Thursday, July 12, 2012

You have to see this place.


I can't remember if I showed you the exterior of this place before - if so, here it is again.  It's right next door to Hunter's and the interior is just as interesting as Tomas the Magnificent's store.


As the sign says, this is B & C Emporium.  I can't, for the life of me, remember what it stands for so I'm counting on the guy in the next picture to set me straight.  And he will.


 This is the owner and operator of B & C Emporium, Craig Phillips.  His father, Bill, and his mother, Ann, were fixtures here for many, many years.  They would be proud to see how their son is carrying on.


Really nice knobs and drawer pulls.  That thing spins around, too.


 And speaking of knobs.  If you live in an ancient house like mine and want to replace a door knob and stay within the spirit of the house - here they are.  Pick one, any one.  You'll need to either kneel down or squat for them, though.  I couldn't do either.


Quality chairs.  And Craig is a master caner.  Not sure if that's the appropriate title or not but that guy can re-cane anything.
                                                       
                                                             Need a display case?


I had to take a picture of this ladder.  When I was a kid this place was a hardware store - can't remember the name of it - but the wall on the right had bins/shelves from floor to ceiling so if you wanted something at the top you had to climb up there and get it yourself!  Just kidding.  I'm so glad Craig kept the ladder around.



 Now here's something that would look great hanging above your dining room table.  It would give the room a whole new, "gas station" feel.  Come on, you know you want it.


                                                             A wall o' switch plates.


                                                 Talk about your retro table setting.


This is a piece we bought from Craig many years ago for Petey's lighthouse collection.  Lights and everything.  I don't mean the lighthouses, silly - I mean the lights inside the cabinet.

If you live in the area and have never treated yourself to a trip through B & C Emporium - go.  It'll be an experience, you'll enjoy it.

You can also find Craig with all his goodies at the antique fair here at the Allegan County Fairgrounds on the last Sunday of the month, spring through fall.

5 comments:

  1. How does the song go? "You can get anything that you want... at B&C Emporium" Or something like that :>)

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  2. B & C Emporium = Bill & Craigs Emporium/ Store

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Emporium (medieval Latin from Greek emporos = 'merchant') is a term used for a store selling a wide variety of goods, and for marketplaces or trading centres in ancient cities (see emporia (ancient Greece) and emporia (early medieval)).


    store before was Darlings Hardware and the earlier one was Phillips Hardware (tho NO relation to us)

    Craig Phillips
    B & C Emporium antiques and original hardware
    http://www.b-c-e.biz
    http://bandcallegan.weebly.com
    http://www.etsy.com/shop/BandCEmporium

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After Peter read today's blog he said, "Ellen, B & C = Bill and Craig." Duh. I guess I was thinking that the name was pre-you.
      Phillips is the store I remember so well.

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  3. Our old neighbor Gene has the best memory of the hardware store! I lice hearing him describe it!

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