Batesville is kind of like an oasis in Arkansas (and there are several of them like this). It is the largest town within a 45 minute drive, if not more. Most of the towns in Arkansas are tiny and have one main street. Batesville has Lyon College, the hospital, Con-Agra, and the home of Mark Martin (the NASCAR driver). It is a booming place. Batesville also has a cute Main Street. This is where you will find almost all of your antique shops.
The first stop was Olde Towne Mall. We will ignore the extra Es used to make everything sound old because this is the biggest antique store in Batesville, and it seems like it is always expanding. It has a huge first floor and a basement. The basement was not very full when we were there, but I am sure they will draw more of a crowd. It is your booth set up, and it seemed like there were several old Interior Decorator reps who decided to get booths. I breeze past those because they are misplaced. The shop is nice, but it doesn't hold anything unique. The best stuff is at the front of the store. The wife did wind up finding some bobby pins that had plastic flowers on them, but they were not antique.
While we walked through the shop, I talked to my mom. She had mentioned that they were going to River Market Antiques. I had mentioned that I saw some glasses that I walked away from the last time we were there, and I wanted her to check to see if they were still on the shelf. Being the great parents they are, my parents did find the glasses. My dad picked them up for me at a super price, and I am excited to add them to my collection. They are from Gay Fad Studios, and this is the complete set!
Down the street a little ways is a place called Konsigner's Konnection. The window on the front says antiques, so I thought I would give it a shot. I found a card for them, and it says it has home decor, furniture, clothing consignments and antique booths. When we walked in, we were greeted by the clothing. It felt like walking into a thrift store, which is a bad feeling when looking for antiques. The antique stuff is in a room off to the left. I think the place is new because I have never seen it down there before. Also, that might explain the lack of antiques. Don't get me wrong, there were some antiques, but nothing really interesting (or even the type of antiques there) are popping into my head. Be adventurous, and check it out for yourself. You might be looking for something they have, your holy grail of finds. You never know.
Etta's Attic was the next shop we found, which is further down Main Street. This shop had that antique shop feeling to it. It was kind of dark and dusty, but everything was clean. It made you feel that everything was old. I love that feeling! The place has three levels (the second and third are half levels, so don't get too excited). The shop had a lot of neat stuff to look at, including some old advertising signs from 7-Up and an old pinball machine. Someone tried to force the cord for the pinball machine and broke it, but it could be easily fixed. The little lady working the shop was very talkative, and the wife enjoyed talking with her. We did not buy anything, but we definitely will go back to look the next time we are there.
The ladies ran across the street to a children's store, and I went to the "fancy" antique shop up the street. It is called Back in Time, and it sells the "true" antiques. This is a really neat shop to visit. You walk into the door, and the first thing you see is a grand piano. That's also an indicator on what to expect. I haven't been to this shop for three years now, and I can't say I noticed anything different. If I could afford it, I would love to be able to buy the old sea chest that is on wheels. There are also some original movie posters but they are way too pricey for this guy.
Now this is kind of cheating but I am going to do it anyway. We went to place called Arkansas Antiques by the airport. We actually went on a different day (but we tried to go on this day to find it closed). The shop is only open on the weekend, so plan accordingly. I was not sure what to expect out of this shop, and the wife apologized before we went in that she did not think it would be anything that would interest me. However, the place has great variety, and it is much larger than it looks from the outside. I found a book called Batman and Me written by Bob Kane, the creator of Batman. I also found a set of six King Kong glasses that were put out by Coca Cola in the '70s. It wasn't a full set, but it had two of the one I needed to complete my set. The wife found a tin with a floral design on it. She also found a tin canister set which had Farmer's Almanac information on them. It was three of the four canisters, so we will now be on the hunt for the fourth to complete the set. There were other glasses that I was interested in but the price and minor flaws in the paint kept me from pulling the trigger.
Until next time... happy hunting!
No comments:
Post a Comment