Green Door Antique Store
Part II Begins!
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Forgot to include this in the email! In order of Booths in chapters . . .
Green Door Antique Store: Part II—The Booths
Chapter Thirteen: Dumbwaiter #1
Agytha’s Booth
As I walked toward the 1900s section, I saw the other women pick up their stickers and head out to explore the basement. While I loved yellow, especially the shade of the Shooting Star paint chip I had been given, it dawned on me that I would gravitate to yellow objects that would not stand out against the yellow backdrop. That was disappointing and disconcerting at the same time because I was noticing every yellow object sitting on the shelves I passed. Did I want the items to stand out or blend into a comforting palette, like my bedroom?
It was a conundrum.
I decided to let myself wander about a bit and see what called to me. It was then that I remembered the linens of my childhood. Yes, there was chenille, but also tea towels, aprons, and oilcloth table coverings. I could sense how the oilcloth felt under my fingers and was immediately transported back to the 1950s of my childhood. I decided to narrow my search to that era.
It always amazed me that the images of my childhood were filled with happy colors like the linens while what I now understand about my story was not nearly so cheery. I wondered if that was true for the other women. I was curious to see what they chose for their booths—even more curious to know why they chose it.
As I began searching, I realized I didn’t need to choose between colors that popped or the muted colors I also loved. It seemed that the creators during the 1950s did a remarkable job of combining both—often with red as an accent color. I laughed because I was sure that I, as a child, was that accent color. If I was in the room, no one would miss me. This was a problem for my mother who consistently tried to mold me into something that I wasn’t.
As I began to choose antiques, I realized I was creating a picture of myself. It took me many years to realize that shame had denied me the chance to understand myself as delightful. This booth needed to be delightful!
Soon the small wagon was overflowing with linens, lunch boxes, children’s books, dishes, and toys. It held far more than I thought it would, but it was time to send some of it up the dumbwaiter to the volunteer teenagers and then head upstairs to decide how much more would be needed. Probably a lot but I was pleased with my choices!
When I got to the dumbwaiter, there were three others ahead of me.
“How did it go?” I asked noticing that Bettilyn’s wagon looked much less like a disheveled heap than the other wagons. I wondered if she had stopped and reorganized or if the objects that she chose cooperated with her desire for organization. It was beyond me how that could happen.
Bettilyn’s Booth
Bettilyn, who did not seem to notice the three of us staring at her organized wagon, was more than eager to explain her plan as she began to load her finds onto the dumbwaiter.
She took a deep breath before she began, “I realized that the color of my booth, Tangy Orange, reminded me of the years I spent in California as a young adult. It is the color of sunsets, oranges—of course—and poppies. It will be a perfect background color to highlight ocean collectibles. It will take some work to keep it tasteful since blue and orange are complimentary colors on the color wheel and that can be a bit jarring.”
The three of us nodded in agreement and glanced at the collection of blue on the dumbwaiter wondering how her gift of organizing would solve the problem.
Bettilyn headed for her booth as Katelynn—who had been anxiously waiting—stepped up and waited for the dumbwaiter to return.
Katelynn’s Booth
Katelynn glanced at the woman behind her nervously and said, “I will try to do this quickly. I have so many small items. I like things that are supposed to be big but are small, you know like miniatures. I will need to find some larger antiques to use to display these or it will not look right.”
Jayne tried to calm Katelynn’s anxiousness about holding up the line while placing so many small items in the dumbwaiter. Understanding Katelynn’s idea for her booth gave her a whole new appreciation for the collection in the wagon but she did wonder how she would fill a booth with such small items. There seemed to be no theme except size. It was fascinating.
“I love your idea, what made you think of it?” Jayne asked.
Katelynn looked relieved by Jayne’s interest. “When I was a little girl, I had a tiny room that someone had painted blue—almost exactly this color. When I say small, it was almost a closet. If someone gave me something normal-sized, I didn’t know what to do with it. So, I would ask for miniatures. I had quite a collection. Sadly, it was all destroyed in the fire.”
Jayne watched a deep sadness envelop Katelynn as she quickly finished placing her small items on the dumbwaiter and turned to leave. She headed in the opposite direction from the stairs and said, “I need to get bigger things before I go up and try to arrange the booth.”
Jayne encouraged her with a smile, and said, “Good luck! I can’t wait to see how you solve your problem” as she stepped up to the dumbwaiter.
Jayne’s Booth
Glancing back at me, Jayne sighed, “Apple Froth was a strange name for a color.”
I nodded in agreement and asked, “So, what did your amazing problem-solving brain come up with?”
She laughed, “I guess my bent toward solving problems is already evident. Sometimes though, I wish things didn’t come with a problem to solve. It can be exhausting.”
Again, I nodded in agreement while considering the items from her wagon that she was now placing in the dumbwaiter. It looked like Spring had exploded.
She stopped to glance at my wagon and smiled as she said, “Our two booths will be a very cheery start to any customer’s tour. I couldn’t think of anything but Easter when I looked at the color. But I am glad I didn’t get one of the darker colors. I lean toward depression and that would be unnerving. Like, I would want to climb into a cave and hibernate. So, here we are, the happy booths.”
We both laughed as she finished loading her items on the dumbwaiter and headed up the stairs. I quickly loaded my retro 50s antiques on the dumbwaiter, smiled at Kaylynn who had been quietly waiting behind me, and headed to the stairs. It amused me that I identified items from my childhood antiques.
Kaylynn’s Booth
Kaylynn quietly began to unload her collected items into the dumbwaiter. Belynda, who was standing in line at the second dumbwaiter and had been chatting with the two women behind her, now turned her attention to Kaylynn.
“Oh! I see what you did! It is all about flowers! What a clever choice. I am in the booth next to you and your booth is so different from mine. It will be like an adventure moving from your quiet peaceful booth to mine! I am so excited about all of this!”
Looking a bit overwhelmed by Belynda’s exuberance, Kaylynn smiled a thank you.
“I loved flowers as a child. I thought of them as my friends. I was an only child, and it was lonely sometimes, but I had a garden full of flowers. I missed them during the long dark winters. The color Spring Violet could not have been more perfect for me. I am enjoying this so very much.”
Kaylynn completed loading the dumbwaiter, smiled at the women left in the second line, and headed toward the stairs.
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