Stress free Holiday Shopping

Want a stress free shopping experience this Christmas. Come to Ponchatoula " America's Antique City". Not only do we have great Antiques & Collectible shops in Ponchatoula we have some wonderful boutiques and art galleries. Boutiques ranging from religious gifts, gifts for the Red Hatters, personalized embroidered gifts , handmade children's clothes, jewelry. Don't miss our jewel of a bead shop great prices on beads and findings to make your own creations this Christmas. Coming in on Railroad avenue check out the great selection of Fleur De Lis's in concrete besides all the wonderful garden statuary. Shops featuring original Art Pottery and original art. Have a budding artist in the family buy a gift certificate to take a class or visit the retail store an give them a gift basket of art supplies. Got a sweet tooth stop in our local bakery for some delicious treats or the cafe on the corner for some strawberry beignets. Local restaurants featuring the best of our local cusine. Visit our great open air produce market featuring wonderful gift baskets, already have some of our local strawberries in season. And don't forget a present from the past is always welcome. It's time to kick back and relax enjoy all Ponchatoula has to offer this Christmas season. All withing walking distance. Friday December the 4th the City has their annual Downtown Lighting many of the shops will be open late and serving refreshments. A special visitor will be at the Collinswood Museum he will be coming in on the fire truck at 6:00PM so bring the kids and your camera's.

Antiques Recycled Treasures Great Prices

You hear a lot of talk about going green, recycling and buying down in this economy. Probably one of the most overlooked areas is Antiques & Collectibles. What better way to save a tree than buy a piece of furniture that was built to last. When antique furniture was built or even manufactured natural resourses were plentiful, craftsmen were abundant and furniture was purchased to last a lifetime or more. This is what I call a two fer you get the oppurtunity to buy something that not only goes up in value but also is enviromentally friendly. Comparison shop old and new example we have a 5 piece depression era bedroom set (not technically an antique for about 21 years) with a double bed, vanity with stool, chest of drawers, nightstand on sale for $695.00 made from solid wood. This would make a great set for a guest room, teenager or newlywed. Now compare the workmenship to a new set with the same quality you have to be diligent in your homework when comparing to a brand new set, is it solid wood are just solid wood veneer over pressed wood. Is it really mahogany are just a mahogany finish. Some people shy away from antique furniture because most antique shops don't have the space to set the pieces up with mattresses and bedspreads pillows etc so you have to visualize what it will look like in your space. So use your imagination, save some money and buy quality at a much lower price. One of my favorite new trends is recycling wood you can buy some great pieces of furniture (we happen to have some) made from old wood. Another trend which is I like is buying individual chairs for a dining room vs a set. You can get some great buys on individual chairs that are not part of a set. Don't let chairs that has been repaired underneath scare you away if it is good repair and the chair is sturdy. Most guest won't be turning your chairs over to have a look. A tip when purchasing individual chairs for your dining room table measure, measure, measure. Insure the seats, backs and leg width of different chairs are the correct width to fit together at your table. Seat height is also important as this gives a more pulled together look. Remember if you have children think sturdy. Don't shy away from upholstered seats these are one of the easiest problems to solve don't like the fabric with some new fabric and a staple gun this is a simple, inexpensive do it yourself project A handy tool when shopping is bring your own measuring tape most shops provide them however just in case its nice to have your own. September is great time to visit us as we are kicking off Labor Day Weekend with storewide sales from 15-75% off. Check out a sampling of what we have to offer at http://www.cjsantiques.com/ 15,000 sq feet under one roof, open days a week 9AM - 6 PM including Labor Day. Until next time, keep watching for more tips and info.

Shopping for Antiques is a Family Affair

Antiquing has become a family affair. In fact it's a great educational trip down memory lane for parents to share with their kids. Remember the rotary dial phone or how about a typewriter mmm I remember as a kid wanting a pink princess phone wow how times have changed now its a smartphone with internet capablities. What a coincidence I was interrupted by a customer who wanted to know if we had any red trim line phone. This got us into a whole conversation about having to pay the phone company for color phones, remember you could only rent phones from Ma Bell. Antiques & collectibles go hand in hand. Our shop is a great example of victorian armoires and great kitschy items like typewriters and rotary phones. Another interruption just sold, an old polaroid camera the kind you pull out the film and rub with a chemical stick that smelled really bad but wow what a invention you could get your pictures instantly. Of our 6 grandchildren (I am a very young grandmother kinda of a Holly Hunter type, since you can't see my picture I can take some literary license) the oldest being 10 have all been coming to our shop since they were born. It has a lot going for it with 15,000 sq feet it's a great place to play hide and seek, not so great to ride their scooters, my nephew took the corner too fast and damaged some goods that was the end of that. Point is we have wide hallways great for strollers,and lots of interesting blasts from the past that you can share with your kids. Don't get mad if they say things like, wow Dad you remember that you must be really old! We hear that a lot. We run a very lively shop where we remember our customers. C.J. is the best at that and want them to have a good time when they come. Good service and great buys (mmm another blast from the past). Open 7 days week except the few holidays C.J. lets us close, you can spend a whole day with us. We even have a new fangled TV and great fresh roasted coffee, how bout an ice cold Barq's or Coca Cola in a bottle. So come on in set a spell take your shoes off we'll be right back now!