Collecting hobby parlayed into shop

For more than 30 years, Walt Brown has been collecting cookie jars.

But after a while, those cookie jars started taking up more and more room. So Brown, and his longtime companion, Kelli Cannon, decided to open a collectibles and antique shop.

KC's Collectables is one of Merced's newest collectibles shops, and Cannon, the owner of the store, said she started with her companion's items.

"At first we were just going to sell his stuff in an estate sale," Cannon said. "But we decided to do this instead."

The little shop on Canal Street in downtown Merced is packed with collectibles. From corn silk pottery to old books to paintings made with spray paint, the store has something for almost everyone.

Cannon said she opened the store in June 2009, right in the middle of one of the worst economic recessions in history.

"It's been tough, but we've survived," she said.

Although Cannon wasn't locked into collectibles until she started her business, she offers another reason for running an antique store.

"I've always loved history, and I love antiques," she said. "There's so much history in these things."

Antiques are often described as items that are at least 50 years old, depending on what the antique is. Cars are often antiques before pottery, for example.

Cannon's shop provides space for vendors who want to sell antiques and collectibles, and those vendors display a wide variety of items.

"We have one vendor who is from Germany, and a lot of her things come from Germany," Cannon said.

Cannon and Brown both said people interested in antiques and collectibles should do some research before they buy.

"There are a lot of good books about antiques out there," Cannon said. "People can find out what's popular and what things are worth."

There are a few items of old clothing for sale in the store, but Cannon wants to expand into that area even more.

"I'm trying to get a lot of vintage clothing, and I want to have costumes, too," she said.

One trunk in the shop held old, broken-in baseball mitts. But there used to be a lot more mitts in that trunk.

"I went to the Little League parade and gave a bunch of the mitts to the kids," Brown said. "I didn't charge them for them -- I gave them to the ones who needed them."

Brown also plays Santa Claus for the kids at Christmas, and helps Cannon out in the store.

And there are still some of Brown's cookie jars for sale at the shop.

"I have another whole shop full of things when these are gone," Brown said.

Here's one businessman who doesn't mind getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Reporter Carol Reiter can be reached at (209) 385-2486 or creiter@mercedsun-star.com.