Why a Stroll Through An Antique Mall Can Replenish the Soul

It’s hard to explain the feeling, (that comes from a stroll through an antique mall), but I’m convinced now that it will rise in me sooner or later as I venture in. I’ll start down an aisle or toward a cluttered booth and begin to browse. I’ve learned to anticipate and slowly take in the experience. After visiting dozens of these types of stores, I’m prepared to begin with an attitude of curiosity, wondering … just what will I uncover?

Julie Mitchell is a long-time customer of His & Hers Antique Mall. “Actually, I’ve been coming here for years when Ms. Claudia (Claudine Wells) was the owner. “This is a special place to me. One time in my life I was in a really bad place when I lost my youngest sister. Julie’s sister, Kimberley Dawn Foley, was only 45 when she passed away with AVM, which is brain arteriovenous malformation. The AVM is a defect of the brain’s circulatory system. The AVM was dormant for years, and then it began to cause problems. Julie saw her sister go from being her best friend and the two of them doing everything together to not being able to do anything.

As a way to ease her grief, she decided to visit His & Hers Antiques because she does not live far from it.

“I would come to the mall and I would walk the whole mall.  I found a lot of peace – a lot of peace because everything was so beautiful and it made me think of my sister because she was beautiful and she loved beautiful things,” Julie said. “I love all the doilies and the frillies.”

Julie said she brings people to the mall because she wants them to know how sacred the place is to her.

She explained that it is the peace she feels when she comes here. “Last year I had my birthday party in the tearoom,” She said. “Everything is old and it reminds you of what life should be.”

“That’s what I always wanted for our antique mall. I wanted it to be a place for people to come in and replenish their soul,” said Claudine Wells, former owner of His & Hers Antiques in Crowley, Texas. “I heard a lot of stories about how people enjoyed coming in the mall and we always tried to have a smile on our faces. People need that. We have no idea the trials and tribulations that people are going through.”

“I still get calls from people who tell me what the antique mall meant to them,” Claudine said.

You never really know the
True impact you have on those around you,
You never know how much someone needed 
that smile you gave them.
You never know how much your kindness 
turned someone’s entire life around.
You never know how much someone needed 
that long hug or deep talk 
So don’t wait to be kind
Don’t wait for someone else to be kind first
Don’t wait for better circumstances or for someone 
to change. Just be kind, because you never know 
how much someone needs it.
 Nikki Banas

Discovering Magical Memories in a Stroll Through An Antique Mall