Meet Dealer Alan & Sandy Kelley (Dealer Code KRAZY) of Krazy Al's Music

Each month we feature one of our dealer-merchants from each of our three stores that offers unique, one-of-a-kind antiques and merchandise for your home and garden. We have a lot of creative, savvy and talented dealers and we thought you would enjoy getting to know them!

Alan and Sandy Kelley (Dealer Code KRAZY) of Krazy Al's Music specialize in unique and vintage musical instruments and accessories. They've been dealers at the Queen of Hearts Buford for four and a half years, and love the great people they meet every time they're in the store.

Alan and Sandy love the "old is new" and rustic trends, which you can see in their home through 50's and Disney collectibles. Outside of filling their booth on S. Battery St at the Queen, their hobbies include picking and collecting unique items for their home. Their favorite items to sell are guitars and they love seeing them find new homes with Queen customers. Alan and Sandy also have one daughter Shanna, and Alan works at Guitar Outlet in Commerce, GA. 

Be sure to stop by KRAZY on S Battery St and say hi! 

Are you a dealer? If you want to be featured on our blog, email us at queenofheartspr@gmail.com!

Dealer Aaron Kaplan (Dealer Code LKNAK) of Friendly Clock Shop

Each month we feature one of our dealer-merchants from each of our three stores that offers unique, one-of-a-kind antiques and merchandise for your home and garden. We have a lot of creative, savvy and talented dealers and we thought you would enjoy getting to know them!

Aaron Kaplan (Dealer Code LKNAK) of Friendly Clock Shop specializes in clock sales and restoration. He recently moved to a larger space on Queen Street in our Alpharetta store where he and his wife, Lillian, have been dealer-merchants for one and a half years. Aaron sells clocks, figurines, Doulton, Toby mugs and miscellaneous merchandise in his booth. He loves being a part of the Queen family because of the great atmosphere and helpful staff. He particularly enjoys selling grandfather clocks, mantle clocks, and wall clocks, but really enjoys repairing them.

Aaron's favorite items in his own home, besides clocks, are figurines and lamps. He enjoys victorian, art nouveau, art deco and Asian trends. Aaron collects clocks, loves reading and especially enjoys family time with his wife, Lillian. He and Lillian grew up in New York City and have four children and eight grandchildren. Aaron previously worked for North American Aviation, Rockwell International, and Boeing Aircraft Company and is now retired. Be sure to stop by the Alpharetta Queen and say hi to Aaron - you can usually find him at the Queen in his booth doing minor repairs.

Are you a dealer? Do you want to be featured on the Queen of Hearts blog? Email queenofheartspr@gmail.com for more information!

Queen Dealer Spotlight: Flora Hill (HILL)

Each month we will be doing a blog about one of our dealer-merchants from each of our three stores that offers unique, one-of-a-kind antiques and merchandise for your home and garden. We have a lot of creative, savvy and talented dealers and we thought you would enjoy getting to know them!

Flora Hill (Dealer Code HILL) has been a dealer at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta since January. Her booth is located on Battery Street. She was previously a dealer in another antique mall 10 years ago and decided it was time to get back in the business. Her favorite part of being a dealer-merchant at the Queen is being there and getting to see the unique items that other dealers have brought in and seeing all the dealer’s creativity!

Her space has vintage furniture and home accessories. She likes to search for unique, but functional objects, and many of the items are hand painted by her. All painted art in her booth is an original one of a kind piece. Flora says she loves to sell old furniture. She likes to give old old pieces new life with a hand crafted painting, and says there is not a table that she does not absolutely love.

Flora’s favorite item in her home is pottery! Her collection has been in the making for 40 years and she loves using all the pieces for meals and parties. She loves traditional furniture, and says that trends come and go, but traditional furniture is always here to stay and to stick with what you love!

Her hobbies and interests include fine art, which has always been a passion. Her first award was in 3rd grade and she was fortunate to win awards throughout school. She is a self- taught painter and enjoys learning new techniques in painting.

She loves to travel the backroads of the United States with her husband, Greg, with who she'll celebrate 40 years of marriage this July. She says, “There are always treasures to be found, history to explore, incredible sights to see, and interesting people to meet.” Flora and Greg stay busy with flipping houses…their style. She says, “My love of painting has taken me into unique opportunities to paint murals in homes and businesses. There have been ones for kid's rooms, folk art styled breakfast rooms, a couple of Italian landscape themed murals for custom wine cellars, and a couple of back bar murals."

In the past, I was fortunate to hand paint terra cotta pots for a Liz Claiborne Mother's Day product promotion.” Flora painted a beautiful LOVE sign for our Wedding Inspiration Expo that was raffled off and has painted the stars and stripes that will be raffled off during July 4th! 

