Ball-tiques to open down on the farm

The tenant house on Ball Tara Farm on Peck’s Pike will now be the home of Ball-tiques primitive shop.

A new place to shop for primitives and antiques will open soon in Bath County.

Ball-tiques, the dream shop of Brenda Ball is located at the Ball Tara Farm on Peck’s Pike, in rural Sharpsburg and will be open for business the first weekend of each month.

An open house for the new shop will take place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 7 and 8.

Brenda, who has been a collector of “old stuff” most of her life said she has dreamed of opening her own shop for years.

“When I was about 19, my friend from Texas loaned me some of her Country Living magazines and I just went crazy over all the antiques and primitive items that filled the pages. I started going to flea markets and auctions and that’s how my love for junkin’ got started.”

From old farm and gardening tools, wooden boxes and barrels, to vintage clothes and country store displays, Brenda said she is drawn to just about anything that reminds her of days gone by.

”I’ve spent my entire life on a farm and especially love the old primitive pieces someone has handcrafted and that’s what you will find in my new shop,” she said.

After years spent adding to her personal collection Brenda realized she had gathered so much stuff that she needed to rent a booth to sell some of her overflow.

While she continued to fill vendor booths from her “pickin” escapades she had a huge project underway that would allow her to someday make her lifetime dream a reality.

“One day my daddy told me there was going to be an old farm auctioned off in Bath County and my heart skipped a beat,” Brenda said. “A few months later I found myself standing on the grounds of my new home; a Federal Style farm house that had been in the same family for nearly 200 years. The farm also had a cute little tenant house on the property. It took several years before the old home was ready for us to live in but once it was finished and ready for us to live in, I got busy getting the little tenant house ready for my shop,” Brenda said.

With a life-long love for country living Brenda hopes to be able to spend her days down on the farm and to make a living from what she loves most.

“To me there is nothing better than the country life and to be able to turn this farm into a working one has been my dream. Barn weddings are all the rage now and I have been able to have several here on the farm. I am so excited that the new shop will allow me to make my dream of living and working right here on the farm a reality,” Brenda said.

Ball-tiques will be open the first Friday and Saturday of each month, from 10 a.m until 5 p.m and Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

Ball-tiques is located just off the beaten path at 658 Peck Pike in Sharpsburg.

Watch for signs to guide you the open house Friday, Oct. 7 and Saturday, Oct. 8.

If you are not sure which direction to travel, once you get to Sharpsburg, just stop and ask, any of the friendly townsfolk will be happy to point you in the right direction.