Lindsey Blackwood has a love for vintage furniture pieces, estate sales and all things unique. Now a Cullman resident after working in the missions field, Blackwood opened a business that collectively displays her love for these things.
“I started my business, Gypsy Soul Antiques & Things, (in) February of 2021, after finding myself at a crossroads of new beginnings,” Blackwood said. “God was bringing me into a new season of life where I had to take a look at who I was as an individual. For many years, I had lots of titles and jobs, specialized degrees and ministry experience with my husband and children. I enjoyed all of these adventures, but I also experienced some tragedy, and a loss of who I was created to be and what I wanted to accomplish in life. When I saw the broken pieces of my journey, I thought that it was ugly and unwanted, but God, in his great mercy, showed me it wasn’t and that it would be beautiful again.”
Her interest in being creative was sparked after sitting at her computer many days working on bids for commercial projects and doing many things, at that time, that truly weren’t fulfilling to who she wanted to be.
“I was feeling a new sense of urgency to pick up my guitar and write, to thrift with my mom and to find new outlets for creativity,” Blackwood said. “This developed into thrifting antique furniture and refinishing them. I watched my mom from an early age take old antiques and decor items and turn them into something beautiful. Now, 30 years later, I was finding immense joy in restoring old furniture and putting a new spin on the pieces. One day, it hit me: ‘I love taking what is broken and outdated and making it beautiful again.’ That is what God has done in my own journey.”
Describing her day to day, she said she tries to find those antique pieces that speak to her and she feels a strong connection to.
“Usually within a couple of minutes of meeting a new piece, I know exactly what I’m going to do with it,” Blackwood said. “I’ve always danced to the beat of my own drum, so my pieces reflect that. It is a part of the Gypsy Soul vibe within our store. I take time to sand furniture down, clean it up, restore it to its former glory and then sometimes paint it. I believe in keeping the originality of the craftsmanship of that time and era, but also modernizing it so it’s no longer an outdated piece. If I’m not working on a piece, I’m managing the store and talking to customers, which is my favorite thing about my day to day.”
If you ask about one thing Blackwood enjoys about her business – her father, she said, lovingly describes it as ‘nacking.’
“We love estate sales, yard sales and occasionally Facebook Marketplace is a dream for my mom and I,” Blackwood said. “We love it because we get to see history, to touch it and feel that connection to the past. We enjoy mid-century pieces mixed in with early 19th century art, but you can find anything in the roughest of places. I also enjoy the bidding aspect.”
Blackwood said she holds many memories dear about both the hobby of antiquing and the business it created.
“Some of my favorite memories are the people I come into contact with at the store,” she said. “I hear all the stories about how their family members had something like this, or my grandmother collected these, etc. One of my favorite finds was an 1890 Chicagoan table that I found in a collapsed barn. It was extraordinary and survived its elements, and eventually it went into a local homeowner’s kitchen. For me, the joy comes when I think about the craftsman who worked so hard to create a piece for a family to sit around the table, and now generations later, a new family sits around an old table and, though the conversations may be different, the family is eating together around the table.”
Visit Gypsy Soul Antiques & Things at 206 Third St. SE in Cullman or at www.facebook.com/gypsysoulantiquesandthings or www.gypsysoulclothing.com.
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