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Just a word about polishing! Whether it’s brass or copper or silver, I never recommend “dipping” your metals. There are lots of recipes out there for cleaning your metals with dipping/soaking methods. When you soak your metals, you remove tarnish…and thats the problem. Hand-polishing leaves tarnish in the grooves of your metals and its that tarnish that accentuates the designs in your metals. Polish hits the high points leaving tarnish in the low points giving depth and beauty to the designs in your silver, brass & copper. It may take longer, but hand-polishing will shine your antiques while keeping their old look.

A family member has passed, your parents are moving, or you just need to clear the stuff out of your garage. Whatever your situation, downsizing can be overwhelming. Our advice? Pause before you purge.

In these situations, we’ve found that most effective way to move forward is to divide your stuff into three categories: junk, useful, and valuable. Junk will need to be donated or dumped; useful can be sold via word of mouth, a yardsale, or social media; and valuable can be sold to a collector or dealer. The challenge is understanding which things fall into each category.

The first thing most people donate is clothing. Though most clothing falls into the junk category, some clothes can be quite valuable (denim, old t-shirts, dresses, leather coats, vintage lingerie). So before you toss clothes, check with a trusted dealer.

On the other hand, though we might be able to offer you a lot of money for grandpa’s old Levis, we might also tell you that grandma’s china cabinet should go to the local shrift shop (along with her teacup collection).

So take a pause and think junk, useful, valuable. If you aren’t sure which category something belongs in, reach out to a trusted source. We talk to folks every day about downsizing and we are always happy to help. You can text us photos, bring things in, or have us to come and take a look. We can help you sort the trash from the treasure and if you have something that would fit the vibe of our shop, we’ll evaluate it and make you a fair offer based on current value. So pause before you purge and ask for advice because grandpa’s stuff might be cooler than you realize.

It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, we are always on the hunt for antique garden pieces. We look for cast iron urns, cement planters, statues, bird baths, fountains, arbors, garden art, wagon wheels, iron gates & fencing, grinding stones, and any other cool & old pieces that can be used as garden decor. So if you’re downsizing or landscaping or cleaning out a family home, don’t forget about the garden stuff! The prices we pay depend on a number of factors including age & condition but we can give you an idea of value with a texted photo (Colleen’s cell is 603-496-4229) or you call the shop and tell us what you have (603-942-8210). Thank you for keeping us in mind! Happy Spring!

We want to wish you all a very Happy New Year and we would like to sincerely thank you all for your continued support. It’s been a hard year in many ways but it’s also been a year that has reminded us that we are very fortunate to have a diverse group of dedicated regular customers who support us on the daily. You keep us motivated, you make us smile, you cheer us on. We are very grateful so we send our deepest thanks to you all. Peace & love.

Just a quick update with regard to holiday & winter hours.

• We are open year-round, 7 days a week from 10-5:00 (and the barn is open year-round as well so dress warmly).
• We will be open on Christmas Eve but we will be closing at 3:00; we will be closed on Christmas Day.
• We will be open on New Year’s Eve but we will be closing at 3:00; we will be open on New Year’s Day.
• We base our snowstorm closures (as well as late openings and early closings) on the condition of our parking lot. We don’t open until we are plowed & shoveled and we close early if a storm is making our parking area slippery & unsafe. Don’t hesitate to call before you come!

We wish you all Happy Holidays and we look forward to seeing you this season!

We are happy to announce that, effective today June 9, we are no longer requiring masks in our buildings. Our decision is based on the current infection rate in our area, the current percentage of vaccinations in New Hampshire, and this week’s decisions in the neighboring communities of Durham, Newmarket & Portsmouth. Our staff is vaccinated but we do recognize that not all of our customers are, so we will continue to have masks available in our shop for anyone who needs one. Again, we want to thank you all for your patience & support. We look forward to seeing your smiling faces!

This week marks one year since we closed our shop. Our self-imposed quarantine began on March 17 after Don & our daughter Billie returned from a long weekend in Memphis getting Billie acclimated for her upcoming 2 years working as a first grade teacher at the Memphis School of Excellence. We had no idea what Billie & Don’s exposure might have been so we felt compelled to close the shop for two weeks to be sure we were all healthy. Shortly after we closed, the Governor closed everything.

We were closed for two months. We spent that time ramping up our online sales and working on projects that can only be done when your shop is empty (rearranging, deep cleaning, painting, landscaping). We reopened in May with low expectations. But you all came back to shop.

You’ve been home doing your own projects and have been coming to us for pieces to use in your new spaces; you’ve been home listening to music and coming to us to add to your vinyl collections; you’ve been bored because travel & entertainment options have been limited so you’re visiting the places that have been able to stay open; you’ve been worried about visiting places that are too crowded and our shop feels like a safe space to go.

Whatever your reason, we want to send our thanks to all of you. It finally feels like we are turning the corner on Covid but we will never forget your support. So we are sending our love & gratitude to all of our regular and new customers. We look forward to ditching the masks so that you can see the smiles you’ve put on our faces! To all, one love.

As most of our regular customers know, I just spent ten days moving my daughter to Memphis, TN (Billie was accepted into the Teach for America program and will spend the next two years teaching first grade Memphis). With the help of two dear friends, we rented a U-Haul trailer, hitched it to my van, and loaded both with an apartment’s worth of furnishings. We broke the trip into 3 parts–3 days to drive down; 4 days to get Billie settled, see some sights, and do some antiquing; and 3 days to drive home (which turned into 2 days for various reasons).

I bought lots of interesting stuff for the shop including garden antiques, vintage clothing, 2 iron baker’s racks, a mid-century modern yellow damask sofa & matching love seat (both still in original plastic covers), lighting, and lots of cool smalls. In terms of pricing, I visited six shops–three were too pricey to buy for resale but the picking was really good in the others. The dealers and shopkeepers were very kind and helpful. (One shopkeeper actually helped me unload & repack my U-Haul. I guess that’s what they mean by “southern hospitality!”)

Aside from antiquing, we got Billie settled into her apartment ( a very cute spot in the Midtown section of Memphis), did some grocery shopping, and still managed to squeeze in some sightseeing. We visited the Memphis Zoo (pandas!), Beale Street, and Graceland (I had to see the MCM decor). But the most memorable spot was the National Civil Rights Museum. The museum tells the story of the American Civil Rights Movement with artifacts, films, and interactive exhibitions. The walk thru the museum ends when visitors stand between the MLK’s Lorraine Motel bedroom & living room looking out at the spot on the balcony where he died. As overwhelming as the museum is, I was more overwhelmed by my own ignorance. As with most things, the more you learn, the more you realize how much you still need to learn.

Billie will be in Memphis for at least two years so I know that I will visit again. I will definitely hunt down more antiques for the shop, visit the pandas, and hang out in a Beale Street bar. But most importantly, I will go back to the National Civil Rights Museum because “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” MLK