A Victorian experience in home decor

Three shops complement each other

By Jim Obert

Business Today

DEXTER -- In 1837 at the age of 18, Alexandrina Victoria became queen of England. Her reign would last 64 years, ending in 1901. Victoria had an immense influence on British culture, and historians have termed her years the Victorian era.

In 1949, a service station was built at the corner of Walnut Street and what is now Business Highway 60. It was auctioned about seven years ago and bought by Patricia Shell and her husband.

Gone are car parts and cans of oil, hubcaps, tires and tools. The building has been renovated to reflect the elegance, grace and polish of the Victorian era. Three stores inside complement each other -- Patricia's Tea Room, Trinkets & Treasures and Fashions In the Attic.

"I couldn't stand the thought that this building would become an old garage with a lot of old car parts, because it's on the main entrance to our downtown," said Shell. "I wanted to bring a tea room, gifts and novelties concept here."

Shell and her husband had the exterior and interior cleaned and refurbished. Her business occupied both floors of the building, whose original red bricks still line the inside walls in many rooms.

But due to a recurring back injury, Shell decided to reduce the square footage of her business.

"I condensed my merchandise and that made room for two other girls to open businesses here," said Shell, sitting at one of many tables in Patricia's Tea Room, which can seat up to 56 people.

Last May, Maria Chamberlain opened Fashions In the Attic, and Deborah Sturgess opened Trinkets & Treasures in August. The three shops are considered a Victorian experience under one roof.

"Patricia wanted to diversify," said Sturgess. "She called me and asked if I wanted to put my antiques in here. I said of course. The location is excellent. We have many elegant items that complement the Victorian atmosphere."

Sturgess and her parents moved their antiques business from Oldtimers Antique Mall into a first- and second-floor room of Patricia's Tea Room.

Chamberlain, relatively new to the business world, had been musical director at First Baptist Church for 20 years.

"Patty and I were having lunch one day and I said I always wanted to have a shop like hers," said Chamberlain. "Patty offered me space in her building. I have contemporary clothing done in Victorian style -- that romantic, timeless style."

Shell said Patricia's Tea Room serves lunch Tuesday through Saturday. There are salads, sandwiches, casseroles and desserts. Teas are served from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Scones, jams, curds and finger sandwiches are offered. A special tea is held every month on a Sunday.

"We have brunches in the mornings and we cater at night," said Shell, who has just published her first cookbook. Entitled "Tea Time Friendships with Patricia," it contains all 265 recipes that have been used in the tea room the past five years.

Hemming the fashionable tables in the tea room are numerous gift items. Shell travels to Dallas and Atlanta three or four times a year to attend special markets that display original novelties.

When she opened her business, she had gifts for both sexes. Now she carries feminine items such as tea pots, tea cups, baby gifts, dolls, stationary, jewelry, picture frames and ornaments.

"There are a lot of pick-me-up gifts," said Shell. "Many ladies who come here to eat have no intention of buying anything. But they'll often see something that catches their eye. The combination of tea room and gift shop works well."

At Trinkets & Treasures, Deborah Sturgess said many of the antiques are acquired at auctions, estate sales and from private individuals.

"My mother and I like the more elegant items, rather than country-style antiques," said Sturgess, adding that people who are building or remodeling homes are frequent customers. "They look for Victorian-era antiques, odds and ends, special touches."

Chairs with velvet backs and seats, and lamps of various design, mix with furniture made during the Eastlake period of the Victorian era. Eastlake furniture, said Sturgess, was made more for the middle-class of Great Britain. The furniture was more affordable, yet as elegant as Victorian furniture.

French furniture is also available at Trinkets & Treasures, as are vintage linens and lace, floral accents, mirrors, silver, glassware and hand-painted china.

The top floor of the business is called the Ivy Loft. Tables there are used for baby showers, bridal showers, luncheons, Bible studies and special parties. Antiques pepper the nooks and crannies.

A stately mantle more than 9 feet long and 5 feet tall graces a wall on the first floor. About 250 years old, the mantle is from a St. Louis home that was torn down to make room for an interstate.

A vintage wedding dress shrouds a mannequin at the far end of the mantle. Sturgess said many people like to display interesting clothing in their bedroom or in a guest room.

Near the lacey wedding dress is a Victorian bedframe with a large wooden headboard. On the bed is a coverlet that was made in East Germany in the late 1940s.

Cup and saucer sets from Europe, decorated keepsake boxes, accent bouquets and Christmas wreaths abound. The fragrance of a small burning candle adds to the old-world atmosphere.

Maria Chamberlain, proprietess at Fashions In the Attic, offers a contemporary style of clothing with a Victorian flair. She makes forays to Dallas and Atlanta to attend special clothing markets.

Her shop carries about a dozen lines of clothing, most of which are rich in lace and ruffles.

"People can wear what I have to church, weddings, business lunches and banquets," said Chamberlain.

In one section of her shop -- the Garden Room -- customers will find garden-style, casual linens. Chamberlain said the items there have "the Martha Stewart look."

Jewelry, scarves, shawls, sweaters, crochet hats, earrings, purses and abundant accessories are also available.

"I have my own line of bath products such as bubbling milk bath, herbal salts, rose glycerine soap and lotions," said Chamberlain, adding that she also carries the Mary Engelbreit line of gifts.

Victorian-style watches and greeting cards, monogram sterling silver, note cards and other items lounge on ornate tables.

Chamberlain has a personal bridal registry. Soon-to-be brides can visit the shop and select lingerie, bath products, jewelry, clothing for a honeymoon.

She said lingerie and bridal showers are often held at her shop.

Chamberlain said she gets many visitors from other states. She said that when she travels she likes to get off the interstates and drive through towns to see what's there.

"I call it taking the scenic route," she said, pointing out a window to the busy street below. "All of us here are visited by out-of-state people almost daily."