Daddy and Me Vintage owner Randy Cumbee showcases an early 1900s chest that turns into a mini closet for traveling.Rock Spring resident Randy Cumbee is taking his woodworking hobby to a new level by opening Daddy and Me Vintage on the square in downtown LaFayette.
His background is in information technology and land surveying. When those trades slowed down, Cumbee opted to enhance his art of turning wood into unique artistic pieces for homes. The handcrafted whiskey barrel turned wall clock and lamp with whiskey barrel staves as a wood base found inside the shop serve as examples of his work.
"We've been real pleased with our traffic here," said Cumbee, who rents space inside his store to 12 vendors at present. "We hope that it gets even better. It seems to be God blessed from the get-go. I go to Peavine Baptist Church. We joined hands around the building and prayed over it and dedicated it to the Lord."
Cumbee has historical ties to the unique building his antique store now utilizes. As a high school student, he worked as a clothing sales associate there when it was called Winer's Department Store.
"Back in those days [the 1960s and '70s], the square was the place to be with Winer's, the Boston Store, Abney's, Rhyne Brothers and Archer Walgreen's," Cumbee said. "Everyone shopped in the square. There was a park in the middle of the square back then with a monument."
About two and a half years ago, the roof blew off the back of the store in which his antique business now operates. Building owner and attorney Bill Slack was able to gut and renovate the building using insurance funds, Cumbee said.
Now the store holds antiques and vintage and repurposed furniture. Through Cumbee's woodworking and finishing shop, he can take an antique door and rework it into a bed frame. He restores antiques with paste wax and tung oil to create an old-fashioned finish.
Some of the unique items in the store come from auctions and estate sales. A church pew, a bed frame made of barn door and antique furniture repainted with bright pinks, blues and greens are just a few examples. In the front of the store, wooden signs painted by artist Lori Lytle bear cute phrases in artistic writing like "Every Child is An Artist," "Saved by Grace," "Create in me a Pure Heart," and "What Happens on the Porch Stays on the Porch."
"We call the back room of the store the parlor area," Cumbee said, adding that the couch, hope chest, window-style coffee table and antique dishes on offer there make it look like a nice sitting area for guests. "These Johnson Brothers dishes called Friendly Village have a matching coffeepot and goblets that are rare."
Other unique pieces in the store are a camel saddle stool and a camelback steamer trunk.
Daddy and Me Vintage is located at 112 W. LaFayette Square and can be reached at 423-364-6727, or visit daddyandmevintage.com or facebook.com/DaddyAndMeVintage to learn more.