THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 26, 1995 TAG: 9507250114
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: EARNING A LIVING IN VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: BY LORI A. DENNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Almost five years ago, George Hoffmeyer gave up.
He threw in the towel on an industrial engineering career that had spanned 25 years.
Then 47, he traded in his suit and tie for a pair of jeans, T-shirt, Reebok sneakers and a plain beige cowboy hat that he says represents the real George Hoffmeyer.
``The hat became a real symbol for me,'' said Hoffmeyer, a friendly man with greenish blue eyes set in a round face with a full graying beard. ``When I put it on on the weekends, everyone knew me as old crazy George.''
Now ``old crazy George'' goes by the nickname of HardTimz and he wears the hat every day. When he talks, he fingers the brim.
He gave up his career for a hobby he had been dabbling in on the weekends for 15 years.
He and his partner and companion Glenda Mazzanti, known as Sunshine, began an antiques and auction business called HardTimz and Sunshine.
Together, they sell antiques and collectibles in their London Bridge Shopping Plaza store and auction house.
The antiques and collectibles for retail sales are housed in the front part of the store.
Most of these items - furniture, artwork, knickknacks, mirrors and lamps priced from $2 up to thousands - come from ``up North,'' where Hoffmeyer routinely travels to attend other auctions.
``I always tell people, during the `Big War,' the Yankees came down here and took everything and now I'm bringing it back one truckload at a time,'' said Hoffmeyer, who routinely makes light of relations between the North and South.
Separated by lattice paneling, the retail store gives way to a cavernous room with some 50 metal chairs set in rows.
It's the auction house and the part of the business that Hoffmeyer loves most.
``I can sell 100 to 120 items an hour,'' said Hoffmeyer, with a twinkle in his eye. ``One on one, I'm not real good, but you give me a crowd and something to sell and I can work 'em.''
Hoffmeyer's auctions are held on the first and third Thursday of the month and usually feature a hodgepodge of items from antiques and estate sale items to plain old knickknacks. The bidding always starts at $2.
``You could go to a thousand yard sales and not get one-tenth of the things you can get on sale on auction night,'' said Hoffmeyer, a North Carolina native.
Just down the shopping center from their antique store is another store called Timz II. It's a shop for gently used merchandise that the couple opened a year ago.
Hoffmeyer began his local career in a now defunct flea market on Virginia Beach Boulevard. After quitting a lucrative position as an engineer in a Chesapeake plant, he began renting booth space to sell his collectibles. Often, he would borrow a buddy's auction house to hold his own auctions.
From there, he began leasing a store near his present location. He's been in his current spot for two years.
He met his ``soul mate,'' Mazzanti or Sunshine, when he went to an auction a few years ago. She was there with a friend who was also an auctioneer.
``She is truly the sunshine of my life,'' said Hoffmeyer, in a rare serious moment. ``If ever there was a soulmate, she's my soulmate.''
Mazzanti shared the business chores equally with Hoffmeyer until a recent back injury caused her to slow down.
In the meantime, Hoffmeyer holds fast to his goal of one day retiring from his second career.
``I can look everybody I see in the eye and I can look at myself in the mirror,'' said Hoffmeyer, of the advantages of owning a business. ``But, this is a truism: if you think you work for yourself, you're wrong. Everyone who walks through that door is my boss.'' MEMO: HardTimz and Sunshine antique and auction business is open from 11 a.m.
to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Timz II, a gently used merchandise
store, is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call
463-7335.
ILLUSTRATION: This hand-carved mahogany china cabinet reproduction is at
HardTimz and Sunshine antique and auction business.
Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
``I always tell people, during the `Big War,' the Yankees came down
here and took everything and now I'm bringing it back one truckload
at a time,'' says George Hoffmeyer of the auctions he attends in the
North.
by CNB