Passion for crafts and antiques is in their blood and after a year long search, Keith and Daneen McCarthy discovered the perfect spot to open an antique shop including handcrafted and repurposed items made by local vendors.
Keith’s parents have an antique business and flea market. Daneen said her father has a huge arts and crafts store in Iowa. For the McCarthy’s, it was a case of the antique cliche (pun intended), the apple falls near the tree. They hope to someday get to a point when they could retire and focus on their shop.
‘I see it if my parents can do it, his parents can do it, and,’ Daneen McCarthy began to say when her mother-in law added they’ve been doing it for 50 years, ‘I think we could.’
‘This is what we’re supposed to be doing. I have wonderful, wonderful vendors. I have things in here that are nowhere else,’ said McCarthy.
McCarthy has Webster’s Chalk Paint that is used for repurposing furniture and is only sold in small shops limited to a 30-mile radius.
‘I have lotions and creams and perfumes, it’s called Lady Bug Blessings, from Kentucky. It’s a lady that makes organic lotions. A lady here found out about it. She loved it and brought it here; she sells it here. You can’t get it in any store, but my shop,’ said McCarthy.
On a tour through her shop, McCarthy stopped in front of painted jugs and ornaments by artist, Cindy Hettinger, who she said is a paraplegic and paints using her mouth.
‘She’s paralyzed from her neck on down; She’s a wonderful lady and she’s just the most happiest person you can think of; I love when she’s here’ said McCarthy. ‘I couldn’t do that with my hands and they’re adorable.’
There were snowmen made from repurposed items such as the metal housing for wicks from hurricane lanterns.
‘Each thing I make has a very special place in my heart,’ said Amy Capozzi, Fleetwood.
Capozzi’s specialty is altered collage art and putting found items together artistically. She feels that each one of her creations has its own personality by the time she completes it.
Barbara Walczak thinks of the furniture she repurposes as a piece of canvas.
‘You paint it, put a design on it, put the colors on it and just have fun with it,’ said Walczak.
McCarthy connected with some of her vendors through a Facebook group she created. She referred to it as flea markets on Facebook. Antique Dreams currently features between 25 to 30 vendors and consignors who rent space.
McCarthy said when she first saw the shop she fell in love with its faux rustic finish of stucco and brick and knew she could make a shop of it. Her husband, taking expense into consideration, wasn’t as sure. McCarthy prayed for guidance.
‘I prayed you need to tell me yes or no. I followed God on numerous times with things and he has never steered me wrong,’ said McCarthy. ‘Two weeks ago, I talked to my pastor about here and before they got the church they’re preaching in now, they used to have their sermons here.’
McCarthy felt that was it; that was the sign she made the right choice.
Debby Deichman, owner of the building, said, ‘When Daneen walked in here, she just said, ‘Oh my gosh, I envisioned it a different way without doing anything, I envisioned this as my place.”
Although there are a number of antique, consignment, and crafting shops nearby, McCarthy has a vision of the area being similar to Adamstown where people come to shop for the unique and special items offered between the different shops.
‘If we get more places to open, more things to do, people will come here. If you’re just one shop, it’s a little difficult. If there’s two, three, four, five, there’s going to be day trips to come and then they’re going to hop from shop to shop,’ said McCarthy. ‘If everybody tells everybody about all the other shops and about each other, we’ll stay alive. I’m not out to make a million dollars, I’m out to enjoy myself.’
