Glancing through the selection in front of her, student Alex Shoffner is deep in concentration. Before her is a small selection of aprons, and finding the one that speaks to her is what’s important. Shoffner, Wichita junior, is downstairs at the Lawrence Antique Mall, a haven for second-hand items that Shoffner has been going to for the past three years. Today’s hunt is not just about finding an apron, but objects from the past that Shoffner can incorporate into her own life back at her apartment.

Shoffner’s not alone in this search. For years people have flocked to antique stores to hunt for that certain something. It’s these objects—ranging from the ordinary to the absurd—that unlock hidden memories and connections to earlier times in our lives. Downtown Lawrence offers the perfect escape from classes and landlocked suburbia with its selection of antique shops. You’ve probably walked past them without even a glance.

A mall among us

What do you do when all the garage sales have run dry in your area, but you still have that itching desire to rummage through endless tables of stuff? Just head to the mall—The Lawrence Antique Mall, that is. Larry Billings, co-owner of the store with his wife Gwen, has kept The Lawrence Antique Mall a permanent fixture on Mass. Street for 18 years The building is divided into two floors, with spaces rented out to individual dealers who bring in their own merchandise, price it and display it. Billings keeps track of what’s been sold each day and posts a report of those sales the next day so his dealers know what’s been purchased, taking a 10 percent commission on everything sold.

Several of the store’s dealers know college students love to shop there, so they stock their spaces with inexpensive, retro furniture, records and things that can be used on a daily basis.

Travis Mitchell, Topeka senior, heads to The Lawrence Antique Mall because of his obsession with vinyl records. He says there are usually about four or five record stores in Lawrence that offer better prices and selection than he has seen in antique stores in Kansas City, or back home in Topeka.

When collecting

becomes profession

If you want to get serious about your collecting habits, though, there’s only one spot that lives and breathes antiquing and collecting: Antique Bazaars II. This is where the serious collectors go to hunt for specific pieces to add to their collection, such as glass figurines or rare coin collections.

Originally from Mitchell County in central Kansas, Dennis Oakley came east to attend the University, bringing with him his love of collecting, a hobby he can trace all the way back to when he was eight years old. The store itself has been around for more than eight years, with 90 percent of the antiques in the store coming directly from Oakley’s collection. Oakley says he sees college students head straight for the guitars, clothing and retro items from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

Megan Bigbee, Olathe senior, shops at Antique Bazaars II as well as other antique shops, constantly looking for ‘50s jewelry and clothes to wear. “I’m obsessed with the ‘50s,” Bigbee says. “I like the old glamour and fashion.”

Oakley’s take on antiques? “It’s an acquired taste,” he says. It is rule of thumb that an antique will go up in value and you rarely throw an antique away. For those looking to get serious about collecting, he recommends visiting antique shows, looking around antique stores and even hitting up eBay for research. “You have to remember, though, that this is a time-invested hobby,” Oakley says.

A radical play

on antique

Two doors down from the Bottleneck at 731 New Hampshire, St., an eager Labrador Retriever makes her way to the front of a store to greet a customer. Before a customer can register the large volume of nostalgic items surrounding him, he’s looking down with a smile, petting the dog as it grins back. It’s Sally the Flea Dog, the official mascot and door greeter for the radical antique and consignment shop known as The Giant Flea.

The Giant Flea is a consignment shop and sole proprietorship, making its own money through the community and a couple consigners. Current owner Phyllis Bias is from Arma and took over for the original owner shortly after the store opened two years ago. Her store promotes recycling, reusing and re-creating “orphan objects”—things that would otherwise end up in the landfill.

Her feelings on antique stores are as clear as the type of customers she serves.

“If I ran a traditional antique shop, I would only be catering to those who are wealthy enough to decorate their homes with expensive collectibles,” Bias says.

Bias encourages haggling. She loves seeing the surprise in her customers’ faces when she tells them this, letting them experience a virtually lost art in the shopping world. She wants her upstairs attic atmosphere to be comfortable for the customers, a place where there’s no pressure to buy anything.

“We don’t follow people around,” Bias says. “If it makes you feel good, then buy it.”

Her philosophy with the store is that its purpose is to serve the community first, and she is always willing to work with her customers to purchase an item, sometimes giving items away for free.

“All of this, it’s just stuff,” Bias says. “This store is about more than that. It’s about the people.”

Looking forward

It’s in these modern day pop culture shrines that we can find sanctuary in the throwbacks of yesteryear and rediscover ourselves through the hunt for clarity in our lives. We don’t just go searching for specifics, but rather a place to let our minds wander, purchasing the objects that speak to us, asking, “Remember me