looking to do some freshening up at the mall, new paint, widen the aisle to be wheelchair accessible and keep the place smelling good — no musky, dank antique smell for Washburn. Landry has also hooked up with nearly Washburn University for a student volunteer economic project.
On July 25-27, Washburn View will host special sale days in conjunction with Mulvane Women’s Board 8th Annual Show & Sale held on the university campus.
Hours at Washburn View are Monday-Saturday, 10 am-6 pm, and noon-5 pm on Sunday. For more information, call 785-233-3733.
‘Trunkin’’ between two shops (Feb. 2008)
Lindy and Jon Herman moved to Larned about five years ago. A year later they opened Lindy’s Vintage Attic. After a while, they outgrew the space and open Lindy’s Vintage Attic II. Though the shops have different addresses, shoppers can slip down an alleyway and take a few steps to reach either store. The stores are located in historic buildings, one in an old dairy built in the 1930s, and the other in a turn-of-the-century grocery store. Items in both stores are from the Hermans — no dealer booths.
“Number two mainly has more furniture plus estate jewelry, primitives and Art Deco,” said Lindy. “The original Attic has more primitives, old wooden tool boxes and trunks.”
Trunks are what Lindy says they specialize in, with husband Jon doing the restoration work.
“All are completely different, each have their own personality,” Lindy said. “I like to look for dates on them; no two are alike.
“They can be used for anything — make a display or as a focal point in a room. Some are made of wood, some of metal and wood, some of cloth and wood. The really old trunks are made of paper and wood, and made to look like leather.”
“Camelback” trunks are more expensive than “Victorian roundtops,” Lindy said. She finds them at estate sales and barn sales in small Kansas towns. Prices in her stores vary from $175 to $350.
Lindy said she loves antiquing because there’s usually a story behind an item. One story that touched her was finding a child’s cowboy boots in a cardboard box she bought at an estate sale.
“On the bottom of one boot was a note saying they had taken the boots off the boy three days before he died,” said Lindy. “They were little bitty things, I think the boy was between three and five years old.”
Lindy was so moved she went on a hunt. She found the little boy’s half-sister in a 1918 photo in a book in Spearville, KS. And learned the boots obtained at her son’s estate sale.
“The boots aren’t for sale,” said Lindy.
For more information, call Attic I at 620-285-8992, Attic II at 620-285-8994.
Antiques and art supplies (Jan. 2008)
Last July Virginia Downing and friend Sharry Turner opened the doors to Anthony Antiques & Art Supplies. Both women were self-employed health industry consultants who spent a lot of time on the road meeting with nursing home representatives and various county officials. They had been on the road for 10 years.
One day, said Downing, the women were talking, relating how “sick and tired” they were of all the driving while wondering what else they would do.
“She (Turner) said she like art supplies,” remembered Downing, “and I said I always like antiques.” Thus, the shop was born.
The women still consult but only with the established clientele, which means they still travel some. “That’s the reason for the hours,” said Downing — open Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm.
Business has been good, said Downing. One room displays the art supplies for sale and another has the antiques and collectibles. “It seems to be a good combination,” Downing said. “Almost everyone who comes in looks in both areas.”
The store hosts classes in stain glass, water color and oil painting, and jewelry. “We also have lots of beads and scrapbooking supplies,” Downing said.
In November, the shop began offering Sweet Bottom products, which is a food line made in Derby, KS, with items such as Hot Link Sausages, Molten Lava Salsa, Spiced Green Beans, Spicy Pickled Carrots and a variety of seasonings and rubs. Other products include silver crosses from Silver Land based in Amarillo, TX, with prices from $9 to $30.
Anthony, a town of about 2,000, is 60 miles southwest of Wichita near the Oklahoma line. Anthony Antiques & Art Supplies is located at 601 E Main. Call 620-842-5337 or email coats@cyberlodge.com for more information.
Closing its doors (Dec. 2007)
After 16 years, North Ward Junction in El Dorado is closing its doors. A shop-wide sale will go to the end of December. Look for up to 50% discounts and what is not sold will be put up for auction.
Deeann Krueger, manager for the last two years, blamed high utility bills and lack of traffic for the decision to close. Daily average sales had fallen said Krueger.
“We’re in an old school house built in 1884 and the utilities are high because we have high ceilings, brick and concrete walls with no insulation — it’s cold in the winter and hot in the summer,” said Krueger.
Krueger works for the Myers family, which has been in El Dorado for three generations. The late Nancy Myers founded the shop. Daughter-in-law Keri Myers took over North Ward after Nancy’s death.
“I hate that it’s closing,” said Krueger. “The people are nice and it’s a fun place to work.”
Krueger said the shop was unique in not being arranged like a typical mall. Various rooms — like the “Book Room,” “Kitchen Room” — accommodated the wares of nine dealers, everything from jewelry, glassware, tables, chairs and secretary desks.
“No crafts or new stuff,” said Krueger. “We were the last of dying breed (of antique shops).”
Krueger has other plans to stay in the antique business. She’s talking with the dealers about opening up in another location in the spring. If a new shop opens, it will be in El Dorado said Krueger.
