North Texas Daily

Vintage Market Days hosted dozens of statewide and nationwide small business for the first time in Denton.

The three day shopping event took place in The New Diamond T Arena, an area that closely resembles Southfork and is a semi-outdoor facility. The volume of visitors was large. A long line of cars waiting to even enter the parking lot was visible as people drove on East Sherman Drive.

The Vintage Market Days offered a wide range of shopping options. From antiques, to repurposed silverware, to signs made from old scrap, mustard and kosher salt, there was something for everyone who walked through the barn doors.

A Passion For Antiques

One booth at Market Days was Grace Chapel Market, an antique shop owned by Glenn Colley. Grace Chapel Market has been in business for about two years and offers antiques and vintage décor.

Colley has been interested in antiques all his life, saying he has a true passion for it. Because of this, he thought it would be a good idea to start a business on the side of his full time job in the mortgage and banking business.

“It’s a hobby, and there’s nothing like a hobby that pays,” Colley said.

Grace Chapel Market has been actively marketing all over the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, as well as in parts of East Texas. Prior to Vintage Market Days in Denton, Grace Chapel Market was present at the Vintage Markets Days in Southfork, and will soon be present at the one in Nacadoches, TX and McKinney, TX.

Colley admires the particular nostalgic aspect associated with collecting antiques, saying each antique tells a story.

“A lot of times, it reminds you of grandparents or great grandparents,” Colley said.

He also enjoys the particular enthusiasm radiated from shoppers.

“What I like about the customers, it seems like everybody is happy to be there,” Colley said. “They love shopping and seeing things and it just gives them remembrances of things gone by.”

Rachel Corbin, 39, of Sanger shops around the Forever Green Art vendor booth at the Vintage Market Days Event. Hannah Breland

Selection and curation of antiques is highly important to Colley. He prefers to try and buy items that he personally likes, as he feels that adds a touch of personalization to his business. It also allows him to potentially keep the antique for himself should it not sell. He attends First Monday every month, yards sales in Highland Park every couple weekends and ventures to other businesses in Tyler when searching for his antiques.

One thing Colley mentioned about the antiques market is that it is always in a state of flux, making it challenging to keep up with customers interests.

“As soon as you think you know what is hot, it changes,” Colley said. “Just because you sold twenty of something last month, doesn’t mean that same thing is going to sell next month.”

The market also varies from city to city, making it very regional.

“Some of the bigger pieces I had at Southfork, they have all went this time,” Colley said. “So it’s just getting into a new market, a new set of eyes, to see your stuff.”

Overall, Colley’s passion for antiques has truly driven him to keep this business alive.

“It’s always been fun to me. I have a passion for it,” Colley said. “It seems like lot of times, I’m working 50 hours a work [in the banking business], but sometimes I’ll work 30-40 hours a week with Grace Chapel Market because it does take time to collect, it does take time to research. It takes time to repair, to clean, to paint or re-finish.”

Young and Ambitious

The Silver Craftsman was also present at Vintage Market Days. Based in Joshua, TX, the Silver Craftsman has been to events throughout the Metroplex and has ventured out into Austin and Glen Rose. It specializes in repurposed silver, offering jewelry and other items, all handmade from old silverware by owner and founder Sheldon Roy.

What distinguished this business from others at the event wasn’t only the antiques offered, however. Roy is 18 years old and started this business when he was only 15. The uniqueness of repurposing silverware is what intially drew him in.

“I’d seen some ideas similar to it, but I had never seen the actual finished product,” Roy said. “So I had some tools laying around the house. It turns out I had an old spoon laying out, so I tried that and it snowballed from there.”

Initially, repurposing silverware began as a hobby for Roy, as he would receive requests from people who’d see his work. Soon, people who saw his work suggested that he start to sell his items and make profit off them.

“I’ve always been into working different stuff, so it was kind of a different, cool thing to try out,” Roy said. “At first, it was more of just a hobby, just to go out and have fun doing it, then it kind of turned into more of a business thing where I realized, ‘Oh you know what, I can actually make some money doing this.’”

Being so young and owning a business, Roy does not have the element of seniority that other businesses have. Roy said because he has displayed a heightened sense of maturity and determination for his age and has made positive impressions and relationships with other business owners, he has earned support throughout the community.

He has also been lucky enough to have the support from his family.

“They were all for it, for sure,” Roy said. “Actually, my mom had a lot to do with the business of designing some of the stuff. Most of the time, she’s the one who’s going to be playing a major role in setting up the booth. She has more of that touch than I do, and ends up making it look awesome.”

In addition to running The Silver Craftsman, Roy does work full time. Therefore, a lot of the repurposing of the silverware is done at night. Although he doesn’t have specific long term goals at the moment, he wishes to continue running this business for as long as he can.

Bringing A Family Recipe to Life

Vintage Market Days not only offered material items for sale, but also various food options. Joan’s Mustard was amongst these options, offering mustard and kosher salt.

Joan’s Mustard is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and came out to Vintage Market Days to sell salt and mustard made with an old family recipe. It has been in business for about three years, and was started by Matthew Simpson and his mother.

“My grandmother died in ’98, and about four years ago, my mom was going through a bunch a her old stuff, found this recipe she used to cook for all her friends, and my mom started making it,” Simpson said.

Joann Lockwood was Simpson’s grandmother and the creator of the recipe. She was a Tulsa native, and was very active in her community, where she founded and served as the president to the Tulsa Tennis Association, served as a national vice president of the U.S Tennis association, was a board member in the Maureen Connolly Brinker Foundation for 40 years and was very supportive of women’s and civil rights. She and her husband, Bob, were known for throwing extravagant parties, where Lockwood would serve her mustard to guests.

11After discovering the recipe and starting to follow it and make mustard, Simpson then went onto selling it little by little in Tulsa. Eventually, they started to participate in shows around Texas and then around the country. Although they have mainly marketed around this area, they have traveled from Castle Rock, Colorado to Memphis, Tennessee.

Joan’s Mustard has also made its way into grocery stores, selling mustard and salt in Tulsa and Arkansas.

Simpson said that the company has found much success with the Vintage Market Days, and considers it to be a premier craft show.

“Some shows we go to, there’s not a cost to get in,” Simpson said. “With the Vintage Market days, where they pay to get in, they’re probably looking to buy.”

They have recently began selling cutting boards as well, in addition to the mustard and salt. Simpson said the biggest goal is to sell products all over America.

Featured Image: Hannah Breland