Community Club Antiques and Collectibles Sale offers century of rare finds

Tabitha Johnston/Chronicle Yesterday’s Lace owner Nancy Ellen Adams examines a piece of jewelry for a customer during the Antiques and Collectibles Sale at the Community Club.
Cherry red velvet pumps, wooden rocking horses and golden pocket watches were some of the many items being sold during the Antiques and Collectibles Sale at Shepherdstown Community Club on Saturday and Sunday.
A steady stream of shoppers visited the semi-yearly sale, featuring six vendors selling recycled, reused and repurposed antiques and collectibles.
“We used to be up at the train station, but we have a lot more foot traffic here,” said Nellie Umbaugh, of Nel’s Antiques, which sells antique accessories from the Victorian era through the 1980s. She loves finding Bakelite items, and has even won first prize from the National Button Society for a collection of Bakelite animal buttons.
“Bakelite came out right after the Great Depression. It was something fun and affordable for the office girls, but now it’s extremely hard to find,” Umbaugh said, mentioning she loves the people she meets at antique shows. “I like to meet with other people who appreciate the workmanship of vintage jewelry, and having that special piece for someone who collects vintage jewelry.”
“Personally, here in Shepherdstown, I’ve sold for about five years,” said event coordinator Kim Lowry, who has bought and sold antiques for about 25 to 30 years. Lowry said she likes antiques because they’re uncommon.
“It’s so much more fun to find unique items, as opposed to something everyone else will have,” Lowry said. “It’s always fun when someone’s face lights up, and says, ‘This is what I’m looking for!'”
Sue Ulland, who primarily sells primitives and kitchenware, said finding antiques isn’t as simple as it might seem.
“Finding these antiques and collectibles is fun, but not easy. They don’t just appear-it takes work,” said Ulland. “Antiques are getting scarcer and scarcer and more expensive, so that’s why people go to flea markets and events like this – to get a bargain.”
Nancy Ellen Adams, who owns Yesterday’s Lace: In the Wind Somewhere in Virginia, said she got the name of her business because she sold textiles when she started.
Adams was invited to sell at the event for the first time this year, and said she hoped to be invited back for the fall sale. Her business, which originally sold quilts and linens, moved to selling refurbished antique furniture before she realized customers were most interested in buying jewelry.
“I don’t have a shop or anything. I just do shows, but I love doing this,” Adams said.