Careers sometimes combine to form a new one.
In October 2019, Amiee Woodward combined her 15 years of working in Christian retail and being a vendor with her love of flipping houses to open Tenpenny’s Cottage — a shop with antiques and vintage items as well as gifts. Not only does she sell her merchandise, but other vendors sell there as well.
Stepping into the yellow cottage shop at 433 Georgia Ave. in North Augusta is like stepping back in time. Even the music played is from a bygone era.
“We like the charm of it. We love old people, old houses and old stuff, and we try to keep the shop all vintage or vintage-like. Twenty-five years or older is vintage, but there are some true antiques mixed in with the vintage ones,” Woodward said.
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The word “tenpenny” harkens back to the historical three-penny opera or even a time when things could actually cost ten cents at the old five and dime stores, but that’s not the reason she chose it for her business name. It’s a nod to her grandmother, whose maiden name was Tenpenny.
“My grandmother always had old furniture. I named the store in honor of her. I was always drawn to furniture from the 30s and 40s because of her,” she said. “Most people like the furniture their grandmothers had.”
Woodward remodeled the quaint, rented cottage for her business.
Built in the late 1890s, it was a residence for many years but has also housed several businesses. In addition to Woodward’s goods, the cottage houses items sold by six other vendors who specialize in vintage pieces, especially furniture.
“It is similar to an antique booth concept but with rooms. Certain rooms are rented from me by people to sell their items,” she said.
Rhonda Hardy of The Water’s Edge builds some of the furniture she sells and sometimes repurposes old furniture into farmhouse tables. Some of her pieces have an intentionally distressed, stained look which would appeal to those who are looking for rustic décor.
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In contrast, other vendors sell polished antiques suitable for dining rooms and living rooms. The vendors have buffets, kitchen tables, dining tables, chests of drawers, side tables, nightstands, headboards, footboards, rocking chairs, dining and kitchen chairs, hall trees and vanities.
Unique miscellaneous items such as an old school desk from about a century ago with an antique bowling pin from a child’s playset and some books atop it were in another room.
“Our vendors have many vintage or antique books. We are known for having them, but they are mostly there to purchase for décor, not as collectible, rare books,” Woodward said.
Antiques are sometimes repurposed into other items such as two of the feet from a claw-footed tub that were changed into bookends. Woodward said she recently sold a piece of an old organ that had been transformed into a wall hanging.
“We are constantly changing things,” she said. “We bring in new furniture all the time. Hopefully, we will be getting more yard décor and yard furniture for the spring.”
Woodward also sells local goat milk soaps and lotions and local jellies from Rhonda Nowicki and her Nowicki’s Chickies Farm brand.
Jeanie Hall was a patron before becoming Woodward’s sole employee. She’ll soon be a vendor as well.
“I absolutely love it, and it reminds me of how my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s houses looked,” she said. “I absolutely love it when customers come in and share their experiences. They love going down memory lane in the store.”
Woodward wants North Augusta and its shops to be seen as a destination. She wanted to start a shop there a few years ago among the others. In fact, she states that several start-up businesses in the area have bought furniture from her and her vendors.
From 2014 to 2019, she was a vendor, using the Tenpenny name, at various businesses in the area. Then, she decided to branch out on her own in 2019 in North Augusta. She also refurbished houses with her husband in the Augusta area for a number of years and brought that experience with refurbishment to sprucing up the home she rents for her current business.
One challenge she faced was the pandemic which hit only months after she opened the cottage.
“We were so blessed to be able to make it through. We did private appointments. When other businesses were failing, we never were,” she said. “Our guests could go somewhere, feel safe and shop.”
Find Tenpenny’s Cottage on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TenpennysCottage.
Ron Baxley Jr. is a correspondent for The Augusta Press.
