The Antique Mercantile

A few weeks ago, I put a teasing post on Facebook about an announcement I would soon be sharing so here it is:

My friend Kristen and I are sharing a booth at a new store in Jackson called The Antique Mercantile!

Having met about 11 years ago in Battle Creek, we quickly found out how much we had in common. We were both "transplants" to Michigan - me from Wisconsin, her from Illinois - and knew a lot of the same areas of those 2 states. We loved just about any type of crafting / decorating. Our favorite holiday is Halloween. Both our Mom's names are Linda. Just some fun little facts. Our friendship grew and grew and we did so much over the years (besides work together). Too many crafting sessions to count...... fun days in Chicago...... trained and ran our first 5K...... tortured ourselves through The Warrior Dash (I don't know how she talked me into that one)...... shopping....... art shows....... I could go on and on.

About this time last year, we went through some major changes together. We had known for a good amount of time that our teams at Kellogg were being disbanded and we had to either choose to stay with the company or not. Being that we both ended up moving East of Battle Creek (me for Jon's job and she for her new marriage) it didn't make sense for either of us to try to commute to the new Grand Rapids office. Ironically enough, we now work together once again at the same company!

During the time we had off between jobs though, we daydreamed about doing something different. Was this our chance to finally start our own business? What would we do? We both liked so many things...... a store? a photography studio? a place where people could take crafty classes? A place that encompassed all of those things? But then all of that crappy adult stuff starts to seep in, like health insurance and 401K..... We both felt like we had too many family responsibilities to take the risk.

Sooooo, renting a booth at an already established store seems like the perfect fit right now. The Antique Mercantile is located in downtown Jackson behind the train station. I am not sure what the building used to be, but it is old and cool! It opened over the Summer and the first floor quickly filled up with vendors. The owner is very good at keeping a certain "feel" to the store, meaning, the merchandise is very on point or "trendy" with today's decor demands (a.k.a. the explosion of Pinterest). Of course, this type of decor has been around forever but seems to be more recently popular and in demand. Antiques, primitives, industrial, you name it. 

When we heard she was opening the second floor in the Fall, we decided to sign up for a booth. We'd have months to prepare, we thought! Anyone who knows us, knows this is funny! Hey, a lot of people do their best work at the last minute! In our defense, we are 2 very busy stressed out ladies. I know we have both wondered "what the hell were we thinking"? 

In all seriousness though, I really do find that I need something to keep me fulfilled. What's that saying about idle hands? If it's important to you, you will make it a priority and find time. Even if you give up sleep and need extra coffee in the morning! I can't wait to share in an upcoming post the things I will be offering for sale in the booth. I will be busy for the next week, leading up to the opening of the second floor on November 1st, getting everything ready. In the meantime, go "like" The Antique Mercantile page on Facebook to see what they are all about. The entire second floor booths are sold, and from what I've already seen from moving in, there is some cool, cool stuff! We're #61 - first one you see when you go up the stairs. I'd better get some rest so I can paint tomorrow. Stay tuned.......