KNIGHTSTOWN — A pair of Greenfield antiques dealers have taken on the task of creating whimsical window displays at a Knightstown antiques shop.
Tammy Forst and Laurie Lopez have each sold antiques at the J.W. Riley antiques shop in downtown Greenfield for years.
This past spring, starting leasing a shared space at The Yellow Brick Road antique mall in Knightstown, where they struck up a conversation with the owner — Lisa White — about window displays.
White, who lives in the historic brick schoolhouse in Shirley, was thrilled to have their help in bringing her creative window vision to life.
“My vision was to bring back the feeling of the old window displays I used to enjoy as a little girl (in downtown Indianapolis), so I’m very pleased with what they’ve done in moving that vision forward,” said White, who has been too busy running the store to keep up with the displays.
First and Lopez celebrate a different theme just about every month, starting with an Indianapolis 500 display in May.
Like White, both women were inspired by the elaborate window displays they enjoyed as little girls, visiting downtown Indianapolis department stores like Blocks and Ayres.
The windows at The Yellow Brick Road are a prominent fixture in downtown Knightstown, where it sits prominently on the Old National Road.
White said business has been good, so she was thrilled when Forst and Lopez volunteered to create the rotating window displays.
“What they’ve done is make a vision come to life for me so the community can be excited and always anxious to see what’s coming up next,” she said.
Forst and Lopez often used their own antiques for the displays, and sometimes incorporate items from other vendors at The Yellow Brick Road.
Typically, the displays show the evolution of time, like the current “Back to School” theme window that shows what classrooms may have looked like from the 1920s through the 1950s.
The oldest vignette features children’s clothing from the 1920s and an antique chalkboard and flashcards, and progresses into a 1950s-era soda fountain with a table and chairs, along with Hancock County yearbooks and mannequins sporting vintage clothes, including an FFA jacket, cheerleader’s uniform and graduation cords from the era.
White added in a picture from her mother-in-law’s high school trip to Washington, D.C., while Forst created some artificial ice cream sodas to help bring the scene to life.
Lopez said it’s fun to be able to tell a story through historical pieces that have been collected and preserved over time, like the vintage wedding dresses and floral displays that filled the window in June, or the vintage race apparel and helmets that were featured in the Indianapolis 500-themed window in May.
The race-themed window also featured one of the original green chairs from the main stretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s grandstand section that were added in the 1950s, but replaced in 2009, as well as original grandstand signs and decades-old race programs and tickets.
July’s patriotic-themed window told the story of America’s conflicts over the years, starting with the Revolutionary War.
The display featured a vintage American flag that flew from an aircraft carrier bringing troops home after World War II, along with original World War II posters and patches from all service branches.
Forst said it’s a privilege to be able to share a bit of history through the elaborate window displays.
“My passion has always been antiques, ever since I was young,” said Forst, 66, who fondly remembers gazing at the downtown Indianapolis store windows as girl, having lunch at Woolworth’s with her mother, grandmother and sisters.
“I can remember looking at those windows and thinking, ‘How cool is this?’” she recalled.
Forst also remembers being given a lamp or other heirloom by her grandmother on various occasions throughout her youth, items she’s cherished and held onto over the years.
Lopez has had a similar lifelong love affair with antiques.
“I just feel that it’s comforting to have that old stuff around, plus the old furniture is a lot more stable than the stuff you can buy these days at Ikea” said Lopez, 63, whose home is filled with antiques.
“I remember when I was 4 or 5 going into homes of people born in the 1870s who had the old antique stuff they had all their lives, and I just fell in love with them. I thought when I grew up I wanted to have stuff like this. I guess I’m an old soul,” she said.
Now with a houseful of antiques and antiques booths in both Greenfield and Knightstown, Lopez is proud to be among the legions of antiques dealers who find pride in keeping history through artifacts from the past.
Both she and Forst have been selling antiques at J.W. Riley’s Antique Emporium for years, and can often be found working the register there, chatting up fellow antiques enthusiasts.
That’s how they connected with White when they walked in to lease space at her Knightstown store, where a friendly Great Dane named Oz greets customers at the door.
All three ladies have been pleased with how well received the artfully decorated window displays have been, with several passersby stopping to compliment them. One man was thrilled when he walked by to see his parents’ wedding photo on display.
Soon the window will be transformed into a fall display, with mannequins playing in the leaves. The ladies will switch it out to a festive holiday display in time for Knightstown’s holiday open house, held the first weekend in November.
The seasonal window displays can be enjoyed anytime simply by strolling down Main Street, but White hopes people are inspired to stop in and look around inside.
The Yellow Brick Road is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday at 108 E. Main St. in Knightstown.
