In early June, Linda Feola’s vision finally came to fruition when she opened the doors to her Long Journey: Home Décor & Furnishings shop.
As its name implies, the establishment offers an array of antiques and furniture that have both a modern and vintage feel.
Over the years, the property at 1003 S. Collins St. in Plant City had gone through its transformations as a pizza shop and then an Allstate insurance office, before becoming Long Journey.
Feola gave her establishment that name because of the lengthy history behind the shop’s items, plus the time and effort she put into constructing it. It took a year to renovate the building. In fact, her now-retired husband was the agent that worked out of it when it was used as an Allstate office.
Instead of selling the building, the couple decided to hold on to it so she could open her own shop. Feola has many antiques and items in her home and in storage that she wanted to put on display and share with the community.
She has a construction cleaning company, so that experience, on the business end, has helped her to start the new shop from the ground up, she said.
However, she was initially apprehensive to open up, being that it was a new line of work for her, but she eventually took the leap of faith, she added.
Since it started operating, there has been a steady number of visitors stopping in, with some days busier than others.
“It’s everything I thought it would be and more,” Feola said. “I’m just really impressed by everybody coming in and making me comfortable. I’m trying to make them comfortable and they’re making me comfortable, and I love that.”
Not only does she receive support from her husband, but also from her assistant, Leslie Kimbel.
Kimbel has been a stay-at-home mom for the past five years. In passing, she would notice Feola setting up the shop one item at a time and was intrigued by the unique furniture and antiques that were being housed inside. As a full-time parent, she had little time to socialize with others, but that soon changed when Feola requested her help in maintaining Long Journey’s day-to-day operations.
“I wasn’t ready for a job,” Kimbel said. “I wasn’t ready to leave my family, then I bumped into her outside, because I’ve been watching the process. I’m like, ‘This is so exciting. I’m so excited for you,’ and she’s like, ‘Can you help out?’ I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I’d love that, because I love doing that. I love decorating’.”
In the past Kimbel had helped her friends with home décor but she hadn’t done it professionally. She had more interaction with the community in the first several weeks of the opening than she’s had in the past five years, she said.
They’ve added many things to the shop from their homes, that it’s become another dwelling place for them, both ladies said.
“This store, honestly, is a dream come true to me,” Kimbel said.
For the first two weeks, Long Journey was open every day so that they could determine when their busiest hours peaked and what would be the best days to close. They finally settled on operating from Wednesday to Sunday, leaving Monday and Tuesday as their weekend.
In the rooms of the shop can be found offerings such as clocks, table pieces, vases, mirrors, chandeliers, paintings, signs, jars, bags, tools, chairs, benches, dressers, statues, lamps, tables, suitcases, jewelry, and even clothing. Each item adds to the vintage feel of the shop, with some going back hundreds of years.
Feola still has more antiques in storage and plans to bring them in as other pieces are sold.
“A lot of people that have stopped in, have been back two and three times, and they seem to be bringing people in with them, or someone will say so and so told them about it,” Feola said. “I like that. I like the word of mouth.”
It’s not only about selling products, but socializing with visitors and making them feel welcome, the ladies said.
Since opening, they’ve had not only customers from Plant City, but big cities like Tampa, and even folks visiting from Atlanta and New York.
The shop doesn’t cater to women exclusively but to men as well. Male customers have bought items or have put things on hold.
“I love for a man to be able to come in and leave and be just as happy as the wife or the girlfriend,” Feola said. “I have been pleased to see that there’s been a lot of men that come in or the wife goes home and comes back with the husband.”
She has plans to eventually turn one of the rooms into the “Man Cave” where guys can shop and hang out. Also, a part of the agenda is adding what several customers have been suggesting – art classes. It could be an opportunity to offer activities such as drawing, painting, refurbishing antiques, and building furniture
Constructing outdoor artwork is also an idea where the ladies would like the community to take part. They would like the exterior to be redesigned and become a noticeable landmark that stands out on a busy Collins Street.
There are plans to have the community help create a mosaic on the wall in front of the shop and its parking lot.
Folks would be able to add glass, China ware, and other unique crafts, that may have been passed down the family tree.
Plants will add to the decorative scenery as well as a lanai and seating sheltered under an awning.
Feola and Kimbel have long-term goals to travel outside of Florida and collect other antiques from other markets to add to the shop.
“I feel that this will be a big part of Plant City, places for them to go and buy some neat stuff,” Feola said. “They don’t have to drive all around Lakeland and Tampa. They can stay in their hometown.”