Valmae greatly enjoys sourcing the stock, arranging the shop front displays and doing all of the visual merchandising for the multiple rooms, as well as organising the plants. She's always wanted to have a plant nursery, specialising in rare herbs, so figured she may as well just make a start. For years now, she's being contributing a regular column on 'Seasonal Garden Tips' to the quarterly local newsletter, the Learmonth Thunderer. "You've got to do what you're interested in," says Valmae.
Valmae hopes to make the business "...not just an antique shop and not just a nursery, but something more." Over time, Valmae also aims to bring more fun and whimsy into the place. When she looks for things to buy for the store, she likes to think about how old items can be used, to make the most of them creatively. Meanwhile, Glen prefers to roam the state making appearances as a trader at the widest range of market stalls. He still has his dedicated room full of collectibles at 'Learmonth Antiques,' and confidence in the knowledge that Valmae is there. He specialises in coins, trading cards, automobile related goods, paraphanelia and the unusual...
It's a real treasure chest full of vintage goodies. "I'm not sure that we're really an Antiques store though," says Valmae with a gentle smile, "We do have one or two antiques here somewhere out the back. I did a bit of a scan the other day and that's what I worked out. But we have lots of special things, and work very hard to make sure they're affordable, so customers get them for a good price." The community oriented 'Learmonth Antiques' even hosted their inaugural twilight community 'Christmas Fayre' in December. A jolly good time was had by all. Stores like this are the life-blood of small town country Victoria.