Monday, August 14, 2006
Molly Easly used to hate going antique shopping with her mother when she was a child, but this Lawrence junior grew to love antiques and is now an avid shopper.
When Easly finally moved into a house, she wanted a more unique decorating style and looked to the antique stores around Lawrence to get the job done.
She described her style as “more traditional than modern,” with a lot of interesting colors and patterns. She said she liked to decorate with the kind of stuff people don’t see every day.
“Shopping at the antique mall let’s you do that,” she said.
Lawrence has a good deal of antique dealers peddling everything from old clothes, to old cars, to old Coca-Cola bottles. Almost anything that might catch your fancy can be found in one of Lawrence’s nine antique stores, be it a genuine antique or just a cool collectible.
Dennis Oakley, owner of Antique Bazaars II, Inc., 840 Massachusetts St., said he considered antique shopping an “educational process.”
Antique Stores
Antique Bazaars II, Inc., 840 Massachusetts St.
Lawrence Antique Mall, 830 Massachusetts St.
Black-Eyed Susans, 820 Massachusetts St.
Blackbird Trading Post, Eight W. Ninth St.
Smith Motors, 1701 N. 1399 Road
Strong’s Antiques, 1025 Massachusetts St.
The Topiary Tree, Inc., 716 Massachusetts St.
Trash and Treasure Antiques, 2328 Ponderosa Dr.
Vintage Junk, 1360 N. Third St.
He said people came in the first time not knowing much about antiques, but the more times they shopped, the more quality items they would start to notice and appreciate.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Oakley said.
An art and jewelry collector himself, Oakley said he’d been in the antique business in Lawrence for about 35 years, but had been collecting since he was a child.
“I’ve been picking up old stuff since I was 8 years old. I’m 58 now.”
He said it was an evolving type of business, with each generation interested in different things. The younger crowds he’d seen in his store lately were usually interested in clothes and jewelry, but when they looked around, they discovered there were other things that interested them, as well.
Larry Billings, co-owner of Lawrence Antique Mall, 830 Massachusetts St., said that fads changed with each generation. He said he’d noticed college-aged people were into “retro” items such as vinyl records, which were big sellers for him, but interest wasn’t limited to those.
“People collect all kinds of stuff,” Billings said.
He said students were usually looking for things to decorate their apartments and dorm rooms, like beer and party signs. However, they also bought gifts for their parents who are collectors. He’d also seen girls in the store looking for jewelry for themselves.
Not only does she shop for jewelry, but Mary Brewster, Lawrence alumna, is also a collector of first edition books and “anything Kennedy” to add to her collection. But that doesn’t mean she’s restricted to just those themes.
“I have an obsession with old things,” Brewster said. “Anything a little quirky or off.”
Brewster said she’d been collecting at least since she was in high school, and had done so because she liked “stuff with a story.”
Ben Rumback, fellow collector and friend of Brewster’s, said he, too, had been collecting since high school, and liked older things that were rich in character.
“I like anything made of wood from back in the day,” said Rumback, Hutchinson junior.
Rumback said he liked shopping for old wooden objects, as well as old Batman items, but he also said he liked the cleaning process.
“Anything with layers of old grit to wipe off,” he said with a grin. “That’s fun.”
Kansan staff writer Dani Hurst can be reached at dhurst@kansan.com
—Edited by Adrienne Bommarito
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