C&J’s Antiques and Gardens
Wanting to showcase vintage and antique holiday decorations and home décor on this issue’s cover, I headed to C&J’s Antiques and Garden in Downtown Gilbert. Not only are Christmas items on display year-round in this delightful shop but owner Claire Jones was getting ready to kick off the holiday season with her popular annual Harvest & Holiday Vintage Market on Saturday, November 3, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and I was hoping for an early preview.
This is the annual Vintage Harvest & Christmas reveal when C&J’s Antiques and Gardens is filled with all kinds of Christmas wonders including: pottery trees, Mid-Century pottery figures, hundreds of ornaments, elves, angels, nativity sets, deer, Santas, artwork and more! The Vintage Market will feature a dozen guest vendors plus complimentary treats and beverages. If you add new holiday treasures to your décor each year, C&J’s is where you need to go!
Claire told me that the newest trends for holiday décor this year are miniature Christmas dioramas or villages and today’s versions are ones made with vintage ornament boxes. Collectors of vintage Christmas know there is a huge variety of beautifully crafted Made in JAPAN decorations that were created when production was moved to Japan to meet the large demand for dime store decorations after WWI. The shop will be featuring hundreds of vintage Christmas miniatures perfect for dioramas along with a selection of vintage ornament boxes for you to create your very own diorama! Claire has made an instructional video on how to create a Christmas diorama that will soon be available on the shop’s Facebook page.
C&J’s Antiques and Gardens is easy to spot in its bright yellow 1930s adobe bungalow in the heart of Gilbert’s Heritage District. Now celebrating its 14th year, this is a family-owned business and Claire’s Mother, Jean Ryan, helps out part-time. Their roots are in historic New Jersey and Claire travels there each summer to select the special treasures she brings back to create the shop’s unique East Coast ambiance.
C&J’s Antiques and Gardens also has vintage and antique furniture, artwork, linen, copper, lightening and a beloved collection of antique and vintage jewelry including the including artisan jewelry by their in house designer, J Leslie Designs. The outside Garden area offers an eclectic collection of ironwork, garden art, doors and salvage.
Located at 40 North Gilbert Road, C&J’s Antiques and Gardens is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cjsantiquesandgarden.
Flashback Antiques
A few blocks away is Flashback Antiques, which will be celebrating its 6th Anniversary on Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, with storewide sales and refreshments on both days. Merchandise already seems priced to sell so the Anniversary Sale will be an opportunity to get some good deals! And you just might find the perfect item for someone on your gift list who is challenging to shop for!
Flashback Antiques is fun to explore. Owner Sherry Spitz is always there to answer questions and provide information, and her husband Jon joins her on weekends to help out. Their daughter Jessie, a junior at Northern Arizona University, also helps when she has time away from her studies. Sherry enjoys giving each customer her personal attention and listens to what they are looking for. If she does not have it, she will try to locate it.
Shoppers will find quite a variety to select from, including antique furniture, vintage costume jewelry, sterling silver, estate and Native American jewelry. Shoppers will also find Lladro, Waterford, Belleek, Wedgewood, old cameras and phones, typewriters, collectibles—and everything in between. Sherry and Jon travel to Iowa and Nebraska every year to find unique items.
Flashback Antiques is located at 225 N. Gilbert Road and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is plenty of parking in back of the shop and there is an entrance from the parking lot as well as from the street. Call 480-503-2255 for more information and check out their Facebook page.
Both shop owners work together to support each other and the neighboring businesses. The Gilbert Heritage District—the old Downtown—is a fun destination. You can spend several hours or even all day having a wonderful time visiting the antique shops surrounded by more than sixteen restaurants, a coffee shop and an ice cream store.
There is so much to see and explore in Arizona and we are making plans for our next trip. Because we enjoy sharing our adventures, we’ll continue telling you about the great destination shops we visit—so be sure to watch for our articles in future issues of the paper.
