When I am in Tucson, it’s typically to visit shops, deliver papers to an advertiser’s show and/or visit my grandson, Shaun Skaff. Recently, I had the rare opportunity of doing all three. Shaun is a college student and works so his schedule is hectic, but he and his girlfriend Madison Hillis, also a college student, managed to meet me for lunch and I had a wonderful time catching up on their busy lives.
Soon it was time to head back to Phoenix and, on the way, I was looking forward to stopping at an antique shop in north Tucson that had recently changed hands. I had a delightful time meeting with new owner Fariba Mitchell and Barbara, one of her vendors. Fariba said that she has always had a love of antiques and vintage and it had long been her dream to have her own shop. She had been selling out of a booth under the store’s previous ownership since January 2016 and was able to fulfill her dream when she bought the business this past June. Patriot House Antiques Collectibles & Gifts opened on July 4, 2018.
She explained, “We love antiques at Patriot House, but that doesn’t mean we are resistant to the changes that we must make that are driven by different factors in our environment. Even advances in technology matter in the antiques/vintage business. We are continuously changing to stay on top of market and design trends.”
Fariba and her husband Alan own Big Denali Developments, a business to business custom software consulting and development company. She is its CEO and that experience, as well as a business marketing degree and a master’s in business management, has been a huge help to her in managing the antique store.
Patriot House Antiques is located at 5827 N. Oracle Road in the Placita Del Norte Shopping Center that dates back to the 1940s. The store features high ceilings with exposed wood beams that help create an ambiance for the antiques, vintage items and gifts that are on display in a wide range of styles from formal/traditional to shabby/farmhouse.
Seven different vendor-dealers offer selections that include furniture, home décor, jewelry, accessories, tools and other fascinating and unique items. The shop is Tucson’s only vendor for Jeanne d´Arc Living, an exclusive lifestyle company from Denmark that offers distinctive French and Scandinavian country style and produces its own Living Magazine as well as Vintage Paint, Soulful Yarn, JDL Clothing, handmade crafts, art crafts, furniture and more.
Patriot House Antiques’ vendors cooperatively and creatively display their wide variety of merchandise in beautifully complete vignettes that customers can adopt as their entire look, purchase piece by piece or even use as their home design inspiration. The store can help customers put their entire home or office together using the custom interior design services. Furniture repair and refinishing services are also available so that clients can have the exact look they want without running all over town or settling for a new piece they don’t truly love.
The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and, in addition to Fariba, customers will be greeted and helped by Barbara or Julia, who have display space at the store. Barbara curates and sells Tucson’s most gorgeous Native American silver and turquoise jewelry collection. She has some forty years of experience in the antiques/vintage business. Julia offers an impeccable and beautifully eclectic European collection of antique and vintage jewelry and home décor items. Julia grew up with antiques. She has over forty years of experience collecting antiques and her background includes a degree in romance languages, five of which she speaks fluently including French and Spanish.
Fariba said, “My two biggest inspirations are my husband, Alan, whose whole-hearted backing makes my business possible, and my son, Stone, without whose support the day to day physical challenges of the business would be extremely difficult to overcome. Stone is a junior in high school and works in the store on a part-time basis helping with all the heavy lifting and physically demanding tasks. He also takes care of the technology related challenges. I also need to mention my longtime friends, Jim and Susie, whose ongoing support helps propel our business forward on a daily basis.”
If you live and/or work in Northwest Tucson, Oro Valley, Saddlebrooke, Marana, Catalina or Oracle, Patriot House Antiques is conveniently located. Fariba invites you to, “Come give us a try! You’ll be glad you did.”
Learn more about Patriot House Antiques Collectibles & Gifts at http://patriothouseantiques.com, on Facebook or by calling 520-268-8187.