THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 TAG: 9601230128
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
``THE WORD IS out in Hampton Roads' auction houses that Smithfield is the up-and-coming place to be in the antique business,'' Carter Wiggins says.
That reputation is what drove the retired postal worker and Suffolk resident to search beyond metropolitan Hampton Roads when he and his wife, JoAnn, began looking for a place to open an antique store last year.
Six months later, by the time they had found their location, the Wigginses had picked up two partners to open their own businesses in the same building: Tim Allen, a Great Bridge jeweler, and Rocco Wilson, a Churchland sign maker. Although the three businesses operate independently, they save money by sharing overhead costs.
The four opened Smithfield Gallery at 932 S. Church St. last week, their three businesses offering customers a smorgasbord of antiques, jewelry and custom-designed signs.
``I had been looking to open my own store,'' Allen says. ``We all decided to pool our efforts and resources when we had the opportunity for this building.''
The Wigginses run Lamplighter Antiques inside Smithfield Gallery. The shop carries an ever-changing selection of hand-crafted furniture, glassware and lamps, and it has a special section stocked with antique kitchenware: buttermolds, churns, picnic baskets and table linens.
Running the antique store is a family affair for the Wigginses. Carterbuys and restores pieces from estate sales up and down the East Coast. Meanwhile, JoAnn and her sister, Phyllis Fary of Churchland, are responsible for the store's daily operations.
In another room, gold and vintage rhinestone jewelry shines from beneath glass showcases. But the room's main attraction is Allen, who spends much of his time making the jewelry he sells. He's decided to conduct business without giving his shop a name.
Picking up a tiny opal, Allen delicately places it into the gold ring mounting he has designed for a customer. Then moving to another table, he continues carving the saddle-shaped gentlemen's ring from a block of wax. The wax ring will be used to make a rubber mold into which Allen will pour the one-of-a-kind gold ring his customer ordered.
Allen says he is a self-taught jeweler with more than two decades of experience working with silver, gold, gems and diamonds. Although Smithfield Gallery will offer jewelry repair along with sales and service, Allen will specialize in custom designs.
``That is a lost art form in this area,'' he says. ``I want to bring it back. I have so many ideas to share.''
In the back part of the building, Wilson runs Sign Ship, a business that designs and produces signs to hang outside companies and professional offices. Before starting his own company, Wilson, who has retired from the Navy, worked in graphics and for two other Hampton Roads' sign companies.
Although Smithfield Gallery's proprietors have no ties to Smithfield, all are looking forward to a successful future there.
``This town has a nice, relaxed atmosphere. It's comfortable here,'' Allen says. ``Smithfield's atmosphere is like Great Bridge was 20 years ago. That's why I moved there in the first place.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by ALLISON T. WILLIAMS
Four businesses opened in Smithfield Gallery last week. Tim Allen,
left, runs a jewelry business while Phyllis Fary helps run the
antique shop.
by CNB