Gay Vaughan Curates and Sells Vintage Home Decor
By Ellen Orr

Most people who know Gay Vaughan know her as “Miss Gay.” As a preschool teacher at First Baptist Church for over 20 years, Gay taught hundreds of Texarkana-area children until her retirement two years ago. Prior to her career in early childhood education, she had been a stay-at-home mom to her own three kids, one of whom just became a parent himself.

In 2023, Gay knew it was time to retire from the classroom, but she wasn’t sure what she would do with herself. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she had gotten serious about her Etsy store called The Blue-Eyed Susan (referencing her first name; Gay goes by her middle name), where she sold handmade soft goods, like clothing, handbags, and fabric decor. Maybe, she thought, she would pour more energy into this venture.

“I like to make things,” Gay said. “I’ve always been a maker. I grew up underneath my mom’s sewing machine.”

Smock dresses, quilted coats, purses, rope coasters, pillows, table runners, placemats—using vintage fabrics, Gay made an array of pieces, which she sold to customers located all over the country. When she noticed that vintage sellers were “taking off” on Etsy, she expanded her shop to sell vintage items that she had thrifted: mugs, baskets, afghans, plates, wall art, vases, canisters, salt shakers, apothecary jars, bookends, and more. Her inventory harkened to the ‘60s and ‘70s; the shop page was characterized by amber glassware, owls, orange-and-green mushroom motifs, flower-power vibes, Space Age shapes, and lots of ratan.

“I was born in the ‘60s and am a child of the ‘70s,” Gay said. “Those are the things that speak to me. I’m a little bit of a hippie, I guess.”

Transitioning into a vintage seller was natural for Gay, who had been a thrifter her entire adult life.

“I started [thrifting] when we built our first home,” she said. Her “first love,” she explained, was of 1950s tole trays, which she began procuring to decorate her house. She was in no hurry to fill the space; in fact, she relished the time it took to find the pieces she views as “timeless.”

“When you find something that you love and that you took a lot of time to find, you don’t have to change it [as trends change],” she reflected.

As her vintage Etsy store grew, Gay became exhausted by the headache of shipping treasured (and often breakable) finds across the country. So, upon her retirement in 2023, she made her last online sales and moved her inventory to a booth in The Owl’s Nest Flea Market. She chose The Owl’s Nest because, while shopping at an estate sale one day, she had met and become friends with Lauren Ponder, who was already located at the Texas Boulevard market.

“When a booth became available, Lauren was like, ‘You should do it,’” Gay recalled. “I started small but quickly realized I needed a bigger space.”

Any thrifting aficionado in Texarkana knows Gay’s booth: it is expertly curated, full of groovy goods from bygone eras. When customers step into the space, they are transported to a time when avocado-green carpets and wicker furniture reigned supreme. “People say all the time, ‘Your booth reminds me of my grandma’s house,’” Gay said.

It is not everyone’s cup of tea—and that’s what makes it so special.

“People ask me all the time, ‘Is your whole house like this?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, no!’” Gay laughed. “My house is much more timeless. But I do have a ‘hippie-style room.’”

In the beginning, Gay’s booth was even more curated than it is now; she exclusively sold mid-century decor that spoke to her taste. But, in the last two years, she has slightly expanded her inventory to appeal to a wider customer base.

Gay travels all over seeking her vintage goods. A couple of her stops include River Market Antiques in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Junk Ranch Vintage Market in Prairie Grove, Arkansas. submitted photos

“If I went strictly with what I perceive as mid-century—the furniture, the swung vases—I wouldn’t cover my costs,” she said. “I have to blend with more of the ‘80s stuff—and now even ‘90s stuff.” While the 1980s duck-and-geese craze might not excite Gay personally, she has learned that plenty of customers are on the lookout for the perfect duck-shaped cookie jar or framed needlepoint goose wearing a country blue bonnet.

While she does make small concessions when it comes to her inventory, Gay is not in this business for profit. Vintage selling is a passion project and a way for Gay to connect with a larger community of thrifters.

“I’m just always on the hunt,” she said, explaining that she is regularly checking online sales and goes thrifting wherever she travels. But, primarily, she acquires her finds locally. “I try to shop as much as I can here,” Gay said, emphasizing that she likes to support other resellers in the area. “I’ve made some really good friends through this.”

In her early days of personal thrifting, Gay did not speak freely about her love of thrifting, with the knowledge that many people would judge her for purchasing used goods. “It was not something everyone did,” she said. “But,” she reflected, “antiquing has always been in style. It all depends on the way you frame it.” Still, she is grateful that thrifting, no matter how you frame it, is currently very much en vogue.

“When I meet people who’ve never been to The Owl’s Nest, I’m floored,” she said. “There is no shortage of items for people with all different styles.”

While she acknowledged that shopping new from big box stores or online retailers is often more convenient, Gay emphasized the benefits of thrifting: it’s often less expensive, more sustainable, locally beneficial, and lots of fun.

“Yes, thrifting and curating and finding your look does take time,” she said, “but it’s just so worth it.”

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