Shopping at the Antique Mall

Greene's Furniture and  Greene's Exit 215 Antique Mall had an open house on Nov 14, and I decided that it would be fun to visit them. I had not been there for several years.

Both of these establishments are locate on SR 114 about two miles west of Rensselaer and a mile east of Interstate 65. The Antique Mall is behind the furniture store. You cannot get from one to the other without going outside.

 

Upon entering, an old cigar-store Indian greets visitors.

The Antique Mall is made up of about 100 booths plus a bunch of showcases (spots in display cases, used for very small items) that vendors rent. It has 12,000 square feet of floor space. When I was there several years ago, the empty spots were very noticeable, but if there were any this year, I did not see them. Most of the vendors have a theme and they build their booths around their themes. Below is a booth in which most of the items are kitchen-related.

The vendor below, who appears to be occupying the space of two booths, had some interesting antique furniture plus quite an assortment of other things. The advantage for an antique dealer of renting a booth is that the dealer does not have to be present for a sale to take place. All transactions are handled at the counter at the entrance to the mall. There is a rental fee for the space, but there would be a rental fee for any dealer who wanted to have his or her own shop. Plus, the concentration of dealers makes the mall a more desirable place to visit because it has such a large selection of items. The same deal is offered vendors at Jasper Junction. The location of Jasper Junction is less favorable, but the rents are probably considerably less as well. The floor space at the Antique Mall is much larger than the vendor area of Jasper Junction and there are many more vendors.

I like old lamps. If I did not have more than I need already, I might have been tempted by those below.

I should have stopped and talked more with the people in charge, but it was early and I had not planned the visit very well. I wish I had asked how many of their customers are local and how many come from the Interstate. My guess is that most of their business comes from the Interstate. I also would have liked to asked how business was holding up in the recession. J&L Antiques had told me that the state of the economy was bad for antiques. Is the same true for the Antique Mall?

If you have any complaints about my negligence in asking the appropriate questions, go to my complaint department, shown below, press the button, and I will refund all the money you have paid me to read this blog.

I bet a woman runs the booth below. Men do not decorate this well or in this manner.

Even if you have no plans to buy anything, the Antique Mall is a fun place to visit. Each booth is different, and there are tens of thousands of items to examine. Maybe you will see something similar to what you have at home, and if it is expensive, you will appreciate what you have more. And who knows, you might see something that would really add a lot to your home, something you just have to buy.

(Greene's Furniture will be the subject of a future post.)