CoziNest at The Daphne Antique Galleria

It’s been a dream for a long time. My sister, Kiki and I have talked about managing an antique booth for years. Almost every time we are together, we stop at an antique store, or a flea market or a thrift store. We love “rescuing” things and recycling them into new or at least prettier items. We’ve talked and planned and schemed and even bought things intending to update and sell. Funny thing is that most things we update, we like and keep!

A few months ago, I began to do some research about opening my own booth…. still part of the dream you know. I never imagined that I’d actually take the step. The first problem I ran into was that there was no space available in my town. Every mall was full with a waiting list – sometimes a year or more long. Crud.

Then, I stopped into one of my favorite malls. I like it because it has lots of booths with all sorts of styles and personalities represented. There’s book collections, shabby chic, current trends and antiques that are truly over 100 years old. Something for everybody. And on top of all that, the staff and other booth owners are friendly, helpful and fun to visit with. I think it’s because they like their job. And there was one more bonus…. They had a booth opening up February 1st.

Setting up an antique booth

At the time, that was only 2 weeks away. I sped home at 52 miles an hour and presented my case to 007. We decided to investigate a bit further and within a week, I had paid my deposit, began to plan the look of my booth and ventured out on the most fun shopping trip of my life.

I love shopping. Every kind of shopping except Wal-Mart. Oh the drudgery. I need birdseed from the left side of the store and dried avocado leaves from the right. Then after I push my 40 pounds of birdseed across the store, oops… they don’t carry dried avocado leaves. I digress…  Anywho, I began looking for items in Foley, Mobile, Pensacola, Birmingham and as far away as Michigan. (That’s a fer piece from Alabama.) Our garage began to fill up. 007 was nervous. He could see into the future and the future had no place to park his truck.

garage of treasures

He was on a mission and that mission was to get my booth ready. Our Saturdays were no longer spent strolling the streets of Fairhope or going to festivals. Instead, we shopped at Lowes and unloaded 7 sheets of pegboard at my new booth. 007 had all sorts of tricks up his sleeve and within a few hours my booth was ready. I repaid my favorite spy with a shaken, not stirred martini, and a “clean-er” garage.

CoziNest Booth Items

 

antique booth taking shape

It is beginning to take shape. Slowly, but surely. These two chairs were owned by a real estate mogul in Birmingham known not for building walls, but for being a great philanthropist.

desk chair with magazines

This chair … I wish I had taken a before picture. I imagine it in a ladies’ closet for zipping up those boots, or at a writing table for a really creative blogger I know. hehehe. Guess what is sitting on the magazines? It’s an antique planer for woodworking. Doesn’t this look just like a Joanna-Gaines-type paper weight?

Cotton bolls

The container for the cotton bolls is an antique metal container with just the right amount of patina. It would look great on my hearth with a bit of birchwood added to the cotton. See… this is going to be a problem!

office chair after

gathering treasures

I added painters’ cloth curtains to my entrance. You’ll either feel right at home or like you’ve entered the back room of a speakeasy on the upper east side…. Either way, it’s gonna be fun.

a view to a booth

Now as I decorate, redecorate, and set up my displays, I absolutely love bumping into furniture or getting a splinter in my hand. I know if I don’t wake up when that happens, it’s not a dream. I really do manage an antique booth now.

Shamrock Table for two

Tablescape of the Month – March

Shamrocks and daisies. Table for two anyone?

St. Patty's Day Placesetting

An Old Irish Blessing
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!

Please come by to see me at:

The Daphne Antique Galleria

1699 US Highway 98
Daphne, Al. 36526
Phone: (251) 625-2200

Leave a Comment