In Gratitude

When the germ of an idea of opening a shop started to grow in my head and heart, the first person I discussed it with was my mother.  She had been my mentor and partner for many years in the estate sale business we began together in 1998, M & M Sales (Moroni and Martin) .  We talked many hours regarding what type of shop it should be.  What type of property would I take into the shop, where would I get the product to sell?

I remember clearly sitting in my sisters’ back yard on a summer night where the name for the shop was born.  My sister Molly said,” what do you want to sell”, I replied, “I want the buyers to come in and find the perfect thing for their homes”, Molly declared, “that’s it”  The Perfect Thing! 

When the shop was getting ready to open, my mother and I sat at folding tables at the Rice Lake location, sorting, inventorying, and pricing the items that were going to be for sale.  We talked, shared our excitement for this new venture that I was beginning, and loved being and working together. 
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We had traveled many miles together through our working together. But this was my venture, and my mother was there to help me find my way.   The store opened November 3, 2003, and my mother celebrated with me as did our whole family.  It was joyous.    

Late that year, my own daughter Kate came to work with me at the shop.  She was a natural in the retail business and learned the antique market very quickly.  She says it is because she spent so much time as a child with me and my mom talking about antiques and the market.  

About ten years later, a television producer came calling.  They wanted to have a show revolving around three generations of women who worked together in our business.  My mother had semi-retired but was more than happy to work on the television show, What the Sell.  The taping was long and tough some days, but my mother, now in her eighties was raring to go.  She was the breakout star of the show.  The public loved her and she loved doing the show and being the local celeb she was.   As she used to say to me while we were hard at work sorting through kitchen cupboards for an estate sale we were setting:  “I should have been a movie star”, and now she was a television star!   Customers still stop in the shop and ask about her and comment to us how much they loved her spirit and humor. 

We moved the shop this past April to the downtown location on Liberty Drive.  It was time to make the move but we were nervous.  It is always an adjustment for the staff and customers when a shop moves.  My mom came to see the shop when it was ready to open and declared “It is PERFECT!”.  I knew we would be okay after my mom gave her approval, as she always did have a great eye for décor and
quality. 

My mother passed away September 19, 2016.  I will miss her guidance, her friendship, her love and her, every day of my life.  But oh how lucky I was to be the daughter of such a wonderful woman as my mother.

Love
Judy