Janet Firth: Teenage Antique dealer blog

Teenage Antique Dealer ThrivesTeenage Antique Dealer ThrivesBy Janet FirthBy Janet Firth

Teenage Antique Dealer Teenage Antique Dealer ThrivesThrives

Thomas Knepshield isn’t like other

teenagers. His interest doesn’t lie in the latest

video game or superhero movie.

Instead, he spends his weekends “picking” and

selling antiques.

According to an article recently completed by

The Courier Journal, Knepshield mans his own booth every weekend at the local Clover Cottage Antiques and Collectibles Mall, where he has sold

dozens of products in just a few short months of

business.


He specializes in Coca-Cola memorabilia and

old oil cans. Knepshield also has an online business, where

he buys and sells various products,

some of which he later places for sale at his

booth in the mall.


Knepshield knows he’s different from his peers. He doesn’t often discuss his business at school, as most kids his age

aren’t necessarily interested in antiques; but that is of little matter to him, as he simply enjoys being able to say that he is an “antiques dealer.”As a freshman of a meager fourteen years

old, he is literally a generation younger than any of the other dealers at the

Clover Cottage mall.


Lisa Wirth, the owner of the mall, acknowledges that he is an exceptional individual for his age, saying that he is very knowledgeable and sharp. She is

n ’t wrong either, as Knepshield’s grandparents recall him mentioning

years previously that it was his goal to have his own antiques business by the

age of sixteen.


With such exceptional ambitions, the origins become a matter of

interest. His grandfather indicates that a trip to a

Coca-Cola museum several years ago sparked an interest in aged coke

products. This was cemented when, three years ago, Knepshield received a box full of

Coke collectables.


However, his grandmother tells a bit of a different story; she has always had an avid interest in antiques and

would often take Knepshield along with

her to yard sales. Now, he goes by choice,

often picking up items for resale at his booth

on the weekends.



Knepshield dreams of expanding his business and of owning a particular

motorcycle, made by an old Indian brand by a company that started in 1901. This

item would not be for sale, as he indicates that he’d much rather keep it for his own

uses.

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Janet Firth: Teenage Antique dealer blog