THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610260084
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WHALEYVILLE LENGTH: 103 lines
PAT WOOD had one piece of advice to offer about buying and selling antiques, her advice would be simple.
``Buy what you like; hope somebody else likes it. And be sure your customers let you know what they're looking for.''
Wood, who owns Now and Then Antiques in the center of the village of Whaleyville, has years of experience on which to base her advice. She and her husband started dabbling in antiques years ago at Suffolk's Village Auction Barn.
That's when they had a little booth, sold a few crafts and eased into the antique market. When Wood decided to venture out on her own, she moved to Carrollton in Isle of Wight County.
The Woods stayed in Carrollton for several years. Then, in 1990, they found a wonderful home with a recently vacated, red brick doctor's office next door. Wood said she couldn't believe the convenience.
The buzzer on the front door of the shop rings in her home when it's opened. And regular customers pay little attention to opening hours.
``Most of the time, if I'm not in the shop, they just come next door to get me,'' Wood said, laughing.
Wood said she imagines that lack of formality has something to do simply with being in Whaleyville. The relaxed, small-town atmosphere of the village seems to naturally spill over into the antiques business. People from areas with larger populations - like Norfolk, Virginia Beach, North Carolina cities - seem to take on a friendlier, easier going attitude as soon as they walk in the door.
``I keep a list for my customers,'' Wood said. ``I have one customer now looking for a mousetrap - a big, old mousetrap. Hoosier cabinets are still real popular. And Victorian furniture is always a good seller. People look for funny, little things, too, like the mousetrap.''
There is seldom a lack of traffic in the neat shop divided into several small rooms that once were a doctor's examination rooms.
``People who travel by here make quick, little stops, just to see what I've got,'' Wood said.
Many collectors, though, go out of their way to see the assortment of collectible dolls Wood carries. The dolls - including Fiba, Bette Ball and Middleton - are displayed throughout the shop.
Twins ``Sonny and Honey'' sit on a mammoth antique bed in the front room of the shop along with a bear that snores and a tiny black infant, lifelike in movement and appearance. Dolls also are tucked into other small rooms. Wood even carries doll kits so that collectors, if they can't find what they're looking for, can create their own babies.
The dolls are just a beginning in Wood's out-of-the-way shop, however. Now and Then features furniture, glassware, lamps, accessories, even vintage tools and books.
``True antiques are supposed to be at least 100 years old,'' Wood said. ``They're getting to be hard to find. But there are a lot of collectors out there who just like old things.''
More and more, things that have aged less than the century required
of an antique are becoming collectible - like the ruby red glass that Avon has put out over the past several years at Christmas.
Wood has a dining room table near the front of her shop set with the glasswear. And it's complemented by utensils plated in gold.
``A lot of this is beginning to show up,'' Wood said, picking up a gold-plated fork. ``I think a lot of people who have gone overseas with the military have brought it back. And some of it is really nice.''
Wood's antique shop isn't the only shopping opportunity rural Whaleyville has to offer.
About a year ago, Brenda Brock, who also lives in the village, and her husband, James, opened Suffolk Seafood in what was once an old general store.
Suffolk seafood features much of the fresh from local waters seafood that Brock's husband catches on the boat he works out of Willoughby every day.
``We have oysters - on the shell and in the pint,'' Brock said. ``We have fresh fish in season, shrimp, crabs, crab legs. We actually have a little of it all, and the business, so far, has really been good to us.''
If there's a question in anybody's mind that the seafood in Brock's shop isn't absolutely fresh, she can offer a guarantee. When she's not running the shop in Whaleyville, she's on the boat with her husband.
``Sometimes, I work 20-hours days,'' she said, laughing. ``But I enjoy being out there on the water, too.''
Business at the seafood shop has been so good, in fact, that the Brocks are getting ready to expand the business, to install a walk-in freezer and to do a little redecorating of the old store.
Whaleyville, Wood said, doesn't have a whole lot to offer except for the antiques, the seafood and a couple of convenience stores. But it does have a lot to offer in the way of friendliness.
``It's such a nice, quiet place,'' she said. ``And we do get a lot of traffic through here. I'd really like to see other businesses open. I bet they'd be surprised.''
The antiques shop is open Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sunday, Now and Then is open from 1 to 5 p.m.
Opening hours for Suffolk Seafood are: noon to 6:30 on Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday; noon to 8:30 on Friday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
To get to Whaleyville, follow Route 13, down Carolina Road, from downtown Suffolk. The route takes you right through the village. MEMO: Linda McNatt writes a regular feature about local businesses for
The Sun. If you have ideas, fax them to her at 934-7515 or call her at
934-7561. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Pat Wood owns Now and Then Antiques in Whaleyville, which carries
antiques, dolls, vintage tools and books. by CNB