We are so fortunate to have such talented dealers like Flora at the Queen of Hearts and you can check out her booth on Battery Street in the Alpharetta store (Dealer Code HILL).

Queen Dealer Spotlight: Sue Corner of Perfect Inspiration LLC (SUE)

Each month we will be doing a blog about one of our dealer-merchants from each of our three stores that offers unique, one-of-a-kind antiques and merchandise for your home and garden. We have a lot of creative, savvy and talented dealers and we thought you would enjoy getting to know them!

Sue Corner (Dealer Code SUE) has been a dealer at the Queen of Hearts in Alpharetta for the past 6 years. Her favorite part of being a dealer-merchant at the Queen is interacting with the customers and finding unique pieces to suit everyone's taste and pocket. 

Sue carries fine furniture from Europe and the USA, as well as oil paintings, art glass (especially Fenton), fine art and porcelain, bronze sculptures, tableware, silver, mirrors, rugs. Basically, anything they find "irresistible, hence their tag line "Gorgeous Things!"

Sue loves to tell the story of every piece she sells. As a history major, she researches her merchandise carefully and provides her customers with not just the actual object, but how it was used, where it came from, how old it is and what sort of life it may have led. Providing a "story" with each purchase gives her clients their own stories to tell and is educational as well as providing a richer buying experience.

Her favorite things in her home is a Stickley chest they had made to match the quilted maple top of his favorite guitar; a collection of 19th century sea and landscapes by Adolphus Knell, Robert Hope and others; and a Georgia sideboard which is otherwise unremarkable except that it bears the scratches of an optimistic kitten who tried and tried to jump on top of it and largely failed. Many finer pieces have passed through their hands but this particular piece has immense sentimental value.

Sue says she is delighted to see an upsurge of interest from younger people in "traditional" antiques. Sue has an eclectic style and is convinced that buying good pieces will happily co-exist with modern and traditional, and even mixed colors and styles, if they are united by a craftsmanship and pride of execution.

While collecting antiques for resale takes a large part of her time, she also loves to cook, mainly in the French style, which she picked up while living in Paris. Being a librarian at one time, she loves books and reading, and also volunteers at the North Fulton Community Charities, sorting and arranging books in their Roswell thrift shop. 

Sue and her husband, Chris, are English and have traveled extensively and spent three glorious years living in Paris and studying art history. She is a history major and has an extensive library which includes many reference works she uses to research her treasures. Sharing these stories with her clients is her greatest pleasure.

Follow her on Facebook at Perfect Inspiration Antiques and Collectibles.

Modular Shelving: Feature on dealer SLAW, The Painted Hammer

The dealer-merchants at all three Queen of Hearts locations are overflowing with talent that goes beyond what they have in their booths. Some are skilled at locating must-have pieces in remote locations. Some are designers that anticipate what’s hot, shop often, find great deals, make alterations, and display finds in an irresistible way. Some make unique things, in all sizes, styles, and colors that can’t be found anywhere else. Some are amazing at appraising items like sports memorabilia, coins, china, and silver. If you ever want to find out about other services that our dealer-merchants offer, check it out here on our website.

At The Painted Hammer located on S Battery St in the Alpharetta Queen of Hearts (dealer code SLAW), the talent is shared between the co-owners, like a one-two punch. The designer, Audrey, has a dazzling imagination & finishing skills, and her partner Shane can make anything Audrey can sketch on a cocktail napkin. When they work together, it goes something like this:

Their booth in Alpharetta was in need of some serious shelving. Shane saw something on his wife’s Pinterest feed that looked like a good starting point. 

The one on Pinterest was made from salvaged pallet wood, and was meant to go against a wall. The booth needed something bigger, more grand, that could stand on it’s own. So they designed it, and Shane headed to the workshop. Several hours or days later, he showed Audrey a prototype.

Audrey loved it (and occasionally suggested tweaks), as Shane did final assembly. 

Audrey finished the piece, then they worked together to price it and add it to the booth on S. Battery St in the Alpharetta location.

Seems easy, right? For these two, it is as natural and necessary as breathing, but it isn’t easy. It takes a lot of hard work, trial and error, and experience to get to where they are now. However, now that they have arrived to this level of teamwork, refinement, and expertise, they are excited to make the final results available to you for purchase via their booth at the Alpharetta Queen of Hearts.

Make sure to follow the Queen on Pinterest to get inspired for your own DIY ideas. Or bring in something that you want to re-create that you found, and our staff and talented dealers can sure enough help you recreate it or show you how!

Next time you wander The Queen, remember Audrey & Shane at The Painted Hammer, and the many other amazing dealer-merchants. They certainly think of you when they call on their talents to fill their booth with the amazingness that is The Queen!

Like The Painted Hammer at https://www.facebook.com/thepaintedhammer to see more gorgeous finds!