Vintage versus antique–what’s the difference? Denise Horrigan and Lori Hayward use general ages to help describe their eclectic mix of merchandise at Little Red Hen Antiques & Gifts in Blanco.
“Antiques are usually more than 100 years old,” Denise explains. “Vintage pieces can date back to the ’50s but also to the ’80s and ’90s.” She chuckles. “I guess that makes me vintage, too!”
Lori laughs at her partner’s quip. (So does vintage me.) The two have been close friends since high school. “Our fathers used to fly together in the Air Force,” Denise says. “My dad was a pilot. Hers was a navigator.”
In September 2019, the two women and a third friend, Carie DiBonaventura, enjoyed antiquing together so much that they decided to jump into the business. “We thought about starting out as a booth in an antique store,” Lori says. “But then we found a place to rent in Spring Branch.”
For a year, the trio ran Little Red Hen Antiques & Gifts on FM 306. Where’d the name come from? “We brainstormed about 20 of them on paper, and that one came out on top of the list,” Denise says. “We just liked that one the best.”
Happily, their shop did well in Spring Branch, but they didn’t like their highway location. When an affordable place on the north end of Blanco’s Main Street opened in September 2020, they grabbed it. The white-brick building with two arched doorways and plenty of parking sits a bit off the road at the corner of Main and 13th streets. Three months later, Carrie moved, leaving the business to Denise and Lori.
“We just love Blanco,” Denise tells me. “Being here made sense because I live in Marble Falls and Lori’s in New Braunfels. Plus it’s a destination town with lots of restaurants.”
“Other Blanco business owners have been real supportive of us,” Lori adds. “They’ve come by to welcome us and pick up our cards to give out.”
Speaking from experience, a visit to the Little Red Hen simply can’t be rushed. Outside around the building’s front, old metal plant stands, a wagon wheel, a rusty milk can, patio furniture and other stuff first must be explored. Then inside, treasures large and small¬–beautifully displayed in four rooms–require a leisurely amount of time to browse.
“We go to estate sales, thrift stores and yard sales to find our items,” Lori says. “Sometimes we get things from our family or things are given to us.”
“Not everything is old,” Denise adds. “We do sell some new things, too.”
Vintage and antique pieces, though, by far fill the floors and walls at Little Red Hen. Fenton lamps and glassware range from hobnail milk glass to cranberry swirl. Painted flower motifs and crystal prisms adorn some lamps. In the front room, new kitchen utensils and cutting boards made of exotic olive wood fill pitchers and bowls on a table. I sniff a few of the fragrant soy candles crafted by the New Braunfels Candle Co.
In an adjoining room, a corner of vintage toys include collectible Barbies, Mr. Potato Heads, books and rubber stamps. I also spy ceramic owls, oil lamps, a well-used mail scale, and a manual Remington adding machine. Behind the scale on an 1875 sewing machine cabinet is “Purple Haze,” a painting on canvas by Blanco artist Pete Garcia. (The store also sells small metal ornaments painted with wildflowers, “Blanco, Texas,” and animals by local artist Karen Dawson.)
In Little Red Hen’s “kitchen” room, CorningWare and Pyrex bowls and cookware fill shelves beneath a cabinet of olive oils and balsamic vinegars made by the Texas Hill Country Olive Co. I sample the Prickly Pear balsamic–tasty! Metal sifters, old Tupperware, cast iron skillets, coffee mugs, milk pitchers, measuring cups (old and new) and yesteryear cookbooks fill more shelves. I also find assorted soup and dip mixes, Soberdough Brew Bread mixes, and packages of Patriot Knife Coffee.
My visit ends in a last big room, chock full with framed wall art, more Fenton lamps, vinyl records, Texas books, china cabinets and so much more. One cabinet displays old bar supplies, like crystal decanters, ice buckets, flasks, and cocktail shakers. Another cabinet shows off vaseline and uranium glassware that glow under a black light. And look–Little Red Hen also sells soaps, lotions and lotion bars made from goat milk in Blanco by Kuebel Family Generations.
Beef jerky, too? On my way out, I pause to check out some Whittington’s Jerky from Johnson City tucked in a drawer. Homemade bowl holders in popular college fabrics. Piles of colorful insulated gloves–
Oh, dear, so many things to see at the Little Red Hen Antiques & Gifts and not enough time. Trust me, I speak from experience.
For more info, call (830 ) 255-7664 or go online to www.littleredhenantiques.com.
