Quilts and More Offered at Applgate’s Attic in Jenks
By DAVID LLOYD JONES
Contributing Writer
WELCOMING VISITORS: Paula Applegate has expanded her store to include antiques and other items in addition to the well-known quilts she sells.
It wasn’t that she didn’t already have a good job; she had one in the oil and gas industry that paid her a handsome salary.
But she had always wanted to own her own piece of the dream, so a decade ago Paula Applegate opened Applegate’s Attic, now located at 108 E. Main St. in Jenks, and sold quilts.
“At first that’s all we sold. We sold queen-sized, king-sized and twin bed quilts, and for quite a while that’s what we specialized in. We buy from small quilt companies, most of which are located in the South and the Northeast. “No,” she laughs, “we don’t have a lot of grannies doing needlepoint on the front porch. We keep full, though. We have probably 100 quilts for sale at any one time.
“We still sell lots and lots of quilts, but we’ve had to branch out. You have to do what the public wants or you’re not in business very long.”
The public taste changed, according to Paula, right after the twin towers crashed in New York City September 11, 2001. “You remember the travel industry fell apart and people started sprucing up their homes with an eye to spending more time there. That was when we began offering antique furniture, toiletries and other household items.”
Applegate’s Attic is very much a family affair. From time to time her husband, Lloyd, a retired policeman, is in the shop to help out. Two daughters have pitched in as well as Paula’s mother, her sister and a family friend.
The original quilt business was so good that she outgrew first one location and then another before arriving at her current address. “I don’t know exactly what our square footage is,” she says, “but it’s one of the largest on Main Street.”
The proximity to so many antique stores in Jenks obviously has its value but it has brought problems as well. “A lot of antique buyers are used to haggling over price,” she says, “but we are strictly a retail store and have been so since the day we opened. We pay a fixed price for our quilts and have to price them accordingly.”
There are, however, a few items left on consignment. Paula will sell an antique chair or desk or sofa for a commission.
But now there are lots of reasons to visit Applegate’s Attic in addition to quilts and ancient sofas. There are recordings and pillows and candles and books and bric-a-brac and a host of fascinating whatnots. There’s no sense trying to describe them all, you’re best off taking a look for yourself.
Getting to Applegate’s Attic is easy; just head down Main Street in Jenks and look at the signs on the south side of the street. You’ll find it.
If you have a question, the phone number is 298-9090, or email paapplegate@cox.net.
Updated 07-24-2006
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