Sarah Finnegan
Alford Avenue Antiques
Pictured left to right, Sandra Plenty DeMoss, Helen Reinhardt and Nancy Alexander.
Sandra Plenty DeMoss has always loved prowling estate sales. In fact, she has gone to so many over the years that at one, an organizer asked if she’d assist with the event.
This spring Plenty DeMoss brought her passion for estate pieces to 1218 Alford Ave. in Hoover where Alford Avenue Antiques & Vintage opened its doors on Mother’s Day 2016.
“We’re not a big store. We’re a small space with quality items that move very quickly,” DeMoss said. “And because we do offer merchandise from estate sales, we don’t have much duplication.”
DeMoss said visitors to the shop will find a variety of interesting pieces.
“We have something for everyone including many unique items and some things found in antique stores — though the younger generation isn’t that interested in antiques,” she said. “So we carry vintage and pre-owned pieces that are name brand, including furniture, crystal and artwork, along with costume jewelry and silver plate.”
And her customers are often surprised at the price, she said.
“The thing they all have in common is that they’re not only fabulous in their own right but also affordable,” she said. “You can often find an item online for around $500, and we would sell for $350.”
Raised in a military family that moved often, DeMoss earned an engineering degree and worked for the Alabama Department of Transportation. But she continued frequenting estate sales and eventually began handling them herself on the side.
“Often when families lose loved ones, it’s hard to go through and sell their things, and they so want to make sure they’ve done their best to find the items new homes,” she said. “So it was a great experience for me to be able to help them, and I found that I’m good at it.”
DeMoss, who lives in Hoover with her husband, Christopher, was marketing online before and after her estate sales, but her success was catching up with her.
“We had so many great items that we had things in storage units and garages,” she said. “That’s when we decided to open the store. I mean, you can’t sell it if people can’t see it.”
Items found in Alford Avenue Antiques & Vintage have either been purchased by the store or are on consignment, she said.
“And everything that comes in is cleaned, researched and priced appropriately,” she said. “That’s how we maintain quality.”
The store is also an estate sale company, working with families, attorneys and real estate agents to assist people who want to downsize or liquidate their estates, she said.
In November, DeMoss said she decided to experiment with something new just in advance of the holidays: taking a great influx of Christmas items on consignment.
“A lot of people have holiday items in the garage or attic, and they’d like to find them new locations to adorn,” she said. “The store is back to its normal type of merchandise, but we wanted to provide this opportunity for our customers.”
And speaking of customers, DeMoss said she couldn’t be more pleased.
“We meet seven to 10 new people each day, many who say they just want to look but end up staying an hour or more and chatting with us,” she said. “And we have many who have come in as customers and have come to work here.”
And what would she advise those first-time patrons if asked?
“Buy what you like, and don’t worry about value because the value is in your heart,” she said. “You want to live with things around you that you love because life is short.”
Alford Avenue Antiques & Vintage is open Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.; closed Monday.
For more information, go to Facebook or call 516-4767.
