Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Antique Mall Adventure: Avonlea Antiques in Jacksonville, Florida

Treasure hunters have told me the tale of a giant antique stop that sleeps along Phillips Highway, Avonlea Antique Mall. I envisioned a wunderkamer museum paradise with vintage and oddities shining bright within protective glass cases. When I happened upon it this Saturday it was time to boldly explore new terrain.


Avonlea is less Wunderkamer and more like a traditional Florida Southern-style antique mall, but I was impressed by what the winding mazes inside offered. I let the shop's magic take me deeper down the rabbit hole.


Avonlea has over 40,000 square feet of retail space to explore, making it the largest Antique Mall in Florida's First Coast. You can make a whole day of exploring this beast and still not examine every square inch! If your body aches for sustenance after a long day of hunting, Avonlea has eats available in their indoor restaurant  the Olde Florida Café.


Two of my favorite booths were side by side, an atomic era themed booth with a carefully curated selection of only the best Mid Century Modern space age goodies Jetson's fans have wet dreams over.


Then right beside it this jar-lined booth filled me with an equal amount of inspiration. Both booths group likes for a dramatic, appealing, and cohesive look. It made me want to get to work on my own booths!


The ample amounts of pop culture and vintage graphic design made me want to create. I've been looking through the dozens of photos I took while exploring for motivation.

Do you explore thrifts and antique stops for inspiration? Sometimes it's nice to relax, window shop, and take a break from hunting.
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39 comments:

  1. That is about the size of the mall I am currently in. The hugeness can be overwhelming sometimes, but I love it. That Atomic Antiques booth is for sure the stuff of Mid Mod wet dreams!!! Hahaha!

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    1. My favorite antique mall booth, Southern Crossing, is smaller but no less winding and fun. I make the most money there, I think the eclectic, huge, jumbled-ness really adds to its success. The other ones I'm in are a bit more controlled and curated and I don't make nearly as much from them.

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  2. I have never been there, but I have a friend who has a booth there. I'm dying to get by there now. I'll be making a trip to JAX soon. I hope you'll share more pictures. :)

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    1. I'll definitely have to share some, there are many more.

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  3. Eep! Atomic Antiques, I diez!!!! Swoon! ;)

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    1. It was killing me not do a photo-dump post just on that booth. Now I wish I could have... :)

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  4. I definitely have been slowly down the last few weeks, but have still been venturing about to check out others displays to get ideas.

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    1. I can't wait to take a break and explore some more. But for now, work work work!

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  5. There is a wonderful antique mall in Ballston Spa, New York, not far from Saratoga Springs that is a source of inspiration and learning. The building is an old armory or firehouse, multi-floored with quiet spaces to roam with nobody watching over your shoulder. Many booths have excellent vintage art that teaches me which genres the collectors think are important.

    The whole town is relaxing to stroll with good food and a small antique store called Heigel & Schmidt that is not to be missed.

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    1. That sounds amazing, and I love the history of the building!

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  6. Ahhhhh! My mouth literally started watering when I saw that Atomic booth ;-))
    Or maybe, that was the vegan rocky road fudge in the fridge behind me, sending me subliminal messages...
    Maybe I'll go get a piece of fudge and eat it while looking at the pix close up! Hmmm...might give me a heart attack ;-)

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    1. It does inspire that type of reaction :) The booth was gorgeous!

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  7. That place looks amazing!

    We have a lot of thrift stores in my area but no thrify malls & no place that I know of with booths..

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    1. Antique malls are all the rage down here, you'd be hard pressed to actually find a curated antique store. Do you have any of those in your area?

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    2. I'm kind of in between Detroit and University of Michigan, we have Salvation Armies, Value World, Reuse Recycle Center, Habitat for Humanity Store, and a few places similar to the place I work... school run resale shops that run off donations to help raise money for scholarships and grants.

      There are a few really high priced antique and vintage boutiques around here but the people that run them are flipping stuff they bought and it's VERY unaffordable. Also, they own the place and everything in it, no booths.

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    3. Funny how different areas offer totally different second-hand shopping experiences. We have only one high priced vintage boutique that I know of, Flying Phoenix. A new little one just opened and it's middle-priced.

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  8. I usually go Sunday afternoons to some local antique malls for inspiration. I have a few favorites but I always like to see what other dealers are selling.

    Lately, I've been looking at vintage 1970s home decor books for some inspiration. It's always good to be constantly getting fresh ideas for staging your booth!

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    1. The home decor books is an excellent idea. I have a few of those I'll look through today before heading out to my booth!

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  9. Oh man, I wish we had flea markets like that here on Long Island. The closet ones like that are in Pennsylvania. Might be some in New Jersey, but that's still a hike. Lucky you to have such great flea markets near by!

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    1. Yep, we have them all: antique malls, thrift stores, flea markets, lots to explore!

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  10. I gotta make time for a trip down there! I lived near Tampa for a brief time when I was in middle school and I do remember that some of the thrift shops were just massive and full of cool stuff!

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  11. Okay so I have a question about this place...I live near it but have never GONE to it though I've passed it by and thought...I need to go there countless time. BUT I'm worried everything is out of my price range because that's the vibe I get from it...Is it like southern crossing where it's hit or miss with the pricing of things?

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  12. SO EXCITED TO SEE MY BOOTH ON YOUR BLOG. THANKS SO MUCH. FIND ME ON FACEBOOK AT ATOMIC ANTIQUES.
    I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE GREAT COMMENTS. LOVE YOUR PAGE AND ALL OF YOUR FINDS ALSO. WHERE ARE YOUR BOOTHS LOCATED....I WANT TO VISIT.

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