So my brother, TLee, and his girlfriend, Heidi, have been HARD AT IT back home in Arkansas. They have acquired a warehouse space that is quite a little gem, just off of the beaten path, but close to downtown Springdale. The building is an old strawberry warehouse that was turned into a shipping dock for Central Freight Company in the 1970's. The long narrow structure is only 20 feet wide, but it is 160 feet long with 7 dock doors! For the first few weeks, clean-up was the task at hand. But, things are moving right along and they're starting to acquire and sell vintage items and antiques out of the newly deemed "warehouse 54". TLee says the name is a tribute to the history of the building because they were told the structure was built in 1954. But, after cleaning the place up, he also says the beams inside tell a much different story. Maybe older reclaimed beams from another structure were used to erect this building in 1954, or perhaps it is actually much older than the documents suggest. Either way, it's a wonderful building with a lot of character and history that deserves to be cherished!
I'm proud of all the hard work TLee and Heidi have invested into their new "venture". They both have good jobs and work full-time, but they've dedicated much of their free time and weekends to getting warehouse 54 off of the ground!
An appreciation for vintage goods and antiques is MOST DEFINITELY a Faires trait. Thanks to our mother and father who raised us in an old farmhouse where the collected decor looked more like a flea market! And if our house looked that way, you can imagine what the barn out back looked like! I think some of my earliest memories involve digging through the rubble to re-organize the rubble. In fact, TLee had a bout with the antique reel lawn mower and my youngest brother Ben one year (I think we were 4, 5, and 6 at the time... bless my mom's "pea-pickin' heart"). Well, unfortunately in the tug-o-war, Ben came up missing the tip of his pinky finger! The story gets pretty gruesome after that, but basically ended with mom passing out, dad taking care of mom, and the neighbor having to drive all of us to the hospital! haha Anyways, sorry for the tangent, but knowing how we were raised will give you an idea of:
a. why we're all a bit crazy
b. why we love and appreciate old things so much.
Anywho, check out these great photos of some of the vintage items offered at warehouse 54!
That's Tlee's dog, Chap, he's always been quite handsome, but I'm digging the grey mustache he's acquired in his old age!
With the downtown area itching to "turn-around", this is just the type of artistic creativity and business that needs to happen to revive the area. I'm excited to see a lot of new things happening in Springdale and look forward to watching the culture evolve downtown.
As far as warehouse 54 goes, I am hoping to feature some of their vintage finds on lonesome whistler soon! In the meantime, visit their facebook page. Let me know if you see something you want and I'll try to get you my family discount!
Have a terrific week.
Love y'all!
DGF
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