‘Life’s Leftovers’ opens in Uptown Creston

A new secondhand shop has opened in Creston. Life’s Leftovers, 212 W. Montgomery St., carries antiques and gently used modern furniture.

Terry Hicks, the owner of Life’s Leftovers, moved to Creston from Los Angeles about 10 years ago and brought his collection with him. Over the years, he’s added more by shopping at estate sales and auctions for items that interest him.

Hicks said it was time to start downsizing, so he’s filled Life’s Leftovers with a handful of the treasures he has found. He encourages people to visit often because as items sell, new items will be brought in, so inventory will always be changing.

Hicks, who has been collecting antiques for more than 25 years, said his favorite items are the pieces of American Brilliant cut crystal.

“It was all handmade from 1880 to 1911, and I have about 600 different pieces,” said Hicks. “The better pieces are usually marked. If it doesn’t have a mark, it was one of the blanks that had some kind of defect, like a bad cut or something like that. When they’re marked, they are generally a perfect blank.”

Hicks said he’s not sure how much he’ll sell some of the items for, but is willing to negotiate.

“One hundred percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing,” said Hicks. “We want to try and keep prices reasonable so it’s a good buy for customers, but we can still stay in business. We’re not trying to get rich.”

Reuse, reclaim, refurbish, recycle

Hicks’ business partner, Dan Hulse, fixes, reclaims or refurbishes damaged pieces, making them like new. Hulse has cedar boxes displayed in the window of Life’s Leftovers that he built using wood he salvaged from an old barn.

“A buddy of mine was tearing down a barn, and somebody had stored a bunch of lumber up in the rafters,” said Hulse. “I came across probably four or five nice pieces. There wasn’t enough to do anything big, but I’ve got three similar to that [one in the window] out of that lumber. I love to reclaim. If something comes in that’s not quite kosher, we can do something else with it, and it’s not junk. If you bring me a dresser that’s a little bit raggedy, we’ll fix it up like new.”

Evening hours and other information

Hicks and Hulse said they knows what it’s like to have all the stores closed before they gets off work, so Life’s Leftovers is open Monday through Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m., or later.

“If there’s somebody in the store looking around, we’re not going to kick them out,” said Hulse.

To entice people to come in and shop, Hicks said he plans on doing a monthly raffle for one item in the store.

“You will get one raffle ticket for every item you purchase,” Hicks said. “It won’t be a cheap item. It will be something nice, just to try and get people to pay attention.”

Life’s Leftovers will accept cash or credit and will offer layaway and consignment services.