Getting off track a bit, but before recently moving back to New England, I lived in central Florida for over 25 years.

I had a friend in Florida who loved to go to the local antique shops, malls and fairs and she got me hooked on old things. One of our favorite places to browse was the Junque Exchange in downtown Deland. It was (at the time) run by an older couple- I believe their name was Wright, who were very friendly.

It was an amazing store because it was fairly small but held so much stuff!  The tables held silverware, dishes, books, doilies and vases and the walls were lined with pictures and old photos.  I can’t begin to list everything found there, but I did buy quite a few knick knacks and this one large piece of furniture.

I saw the hutch at the back of the store and fell in love with the shape of the glass doors and the overall design. I needed a place to keep my old dishes and this hutch was perfect.

Like all the other furniture it was covered and filled with glassware and other things and when I decided I wanted to buy it, believe me it was a job just getting it cleaned out and ready to go.

I can’t remember exactly what I paid for it, but it seems that it cost around $400.

My Junque Exchange Hutch

That was in the 1980’s and I went back to the Junque Exchange probably 20 years later but it had changed and I didn’t get the same feeling, nor was I as impressed by the items and prices. That was the thing about the old place, the prices were very reasonable.

I don’t know who runs the place now, but apparently it’s still there since I found the links online. Deland is a nice place to visit and is home to Stetson University which has a beautiful campus at the north edge of town.

I visited the Red Pine Mountain blog recently and she had posted pictures of a hutch her husband had made which made me think of mine and to post the photo I had to write a story.