Whitney Point Welcomes Antique Shop

Whitney Point proudly welcomes Grandma’s Pretties, an antique shop with a 25-year history, to its array of   businesses. Owned by Marlene Pittsley, Grandma’s Pretties now occupies its seventh location in over two decades. Each time she moved, Marlene’s business grew larger.

Originating at Pheasant Farms in Greene in a 10’ x 10’ space, Grandma’s Pretties moved on to Charlie Brown’s in Endicott, where Marlene stayed for two years while she learned the antique business. She then ported her business to Luke’s Antiques on Clinton Street in Binghamton, where she managed one of Luke’s shops. Thereafter, the business operated consecutively on Front Street in Binghamton and West Main Street in Endicott, where Marlene was forced to close up shop due to medical issues. After a 5-year hiatus, Marlene returned, setting up shop at the Emporium in Owego; however, the business sustained a $70,000 loss from the massive flooding that affected that area two years ago.

Now, Grandma’s Pretties is back, as bright as ever! The business opened on September 1st, 2013. Though the new space is not as large as its former 11,000 square foot space in its Endicott location, the new 2,000 square foot space is quite large enough to house over 335 dolls, over 1,000 of earrings, furniture, glassware, paintings, jewelry, and a vast array of other items that are on display.

“I’m back! Not as big, but I’m happy,” Marlene says.

The bulk of Marlene’s business takes place with families, from generation to generation. Instead of buying from auctions or searching garage sales for wares with which to add to her inventory, Marlene acquires her items from private homes. When she first started her business, she and Edward, her husband of fifty-two years, went to auctions, but not to buy.

“We’ve had a blast in the business,” she says. “We used to travel the state, and Jersey and Pennsylvania, going to auctions, but we weren’t going to buy; we went to learn. Now that we’re older, we don’t do that anymore. We’re very at ease with the way we do things.

“I started selling to ‘Grandma’, who turned into ‘Great Grandma’, and when ‘Great-Grandma’ died, her children found my business cards and receipts, and they called me to come and see if there was anything I’d like to buy. So I went through Great-Grandma to Grandma, to daughters, and now we’re into the grandchildren, where if the mom dies and the children happen to find my business cards, they call me; or if there is a parent who is downsizing and going into a nursing home or other similar situation, the children will call me.”

For Marlene, dealing with families is a matter of trust. “I don’t take the young kids for a ride; I don’t take the elderly people for a ride. You can’t take advantage of people. And I just love my customers,” she adds. “Without customers, you can’t exist.”

The desire to start her own antique shop began germinating when she was a very young girl. “When I was four years old, my grandparents lived in Sayre, Pennsylvania. There was an antique shop on the corner of Keystone and Lincoln. My dad and I used to walk up to the antique store and look around. I can remember saying to my dad, ‘Someday, Dad, I’m going to have an antique store.’ And he used to chuckle. That was kind of in the back of my mind, and I had two uncles that dabbled in it for most of their lives. Then I married my husband and had a beautiful mother-in-law; and for our first Christmas, she gave me a book on antiques. That’s my treasured book out of a thousand books. Then I started collecting. It was just something in my heart that I wanted to do, so I started with my glassware and went from there.”

Grandma’s Pretties will soon have Christmas items on the floor, and will be ushering the holiday season with a storewide sale that will start on Black Friday and run through Christmas Eve. Everything in the store will be 25%, with the exception of lamps and furniture, which will 10%.  Cash, checks, and credit cards are all welcome. Grandma’s Pretties buys merchandise, such as jewelry, clocks, glassware, furniture, and miscellaneous items.

Grandma’s Pretties is open from 10to 6 Thursday through Monday and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday, though consumers can come by appointment, if necessary. You can reach Grandma’s Pretties by calling (607) 862-9795, or stop in at the handicapped accessible store at 3 Railroad Street in Whitney Point: take a right on to Main Street by the Hess station, and take a left onto Railroad Street before you reach the railroad tracks. The Pittsleys are looking into the possibility of getting signs out on the highway in the spring of 2014, to help antique seekers to find the store more easily.

Make Grandma’s Pretties one of your stops this season when you are shopping for the perfect gift for that special someone on your “nice” list. Say hello to Marlene and Ed and welcome them to the neighborhood!

By Shannon R. Myers