Antique Mall offers local flavor from 100 merchants

Vintage clothing hangs in one booth. Taxidermy mounts line the walls in another.
The Antique Mall in downtown Bloomington has three floors of history and merchandise to discover.

The Bloomington Antique Mall, located on West Seventh Street by the B-Line Trail, carries a wide collection of antiques, artwork and artisan-made crafts.

“The place was initially an antique mall for 20-some years,” said Nic Nicoson, spokesperson for the Antique Mall and general manager of its sister store, Exit 76 Antique Mall in Edinburgh, Ind.

Owners Gregory and Denise Pence reopened the store in November 2010. After owning Exit 76 for four years, Gregory Pence came across the open building while riding on the B-line Trail. Seven weeks later, they opened the Bloomington Antique Mall.

“The first year of operation was extremely successful and beyond expectation,” Nicoson said.

The three-level Antique Mall is 24,000 square feet. It initially opened with about 50 merchants, and now nearly 100 exhibit their items.

“The size is quite impressive and allows the shopper to find something truly unique,” freshman Shelby Plummer said.

Merchants can set up their own booths and organize their merchandise in the manner they find fit. It is each merchant’s responsibility to maintain his or her space and bring in fresh merchandise as needed.

“That’s why it has such variety and such a look, because it’s not so sterile and designated,” Nicoson said.

The merchandise merchants sell comes from state auctions, garage sales, yard sales, inheritance and family auctions.

With such a wide array of merchandise, the Antique Mall has sold a considerable number of non-conventional items.

“We’ve sold a $750 spittoon,” Nicoson said.

The mall has also acquired and sold a mounted albino deer, a roll-top Victorian-era desk and Native American pottery.

“You’d think that it would just be a bunch of old knick-knacks, but there’s a lot of really interesting things there from many different time periods,” freshman Hong-Ah Do said.
 
While the building is historic and the merchandise is vintage, the Antique Mall is up to date with community outreach. They can be reached via Facebook, their website, email and Twitter.

The mall attracts buyers from across the country. According to the mall’s ZIP code count, it usually averages buyers from 27 different states each month. The mall has even attracted buyers from Maine and Alaska.

“They found us and took the time to come in, not only to shop, but they bought,”
Nicoson said.

The Antique Mall is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

“It is a great place to find that cute vintage piece for your dorm, for a gift or for yourself,” Plummer said.