Story by Paul South
Staff and submitted photos
As the number of rooftops, restaurants and retail shops continues to grow in Pell City, local entrepreneurs are expanding the options for residents looking to shop and find personal services close to home.
They are also a sure-fire way to draw more business to town from across the county and region.
Three relatively new businesses are part of that momentum. Stonehouse Antiques and Mercantile offers a mix of antique, vintage and new merchandise for customers updating their homes or looking for one-of-a-kind pieces.
Little Stitches & Co. specializes in children’s clothing for newborns, toddlers and children up to age 8, giving families a local option for boutique-style apparel.
Inside Little Stitches, customers will also find Heirloom Salon Studio, which provides hair services in the same convenient location.
Here’s a glance at each of these new holiday stops:
Stonehouse Antiques & Mercantile
3440 Martin Street South,
Suite 12, Cropwell
Becky Anderson has always loved to dabble in antiques and restoration, painting and refinishing furniture. The former surgeon’s assistant first indulged that love at an antique mall in Illinois. Now, she shares that passion at her Cropwell shop, Stonehouse Antiques & Mercantile, which opened in late August.
Her love of antiques and vintage items was born of necessity. “When I was young, we didn’t have a lot,” she said. “I knew I wanted the house to look nice, so… I refurbished and repainted and restored on my own. You remember that show, ‘Design on a Dime?’ I’ve been designing on a dime my whole life, even before the show was popular.”
At Stonehouse, shoppers can browse 2,100 square feet of antiques, vintage items and some new items. Two or three vendors also have spots in the store, offering more variety.
“I’m always proud of the furniture I bring in,” Anderson said. “I try to pick real quality. Whether it’s vintage or antique or some new or fairly new piece. I try to make sure that it’s quality and I’m not passing along junk to somebody.”
There are times in her hunt for antiques that she finds an item that her post-purchase research reveals to be worth 10 times what she paid. It’s a moment straight out of PBS’ Antiques Roadshow. But the cornerstone of her pricing is fairness.
“I don’t try to put that kind of price on it,” she says. “I put a price on it that’s reasonable. But the piece is worth the price that I put on it.”
An example: She once found a pair of colorful Asian Foo dog bookends – symbols of good fortune – that she found that were worth $200 to $500. She sold them for $85.
“I still made money, and the customer got something that was really worth something,” she said.
Along with the larger items, Stonehouse also carries small gifts, perfect to give to teachers, classmates or friends. Watercolor print greeting cards are also available.
On Wednesdays, shoppers can purchase fresh loaves of homemade sourdough bread from Brittle Heaven, the wildly popular candy and baked goods shop.
“It’s usually gone by the weekend,” Anderson said.
It began to look like Christmas even before the calendar turned to December. Stonehouse is set to host a Christmas open house in mid-December.
“Some people have theirs in October or November,” she said. “I’ll have Christmas inventory out then, but to me, a Christmas open house ought to be special. I’m not knocking anyone who does it early. But as far as food, or something to eat or drink, mine will probably be after hours.
The store may also stay open later during the holidays.
Stonehouse is not a giant antique mall, and that means personalized attention.
“We’re quaint. We’re not some big antique mall that takes all day to go through,” Anderson said. “We’re a store that people can just pop in and get a little gift, greeting card or a loaf of homemade bread. We won’t pressure them into buying something else while they’re there.”
She added, “We have people who come in all the time just to look, and that’s fine, too. People will come back if you treat ‘em nice.”
Little Stitches & Company
Children’s Boutique
Heirloom Salon
1801 1st Avenue South, Pell City
Two of Pell City’s newest businesses have taken families to another level in a unique concept. Sisters-in-law Abbye Grimes and Tina Dailey operate two distinct shops under the same roof on First Avenue South.
Grimes owns Little Stitches & Company Children’s Boutique, and Dailey owns Heirloom Salon. Both shops had their grand opening in October. Little Stitches is an ideal spot for quality children’s fashions, and Heirloom can add its special styles for customers for holiday events or any time a woman wants to look her best.
While there’s an old adage warning against going into business with family, Grimes and Dailey make it work – joyfully.
“Honestly, we love being together every day,” Dailey said. “Most of my customers shop with (Abbye) anyway, so it just clicked.”
Grimes agreed.
“We’re living a girl dream, I guess you could say. We get to be together every day even though our jobs are completely opposite. It’s fun being together.”
At Little Stitches, after four years of selling kids’ clothing online from her home, Grimes decided to move to a brick-and-mortar shop.
“We really just ran out of space in my home office,” she said. “I was looking for places to rent and found this place. The timing was perfect.”
She added, “When I was looking for places, I wanted to be open by Oct. 1 because of retail season. We’re in prime shopping season. … It really just worked out.
Grimes carries children’s clothing from newborns to size 5 and a small selection of children’s sizes 6 through 8. Grimes hopes to expand her inventory in 6 through 8 “as soon as we can.”
Among the brands Little Stitches & Company offers are Paty, TRVL, Noodle & Boo, Warmies and other top brands.
Noodle & Boo offers skin and laundry care products for babies and new mothers with sensitive skin, including shampoos, soaps and detergents.
Warmies are stuffed toys that bring comfort and joy not only to children, but to people of all ages. After being warmed in the microwave, the toys ease stress and anxiety.
“They’re really big,” Grimes said. “We completely sold out of them and had to restock.
Paty offers timeless baby clothing from onesies to gowns and dresses made for softness and comfort. TRVL Designs offer quality accessories for babies and the entire family.
Grimes wants to create a warm environment in the store. The same is true at Heirloom.
“We want everyone to feel welcome,” Grimes said. “I want people to come in here and feel happiness and joy. That’s the goal, also to feel loved and wanted.”
Among the many special items at Little Stitches are those “coming-home” outfits for newborns coming home for the first time. That outfit becomes a timeless keepsake.
“A lot of that is what we specialize in,” Grimes said. “It’s very sentimental to be a part of that.”
The store also features popular “gender reveal” festivities. “That’s really special,” Grimes said.
At this time of year, Little Stitches offers outfits for the holidays and beyond.
A former teacher, Grimes started the online clothing business as “something to do, and it just kind of took off,” she said. “It’s never too late to start something different, never too old to do something you want to do,”
Like her sister-in-law’s store, Tina Dailey’s Heirloom Salon wants to create an inviting environment. Her mom was a hair stylist for four decades, and Dailey has done hair for 10. She calls her shop, separated from Little Stitches by French doors, “a luxury color and extension salon.”
She specializes in hair extensions and coloring. In fact, she’s offering 50 percent off all extension hair.
Like any beauty salon or barber shop, Heirloom is where customers can hang out and visit with friends old and new while having their hair done.
What does Dailey like best about the work she does?
“That I get to make women feel beautiful every day,” she said.
