THREE YEARS OF PATINA HOME & GARDEN

I have never been a sentimental person.

This may come as a surprise to some. I take pride in my collection of antique leather books and find joy in gazing upon the antique pieces I’ve hunted for, but I don’t hold onto anything material too tightly. If I had to leave it all behind, I wouldn’t hesitate.

But people... now people are another story. One of the greatest parts of life is finding the ones who get to share it with you. And when someone special weaves their way into my story, I hope their thread is pulled tight, so that they won’t snag on the jagged edges of life and unfurl from mine.

Rachel, Skylar, Leila, and I. Just a few of the people who make our shop possible.

Yesterday, we celebrated three years of our shop. There was no fanfare, no champagne toasts; our team simply gathered for our morning meeting, as we do every Wednesday. Our wonderful manager, Rachel, announced the exciting milestone. We all took a moment to exclaim how far we’ve come, and then we moved on to planning how we could go further.

But as the meeting continued and I looked around at a store filled with all the beautiful things we’ve found, surrounded by some of the women I feel most blessed to know, I was reminded of my loose grip on the material and my strong connection to the interpersonal.

While we deal in the realm of the former, my mental images of our shelves over the years have grown fuzzy. When we first began, they were barely full. We spent those early days scouring marketplaces and magazines to find the rare items that felt right for the shop we dreamed of.

Our shop before opening day.

Every find felt like striking gold. Slowly, over that first year, our curated collection began to take shape, the vision of our shop becoming clearer with each new intentional addition.

But what really brought our dream into focus were the people who started to shop our freshly stocked shelves. Each time I heard our door creak open, I would turn to see who was coming in. “Welcome in!” I would call, as I fiddled with little spoons and teapots.

At first, everyone was a new face. But as the days and weeks turned to months and years, familiar faces began to appear, and my generic greeting turned into conversation. “Hey, Emily! How are the kids?” “Hi, John! How did your wife like the gift we picked out?” “William! Back for another loaf of bread?”

Together, we formed a community, each of us supporting one another through the milestones of life. These rich relationships brought true life into our shop. What fills our shelves now are no longer just things; they’re animated by the memories we’ve tied to them.

I look at our selection of pillows and imagine the floral skew on the couch of a friend down the road. I pick up a children’s book and think about the one I wrapped yesterday for someone’s granddaughter. Whether it’s an antique Swedish clock or a tiny brass spoon, each piece becomes part of a story, and thus we find ourselves intertwined with them all.

As we plan for the year ahead, a million ideas race through my mind: new vendors, more events, maybe a few surprises here and there. We are constantly searching for ways to change and grow. But the one thing that remains evergreen is the metronome of meaning that keeps our time: our dedication to the community that has trusted us to be a part of their ever-evolving stories and given us the privilege of making them a part of ours.

If you’ve visited us in person or supported us online, thank you. It means more than you know.

If you have dreams for our shop, both in person and online, please let us know in the comments. We are here for you.

xx,

Brooke