Not Just Vintage now open in Flemingsburg

Regina Smith Cooley has always loved to rescue quality furniture from days gone by and give it a new life.

After she moved to Fleming County, Regina attended local auction houses in search of treasures she could hand-paint and re-purpose to decorate the house she had purchased.

It wasn’t long before Cooley realized she had accumulated an abundance of vintage furniture and she began to play with the idea of opening her own shop.

With the purchase of the building that once housed the Cuttin’ Loose Hair Salon on East Water Street, Regina’s dream shop started to take shape.

Renovations to the building took a few years but the Cooley’s were finally able to open for business a few weeks ago.

Not Just Vintage—A Furniture Emporium, is located at 399 East Water Street in Flemingsburg and will be open on Wednesdays through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The shops showroom is filled with once-loved furniture pieces that Regina has hand-painted as well as gift items.

“We are a little store in a little town with big ideas. Our hope is to bring new life to old and discarded furniture and home accessories. We turn furniture that was loved in the past into furniture to be loved once again! Old dishes hold fragrant candles. Some items are given a face lift while others become something entirely different. We are only limited by the imagination,” Regina said. I have included in my gift section a line of Folkmanis puppets that would make wonderful gifts for kids. My grand children love them and so I have come up with the idea of taking an old wardrobe and turning it into a puppet stage,” she said.

In addition to tables, dressers, and cupboards, the shop also offers a selection of gift ideas.

“”I want this store to make you feel happy when you walk in,” Regina said, “The Natural Life Gifts make me smile and I think they will make wonderful gifts to make others feel happy too. For example, the Giving Plate is colorful plate that can be filled with homemade cookies or brownies and given to a friend to cheer them up. The giver can sign the bottom of the dish and the person who received it can fill it with goodies for someone, and they can sign the bottom too, as each name is added to the bottom the plate becomes filled with memories of the wonderful people in your life,” Regina explained.

The Natural Life line of gifts also includes whimsical owl coffee mugs and a matching set of coffee cups with Mr. Right and Mrs. Always Right printed on them, as well as cheerful wall decor with the quote, Love you to the Moon and Back or I love you More than my Phone.

The shop will also offer unique items for the teen crowd.

“We have a nice selection of jewelry that has become popular with the teenagers,” Regina said. “Plunder Jewelry is made from various vintage or old items, kind of akin to a “pirates treasure,” where an old brooch or even a skeleton key is hand-crafted into a necklace or bracelet,” Regina said.

Regina loves to paint her furniture pieces with Annie Sloan paint and plans to offer classes in the near future.

“We will have a line of Annie Sloan Chalk paints for sale at the shop and I am working on setting up classes for anyone who wants to learn to redo a piece of their own furniture,” she said.

David, who will be the new chemistry teacher at Fleming County High School, works along side his wife to help create a store that is filled with unique items that will add some extra charm to your home decor.

”We love sharing ideas and hearing all of the wonderful ideas of our customers. Our store will be ever changing as our customers tell us what they would like to see. We hope this will be a wonderful and welcome addition to the community,” David said.

An open house will be held on July 23, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Stop by and welcome Regina and David Cooley to the neighborhood and discover what they have to offer at their new shop.