NewnanAntiqueMall

Whether you're looking for grandma's old refrigerator or that life-size Marie Osmond doll you had as a child, your chances are pretty good of running across it at the Newnan Antique Mall on Temple Avenue.

"We have a little bit of everything," said owner Tom Little.

He said that customers often come to the antique mall to "buy back some memories." Homes Etc. Maybe it's some knick-knacks that an aunt used to have in her window, or a Six Million Dollar Man lunchbox that you coveted back in the second grade. "Here's an old thread winder," said Little, pointing out an archaic piece of equipment. "You'd put different spools on it and wind it up to weave it, I suppose. I guarantee you, with all the textile mills we had in this area, someone will recognize it." Little said he became interested in "old stuff" by looking at old tools and old fishing tackle. He began to collect some of these items "and it all grew from there," he said.

"I've just done a lot of looking, a lot of rambling around," Little said. He has 55 vendors who've done a lot of rambling and a lot of looking, too. That makes for a wide selection of items at the Newnan Antique Mall. For instance, one vendor has some dental equipment for sale. The items look like something one would have seen sitting beside a dentist's chair in the 1950s. "People just collect all kinds of things," said Little. "Some people collect pencils, for others it's figurines or coins." There are some secrets to getting the most out of your trip to an antique mall, Little said. "The main thing I've learned is that when you go through a store, when you get to the end, go back through in the opposite direction, back the way you came," he said.

"You will be surprised by how many things you'll find that you didn't see the first time." Even if you don't find what you're looking for the first go-round, return trips can yield unexpected surprises, Little said. "It's hard to come in here and not find something," said Little. "But if you don't see what you want the first time, then come back a week or two later and it will probably be here." Not everything at the antique mall has been previously owned.

There's a section called Amy's Treasure Box that's devoted to new clothing for children. "People can come and set up shop here and they don't have to deal with the insurance and all the paperwork," said Little. "We just manage the place for you." In the back corner, behind Amy's Treasure Box, is a section of the store that Little has made his own. "It's kind of the the men's area," he said. Little has stocked the corner with a lot of the fishing tackle and supplies he's collected through the years, and also a canoe he built himself.

"That's a real canoe and it's water-ready," he said. "When I get through using it here, I'm going to put it in the water and use it." So whether you're looking for primitive art, "Gone With the Wind" merchandise, or just something to read on a summer day, the Newnan Antique Mall probably has something for you, Little said. "We do appraisals, too," he said. "Come on by. You might be surprised."