For more information on the sale, call 316-321-0145 or 800-286-0145.
‘Kansas Memory’ (Nov. 2007)
The Kansas Historical Society in Topeka launched a new online feature last month with the help of former Gov. John Carlin, who also served as Archivist of the United States from 1995-2005.
Kansas Memory features the largest collection of photographs, manuscripts, letters, diaries and other historic items from Kansas’ history. Users can browse, search or share images, and will eventually be able to purchase high-resolution versions online.
Go to www.kansasmemory.org.
New owner settling in (Sept. 2007)
Joyce Varner said she hadn’t worked in 15 years prior to buying The Cracked Crook Antiques in Scranton. — not that being a mother and homemaker isn’t “work.”
“I needed to do something — get out of the house,” said Joyce.
In May, Joyce bought the antique shop, housed in the historic Commercial Hotel, and set to doing what she liked to do with a slight variation. Before being a business owner, Joyce enjoyed antiques just like many of us.
“I had antiques all my life, always bought them for pleasure,” she said.
Now with a business, involving 50 dealers and two floors of merchandise space, the “pleasure” has extended a bit.
“The Cracked Crock is my first business — I’ve never done this before,” Joyce said, and then she adds, smiling, “I enjoy decorating, love shopping and buying, and now I have a place to put the stuff instead of my house.”
As a first-time businesswoman, Joyce is optimistic about the antique business. ‘People will always collect and antiques always gain in value,” she said.
The Cracked Crock Antiques is located at 116 W. Mercier. Hours are Wed.-Sat., 10 am to 5 pm, and Sunday from 12 to 5 pm. Call 785-793-2733 for more information.
Joyce on the move
Joyce Coleman said it was a “hard decision” to move her Antiques on the Square shop in Paola to Baldwin. “But,” she adds, “it’s mostly service businesses on the square (in Paola) and I needed to be where there is more foot traffic and retail.”
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| Part of the interior of Baldwin’s newest antique shop, Joyce’s Strictly Antiques. |
Antiques on the Square had been in Paola for 19 years, and before that Joyce had a shop in Olathe. In total, Joyce has spent 30 years in the antique business.
After making up her mind to move, Joyce said she looked at Wellsville and Gardner before deciding on Baldwin.
“I like the old atmosphere in Baldwin, and the people were nice and friendly,” said Joyce.
It’s the people aspect that Joyce loves about the antique business, that and the history behind the pieces — especially glassware — that she sells. “I always look up the history, “ she said.
Gone is the old name of her shop. While in Baldwin, look for Joyce’s Strictly Antiques, located at 719 8th St. Open 9 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, you can reach Joyce at 785-594-2999.
‘Just live under a lucky star’
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| Bought for $12.50, sold for $3,250.00. (photo courtesy of Sue Ortiz) |
Not long ago Sue Ortiz, owner of the Wheatland Antique Mall in Topeka, was at an estate sale. An unusual looking insulator caught her eye. Ortiz admits she doesn’t know much about insulators “but I did recognize that it was a different shape than I had seen,” she said, adding that she thought it might sell for $25.
Ortiz paid $12.50 for the item and a few days later put it up on eBay. Within a couple of hours, Ortiz said she knew “I had something good.” Nearly a week later Ortiz accepted the final bid of $3,250.
The insulator is “evidently really rare,” said Ortiz. She said it was different than a “mouse ear” that it resembles. “I advertised it as a ‘Roman helmet’ on eBay,” she said.
Ortiz did some research and found the insulator retails for $4,500 to $5,000. Still, she beams, “I just lived under a lucky star that day.”
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| African Chokwe beaded headdress — beadwork on cloth over a basketry frame |
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| Sioux moccasins — beadwork on rawhide leather |
KU’s Spencer gets ethnographic collection
Almost 10,000 Native American, African, Latin America and Australian ethnographic artifacts will become part of Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence at the University of Kansas.
Objects include Greenland Eskimo clothing, Central African masks, Native American weavings and cradleboards, and Australian boomerangs and bark paintings. Some artifacts were collected in the early 20th century by Sallie Casey Thayer and Lewis Lindsay Dyche.
Moving the collection to Spencer will lay the groundwork for more public access, which was limited in 2002 when the public galleries were closed because of statewide budget cuts.
For more information, call 785-864-0142.
First use of the term ‘Jayhawk’
The most recent issue of the Yearbook of German-American Studies uncovers connections between the revolutions of 1848-49 in Europe and the struggle for a slave-free Kansas in the 1850s.
The publication from the national Society for German-American Studies reveals “that German radicals played a prominent role in the establishment of the Republican Party in the mid-1850s and many saw in Kansas a crucial test of freedom,” said Frank Baron, KU professor of German.
One ally of John Brown, August Bondi, may have made the first reference to the term “Jayhawk” in his autobiography. Bondi recalls a meeting with Gen. James Lane on Dec. 14-15, 1857, in which Lane addressed his anti-slavery followers as “Jayhawks” or “Jayhawkers.”
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