Big Day Turned Small

I had the weekend off, so it was going to be a great day for running to antique shops.  I came up with several shops I wanted to visit (the wife goes where I want to go when it comes to shops).  Even though we had a great plan, our day was cut short since she had to work in the morning.  We got a later than normal start and then we had plans on eating somewhere special which pushed us back more on time.

We finally got to start looking for antiques, and our first stop was River Market Antiques in downtown Kansas City.  The place is easily found because of the massive mural on the west side of the building.  The parking was blocked with snow, but there is plenty of parking around that area since it is two blocks west of the City Market.

There are four levels to wander through in this shop.  The basement of the shop is full of books and a corner of vinyl albums.  There are other odds and ends down there, so it is definitely worth the look. The main level has several locking display cases and a lot of stuff to view.  The second floor has a few locking cases, and it did not seem as full as the first floor.  There were definitely some great things up there as well.  The third floor was kind of sparse, but you never know what you might miss if you don't go exploring.

As soon as we walked into the door on the main level, we started seeing things we wanted to purchase.  My wife found a kitchen tray that she purchased for her sister, who is working on getting decorations for a new house.  That was in the very first display through the front door (we later found five more stacked up).

A couple displays further into the store, we found an awesome miniature camera.  My wife collects cameras, and we had never seen anything like this.  Therefore, it was a must have for the collection.  It was complete with a leather carrying case.  The cherry on top was that it was a steal of a price!

We continued to walk through the shop and continued to discover stuff.  This place is full of great stuff, and it isn't the usual stuff found at most of the antique shops.  There is a booth with 20-30 lunchboxes.  I was not able to get them down to check for the Thermos, but they looked very nice from what I could see.  There are also Little People, which I loved playing with as a kid.  They have the generic ones but also had the Sesame Street sets.  It was a nice trip down nostalgic lane.

We also found a cheese board with a glass dome.  I have no idea if it is an antique, but we needed something to preserve our little birds that were the toppers on our wedding cake.  We took a chance since we didn't remember what size the nest was or the tops of the birds were, but we did well.  We just need to fix the birds to make them sit up straight.

We did not find anything in the basement, and the second floor had some stuff that caught our eyes but decided we didn't need right then.  My wife kept seeing suitcases that were in great shape.  The third floor also had some great stuff.  We rushed through the third floor since the store was closing.  We managed to look around well enough that my wife found a pulley she wanted to purchase.  It was in good shape with one minor flaw.  I told her to pull the trigger since she always notices them while we are out shopping.

It was past 6pm, so we had to find the next stop.  We started the day with six or seven shops to go to, and we only had enough time to go to two.  So, we figured out that The Ridge was open until 8pm.  There would be enough time to get out to Shawnee and shop.

The Ridge is in an old strip mall, and it is equivalent to three stores combined.  The store's selection seems more like a flea market than an antique store.  The first couple of booths at the entrance were antique-store quality, but the other booths were hit and miss.  The shop does not have as many unique items, but I did notice that there are several booths that are geared towards the male shoppers.  We did not buy anything at this shop, but we will be back again to see if our luck changes on the next trip.

Another weekend gone but this one made for a great trip!

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Clinton, MO: All-American City

I had some time to kill between classes, so I decided to check out what Clinton, MO, had to offer.  Clinton is the county seat of Henry County, and it has a very nice city square.  With an old-fashion square, one would assume that there should be some antiques.  There are!!

The first stop is a place called Treasure Chest.  It is a smaller location, and it did not seem to have much in it.  Not everything was an antique, but the store never really claimed to be an antique store.  It could be a flea market, so that would be excused.  It is a quick go around, but a shopper looking for something in particular might find luck there.  I did notice that every record there was $1, which is pretty reasonable.

Across to the next corner, there is Antiques on Washington.  Most antique locations have started to be booth format, but Antiques on Washington is still owned and operated by individual collectors.  This can be a plus or a huge negative.  Antiques on Washington has stuff you don't normally see in typical antique stores.  When walking through the door, you are greeted by old toys, and they look like they are in great condition.  There is a lot to look at in the store.  I did wind up buying some coasters that look like airplane gauges.  They are not antique but I thought they looked really neat, and I have always had a weakness for aviation.

