Southport Antique Mall welcomes July’s new booth:

Charles Sefpon #651A

Be sure to check out Charles' booth and welcome him to our Southport Antique Mall family!  We're glad you're here, Charles!

We had such an outpouring of support in voting for us on Mission: Small Business. We were able to reach the 250 votes needed to qualify now it's up to Mission: Small Business to select the 12 recipients. 

Just like in politics, there is another opportunity to vote Southport. This time we're nominated for The Indy Channel's A*List. We've placed in the top five for the past few years but it would be great to be number one this year! Our dealers and customers are already number one to us, so it would be great to be number one for them!

You may have noticed our resident jokester Kay Anderson has been missing from the mall.  For anyone who has seen Kay for the past 16 years speed walking through the mall, scavenging through dumpsters, or being a one women moving crew it won’t be a surprise that Kay’s knees have less energy then her. After too many years of grinning and bearing it and never complaining, Kay has finally been forced to put her knees first and have knee replacement surgery. So don’t worry when you don’t see her over the next few months, she is at home recuperating from a successful surgery.

Kay is such an integral part of our Southport Antique Mall family. She brings a spirit of genuine altruism and leaves everyone she meets with a smile on their face. Kay has been dedicated to reusing and recycling long before it was the trendy thing to do; she brings this commitment to the mall by spearheading our green efforts. She is always willing to help; she keeps our egos in check with her good-natured teasing, and keeps us all laughing with her wacky Kay-isms. Get well soon and hurry back!

We will miss her a lot over the next few months; here are some of the highlights of what her mall family will miss most…

“Kay is absolutely the most wonderful, kindest, and orneriest person I know and I’ll miss everything about her but especially her wearing her clothes backwards.  We love her and can’t wait for her to return.” Jane

“I will miss her kindness and caring because she is one of the most kind and caring people I know.” Suzy

“Mostly her sense of humor.” John

"Kay is a mix of kindness and fun with a little evil thrown in. You should all be blessed to work with someone like her. I'll miss you Kay!" Geri

This months featured dealers are Barb and Ken Schwarzkopf of Booth 510. The Schwarzkopf's are great dealers who always are willing to lend a helping hand. Their booths are filled with beautifully restored furniture and Ken is always willing to answer questions about restoration. Thanks Schwarzkopf's for being a part of the Southport Antique Mall family! We're glad you are here. 

Below is an opportunity to learn more about the Schwarzkopfs in our question and answer section.

What is your favorite item to collect?
Fenton glass. 

What types of items can customers expect to find in your booth?
Lots of restored furniture and glassware

How many years have you been dealing in antiques?
Three years

How did you get interested in antiques and antiquing?
We’ve always been interested in antiques. We’ve been visiting antique shops since the beginning of our marriage, so for 50 years now. 

What is your best antiquing tip for customers?
Do lots of looking at the Southport Antique Mall.  

If you’ve been in the mall in the last month you may have noticed that the upstairs has been closed for renovation. We’re very excited to bring a fresh look to Sam’s Attic but we’re even more excited to be offering a new way to meet our customers needs. The upstairs isn’t the only thing getting a fresh look. Keep your eyes open for new projects through out the mall inside and out. The building exterior will also be receiving a facelift, with new paint and a fresh new look. 

Watch for project updates and a full report on what’s new upstairs in upcoming newsletters.

During all the back to school hubbub the focus is on the kids heading back to school but it’s back to school time for teachers too. We know teachers are busy with lesson planning and trying to engage an increasingly hard to impress student body. Southport Antique Mall is dedicated to helping our educators discover a solution for teaching history to the new digital native generation. We’ve found some awesome solutions that will engage your students while teaching that history is more then just facts about the past that they can’t relate too.

The National History Education Clearinghouse (NHEC) cites using ‘material culture’ as one of the best practices for teaching history. The NHEC defines material objects as “objects that people make, collect, and use, which give insight into the beliefs and customs held by that community.” They go on to encourage teachers to remember that history is more then just words on a page. History is all around us and that’s especially true here at the Southport Antique Mall. The NHEC provides great free resources (See link below) to help you turn your history lesson from black and white words on a page into something your students can see, touch, and interact with.

There are so many ways to integrate hands on history in your classroom. Here are just a few suggestions: Bring in a unique artifact to illustrate your lesson like a bullet that was really used in the civil war or show how complicated household chores used to be by bringing in a butter churn and a washboard. Allow your students to become the historians by examining old photos, advertisements, and magazines as primary source material to discover the past. Have student dress up like they are in the era they are giving a presentation on. This is just a few of the ways we can bring history to the classroom. What other ways can you think of? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.

Check out this great resource from the NHEC for even more ideas: 
http://teachinghistory.org/files/HEN/HEN-03.pdf

Many of you may remember feeding your sweet tooth by buying candy at the front desk to support Ella Haganman's (future third generation owner) fundraising efforts to travel with her dance team to a national competition. We wanted to give you an update on how the Dynamites, Ella's team, fared at nationals. All the girls had the trip of a lifetime. They took part in fun activities like trips to the beach and aquarium and learned a lot from dance workshops. They even got to meet dance celebrities like "So You Think You Can Dance" season seven winner, Lauren Froderman (See photo of her and Ella on Left).  

While all of that was fun the Dynamites went to compete and they brought home the gold. They earned first place gold in ballet and second place gold in tap. Check out the picture of their smiling faces and winnings below. They send a big thanks for all your support. 

So lets face it, teenagers aren’t really the easiest people to understand. By the time you know their likes and dislikes they’ve changed them. What was cool yesterday, your now told was “so five minutes ago.” So now that they are branching on their own, moving to a dorm, first apartment, or into the frat house you can help them decorate to fit their uniqueness but not break the bank.  That’s what tuition is for after all. We at the Southport Antique Mall understand that it’s best to let their space reflect their personal style. But when their personal style changes so often and is eccentric, to say the least, you want to fill their space in the most cost effective way.

Using vintage finds is a great way to add flare to the staple items college students and young adults often need as they begin the transition into adulthood. Your young adult isn’t a carbon copy of anyone, why should their furniture be? Instead of going to one of the big box stores and shopping in the dorm aisle, think outside the box and furnish their space with cool finds from the Southport Antique Mall. Whether it’s hanging wall art that tells the world about their love of buffalo wings, using a desk from their favorite design era, or pairing a polka dot armchair with the standard desk provided by their school strategically integrating pieces that no one else has can ease the repetitiveness of dorm design. After all they want a place that reflects them and their growing independence but still feels like home.

So whether your looking for that adorable girly end table or a frat house neon sign or anything in between let the Southport Antique Mall help you help them gear up for the next stage of life, the first step being decorating there own space!

Click Through the Photo Gallery For Dorm Decorating Tips

Antique blogger, Mr. Modtomic, visited the mall and reported back to the blogosphere about the great time he had shopping Southport. Click here for his story!