Take a stroll back through time and absorb all of the scents and sights of days gone by. Obviously time travel isn’t possible according to the laws of physics, but Honeycreek Galleries wouldn’t care what the textbooks say. All you have to do to experience sensational nostalgia is step through the threshold of the New Carlisle business. Lining the walls and filling the display cabinets within the ten-year-old antique parlor are tangible reminders of how society has progressed and evolved throughout the years. Inside the gallery you’ll find chests from the 1820’s, once popular Flow Blue tableware from the 1880’s, Figurines from occupied Japan during World War II, costume jewelry from the 1950’s and so much more from decades past.

In fact, Honeycreek Galleries boasts a wide range of antiques with a specialization in American-made furniture and other merchandise including movie posters, records, paintings, décor, kitchen appliances and Fenton Glass. But owner Linda Campbell doesn’t sell just any old junk.

“We sell things that we could live with,” she said. “I grew up surrounded by old antique items, so I have a great respect for them.”

But owning and operating an antique shop with her husband of nearly 38 years isn’t quite what it was when the shop first opened in 1997.

“The economy is bad and we sell stuff that people don’t really need. With the war going on and gas at over $3 (per gallon), business is just really slow,” Linda admitted.

But it wasn’t always that way. The collector stated, “Business was doing real well for a while, but E-bay is not helping the mom and pop places at all.”

However, Linda is optimistic, “Business will turn around; it’s just going to take time.”

Until then, Linda and her husband Dave continue to work hard to further their business as well as pay their bills. Linda keeps busy as a real estate agent with American Home Realty and as the volunteer president of the New Carlisle

Chamber of Commerce. Even with the bleak outlook on business, Linda continues to love what she does.
“I like what I do, so it’s worth it. It’s what I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” Even so, it is not always what she has done.

She has moved from employment at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to owning a restaurant to a printing company to Wright-Patt to another restaurant and back to Wright-Patt, not necessarily in that order. Finally, Linda decided to take an early retirement when a building in New Carlisle went up for sale and she decided to take a dive and chase her dream.

She and Dave purchased the property and spent years fixing it up before it could be opened to the public.

“We never thought we’d end up with a great fortune because of this,” Linda admitted, “But March and April have been the worst for business since we opened.”

A possible solution? “We may have to resort to E-bay auctions to sell our antiques. I hate sitting in front of the computer screen, but you do what you have to. You’d think that New Carlisle has enough unique things to bring people in. We just need to get people out walking the street and shopping,” the owner suggested.

Care to support Honeycreek Galleries? The next sidewalk sale is the third weekend of August and Main Street’s open house will be the first weekend of December, but why wait until then? Drop by the gallery which is located at 131 South Main St. on Tuesdays to Fridays between 11a.m. and 5 p.m. or on Saturday between noon to 5 p.m. In fact, why stop there? Take a day or two this weekend and visit the local shops scattered around the area and show the local mom and pop dealers that E-bay doesn’t hold the monopoly for nostalgic purchases in the Miami Valley. You never know what you may discover.

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