I was running out of  time, so I had to get moving to make it to Wagon Wheel Antique Mall.  This is located in an old strip mall, and it works perfect for the location.  The shop was full of glassware and various other items.  I even found a few potential Father's Day gifts to keep in mind when trying to figure out something to get the guy who has everything.

Time was not on my side, so I had to dart to make it back to class in time.  I know there are other shops in Clinton, and I will have to make a trip when I have more time to enjoy myself without restrictions.

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Well, Hello Weekend!

My wife went to see her family this weekend, so I am alone (and off work).  What does that mean??  Let's go on an adventure!!!

After I went to class, I decided there were some shops in Warrensburg I had not been to for awhile.

The first shop was Those Were The Days located on Pine St.  The shop is extremely large.  It has three levels and a "west wing".  The basement is full of furniture (not necessarily antique), and there are signs telling buyers to bring help since the shop is ran by "grandmas."  The ground floor is more traditional with the antiques but gets more "garage sale-y."  The upstairs gets interesting.  There are several booths with clothes and fabrics.  However, it is a great trip.  This is a place where you never know what you are going to find.  This trip allowed me to find an awesome Superman cake pan from 1977, complete with instructions and plastic face and chest emblem.  (Feel free to hum the theme song because I will be for the rest of the post.) 

Highway 13 North Antiques & Collectibles was the next stop.  The last time I went to this shop, it was one building.  It is now three buildings, one including a small cafe.  This shop is full of treasures.  There are books, glassware, and furniture.  The two separate buildings are labeled as Furniture Barn 1 and Furniture Barn 2.  Don't be fooled!  There is more than furniture in both buildings.

Since I was already on 13 Highway, I decided to head up to Higginsville. There are several antique stores in Higginsville.

The first shop in Higginsville I went to was Running Rabbit.  I have heard my parents talk about this shop several times, and we attempted to go on a Sunday to find out they were closed.  This is a very nice shop.  It has great variety, and the prices seem to be excellent.  I did have to talk myself out of something, but I might go back to get it.

I then ventured into Higginsville's downtown.  There I found Home Again Vintage Market and Ruth's Treasures.  Emporium Shops has a ton of furniture!  The stuff I love to look at lines the walls.  It is super organized, and the guy tending shop was very nice.  Ruth's Treasures is also very organized (I love an organized shop!).  I did not find anything at either shop, but I will definitely come back with the wife.

Diggity Dog was the final stop in Higginsville, which I hit on the way out of town.  This is a brand new place, and they are still in the process of building shelves for the booths.  What I did see in the shop iss promising, so I will give it a few months to get going strong before I head back for another peek.

The final stop for the evening (it was getting late, and I was getting hungry) was P. Pickers Flea Market in Odessa.  I was not sure what to expect, but that place has EVERYTHING.  It isn't an antique store, but it has some antique items in it.  It also has tools, jewelry, glassware, movies, fabric, and so much more.  It isn't the most organized location, but I guarantee there are bound to be a lot of hidden treasures at a bargain price.

Several new shops discovered and explored... and I will definitely be checking back in with all of them down the road.

Until next time... Happy Hunting!

Welcome

This is my disclaimer to this whole deal. 

I do not want people to think that I'm some dealer who knows the ins and outs of antiques.  I learned about antiques from my parents, who have collected antiques since I was young, and from going to the various stores.  The value of an antique is not important to me, and I'm not out looking for something to flip (resell for a profit).  I am out looking for things that I find interesting and want to possibly pass down for future generations. 

The general purpose is not to rip on antique stores or talk up antique stores to the holy pedestal.  The purpose is to show fellow antique hunters new places which might not currently be on their radar and the cool stuff we found there.  We travel all over the KC area (and even south to Arkansas), so there should be a wide variety of shop information.  If you want to know my personal feelings about a location, you should visit my Yelp postings.

If we do not go to stores for a while (we are busy people with our own lives), I will try to include some "rules" that I feel that every antique hunter should follow to make the experience the best one.  That part will be a little more opinionated.

If you know of a great shop I should check out, please feel free to contact me.  We are always in search of a new find.