Selling the bygone days: new store offers antiques

After five years of subleasing space in antique shops around the Valley, Gardnerville resident Deb Keller has opened her own antiques and collectibles store in downtown Gardnerville.

Heirloom Antiques, located in the same building where Brick House Antiques used to be, has been open for about a month.

"I had a lot of inventory, and I needed more room to play," said Keller. "The closing of Brick House left a gap in the antique market in Gardnerville, and my husband and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity."

The store is divided up into different displays. In the kitchen area, patrons will find antique utensils, such as butter churns from the 1800s. In an adjacent room lie antique dolls and other toys. Just around the corner, hanging on the walls of a garage, are what Keller describes as "mantiques," Western yard art, tools, hardware, saddles, an old wooden cowboy tub.

Back inside, a 1940's slot machine sits squat against the wall. In the front room, a cache of Roy Rogers and Cassidy Hopalong memorabilia.

"I don't specialize in one particular thing, but offer a variety for everyone to find something," Keller said. "And I have very little consignment. With all my stuff, I don't have space to rent."

One thing visitors will find in the store is a myriad of antique books and reading materials, whether classic hard-bound books or 1930's editions of Harper's Magazine.

"I love books," Keller said. "This, the store, is something I'd never thought I'd be doing. But five years down the road, and I'm loving it. The other dealers in town are wonderful. This is a great community to be in."

Heirloom Antiques is located 1461 Highway 395. Business hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call 392-0383 for more information.