By JESSICA WAYNE
Staff Writer

Editor’s Note: Today “Living” page is the second in the five-week tourism series. “What to Do in a Day: Chadbourn” can be seen on the front of today’s C Section.

Most people have a few cherished possessions that have survived bygone years. Perhaps it is your great-great-grandmother’s china, or your great-grandfather’s eyeglasses.

Antique items like these provide a connection to the past and allow an idea of familiarity to pass between people and objects of different times.

Chip Graham understands the desire to be connected with the past. Graham owns the antique store in Chadbourn known as Pedal Pushers Collectibles as well as Building Blocks Daycare. Pedal Pushers is located at 626 North Brown Street in Chadbourn.

“It started as a hobby,” Graham said. “I was amazed at and loved my great-grandmother’s clothes and accessories. I kept all of those when she passed away and then I just started collecting old things.

“It got a little out of hand and I realized that for four years I had been doing all of my Christmas shopping in my house,” Graham explained, smiling quietly to herself at the memory.

“When I told my husband I was opening an antique store his first response was, ‘no you’re not.’ My response was ‘oh yes I am.’”

Graham laughs out loud as she explained. “People didn’t know what was going in this building. My son was concerned about the color and I kept telling him, ‘relax; it’s going to be beautiful.’”

The walls are a pink so deep they could be mistaken for burgundy. This, coupled with the curtains and tasteful wall decorations, which often change because they are sold creates the illusion of walking into someone’s home.

“Sometimes when people see a piece of furniture they fall in love with it but they don’t know how to use it at home. By setting my store up so that it resembles a house I help give buyers ideas on how to display their treasures,” Graham explained.
The antique store opened in 2001 and contains seven rooms, each arranged to look like a functioning area of someone’s home.

Pieces are artistically displayed to create space and walls where none exist. By using this technique the shop becomes a series of personal rooms beautifully displayed to inspire imagination and useful application in your own home.

The in-house decorator is Annette Benton. She can be seen daily moving furniture, arranging plates, and adding small details that add just the right amount of style and character.

Pearls paired with a wedding gown, gloves tastefully draped over a pocket book, a tea set arranged on a table complete with napkins and flowers – all of these are examples of the homey touches on display at the shop.

History flows from the beautiful pieces on display. Some unique pieces include a pump organ from the 1800s and a baby carriage from 1901.

A piece of local history housed at the shop is the wedding dress of Christine Waddell, the niece of Evelyn and Georgia Floyd, schoolteachers of Fair Bluff.

Graham didn’t forget the guys when she designed and decorated the store. One room is affectionately called “the hobby room.”
This room contains memorabilia from baseball, NASCAR, Star Wars, comic books and much more. One entire wall contains dozens of bottles.
“I used to think bottles were something that mostly men collected, but I’ve met several women recently who love old bottles,” Graham stated.

The antiques and history found within this local shop are enough to keep one busy for hours.
One day, walk in and ask Chip to give you a tour and explain what some of the pieces are and their origins.

Who knows? You might find you have treasures sitting in the cabinets at your house.