Hubby and I continue on our hunting trip! We left Illinois and drove into Indiana. We had been told that Covington had a number of shops and we were anxious to check them out! We came to Back Home Again Antique Store first. It was relatively small and we found just a few things, but they were quite interesting. The lady at the counter was friendly and informative and suggested Glorie Bee Antiques.
We entered this charming store and just loved it! The artwork on the outside of the building was by Cheryl A. Harris.
The proprietor, who turned out to be the ‘name-sake’ of the store, could not have been more delightful. You could tell she just loved her new venture and was more than willing to talk about it. It turns out that her grandmother was a ‘grand Southern lady’ and always called her “Glorie” instead of Gloria. When she decided to open a combination antique/garden store, she put the emphasis on the “bees” and voila, Glorie Bee was born.
This store was not always so lovely. It took a lot of work and reconstruction to turn it around. Gloria had pictures of the befores and afters and told us that at one point, her husband just told her to forget it and move on to something else. We are glad she declined his offer. It opened in 2006. Out of love for her grandmother, and the glamour of Victoriana, one of her favorite timeframes, she had a picture painted of “Ms. Glorie Bee” and has a mannequin dressed to the hilt! She was kind enough to pose for a photo with her!
We found a few delightful glass pieces – these were actually to keep! We promised to return in the not-so-distant future, as she really tries to have good ‘turn-over’ of items.
We found two more shops in Covington. One was the House with the Lions Antiques. It was a very nice experience and purchased a few items. Next was Summers Timeless Antiques. They had some neat industrial advertising pieces and we picked up a few there.
We left this lovely little town and headed to Crawfordsville, Indiana. First stop was Cabbages and Kings Antique Mall – a recommendation from the folks at Summers Timeless Antiques. It had such an interesting name we just HAD to ask. It was taken from the novel of that name by Lewis Carroll, of Alice Through the Looking Glass fame! It was very nice and clean, 3-1/2 floors, filled with some pretty unusual items.
Several of the dealers had sales and we found some real bargains. One of them was retiring and had a 50% off sale. The lady was actually on the premises and told us she had been in malls and selling at flea markets for 35 years and loved every minute of it. But she could not continue and wished us ‘young folks’ good luck in our endeavors. Considering we’ve been “in the biz” for 25 years, we enjoyed the compliment.
Next stop: Indianapolis! We know that Southport Antiques is open until 8:00 PM and headed up there next. We’ve been to this large mall 4-5 times before and have always enjoyed it.
On several occasions it was our last stop and they were kind enough to tell us to ‘take your time’ even though it was closing time. But this time we planned ahead and arrived in the late afternoon. We were able to go through in a more leisurely fashion this time. This is billed as the “Biggest and best in Indy” and it sure is large. You need a map to get around inside! We tend to get much more selective as a trip progresses and while we found some unique items, not a lot of volume. But that is OK with us and we will definitely be returning in spring.
The friendly folks at the counter asked If we had been to the Exit 76 Antique Mall. We had not but we heard it was really nice. It’s located in Edinburgh, Indiana, about an hour from there. But definitely too far to do any shopping so we stayed overnight and went there first thing in the morning.
And when we say ‘first thing’, we mean we were the first shoppers inside. And it was huge! Clean, lots of variety and extremely helpful staff. They have a numbering system – meaning when you have an item put on hold behind the counter, you are assigned a number. We were Number One. We spent several hours there and after a short while, they knew us by that number.
There were a lot of dealers with ’specials’ because of the upcoming holiday and we sure took advantage of those lower prices. We bought quite a few things, some as gifts, others to sell. This is a class A mall!
Our next stop was one we had planned. Lafayette, Indiana held some fond memories for us. We often shopped at a small shop right off the ’square’ called Hanson’s. The lady was an absolute delight – always had antique collecting stories, a joke or two and great finds! We pulled up at the store-front and to our dismay, it was closed, now housing a political party office! We were disappointed to say the least.
A nearby store we had been to on several occasions was “First Class Clutter.” This lady is a hoot too! Cheerful and full of fun, and her prices are always on-target.
We asked about Hanson’s and she told us that her that the owner’s husband had taken a job transfer and they had auctioned off the contents of the store back in September. Sure wish we could have attended! She asked if we had been to Leaping Leopard, which is just a few blocks away. We had forgotten all about that charming store and rushed to get a little shopping time there.
Leaping Leopard is a mix of antique and artwork – lovely pottery, superb jewelry and some drop-dead gorgeous furniture. By now, the van was getting pretty full. As hubby said, all we could purchase was ‘thimbles and toothpick holders’, no more room. But we were able to re-arrange a bit and purchased some very neat items here. This is an “A List” store and we will be back for sure. They are open until 5:00 PM and they told us to stay later if we wish – no rush! So, we were able to browse until 5:30 or so which was quite nice of them.
We had to head home the next morning and did not have time for any of the other shops in Indiana. But we will be more focused next time…and there will be a next time!
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