The Georgian Village shops are located at 1714 West 45th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64111, one block east of State Line Road at the northeast corner of 45th Street and Bell. The complex houses seven shops selling antiques, estate jewelry, art and providing jewelry design and fabrication.
My own shop, R. J. Fendorf Antiques, is located in The Georgian Village. After twenty plus years of collecting antiques and a case of burnout from practicing law and working in the nonprofit world for twenty plus years, I decided to try a change and open an antique shop. I'd been a regular shopper at 45th & State Line for years. When I decided to open a shop, I never considered any other location than the 45th & State Line area. Why is that? While Kansas City has other places you can shop for antiques, no other location offers the combination of concentration of shops and quality of merchandise to be found in the area at 45th & State Line. The district also provides the opportunity to talk about the merchandise with the dealer selling it and take advantage of the dealer's knowledge and expertise (as well as the ability to discuss terms directly with the dealer). This is something you can't do at an antique mall and for both the novice and the experienced collector is a big plus. Many dealers will also allow you to take a piece home and try it out. This is also something you won't find at most antique malls, markets or shows. I don't know about others, but I am rarely an "impulse buyer" and the ability to look at, examine and consider a piece over time was and is important to me in making a purchase.
Now that you've been introduced to the district, what can you expect from this blog in the future?
Over the next few weeks you will be introduced to the dealers in the district, see samples of their stock, get updates on new items available in the district, read design tips and information about antiques and art, and generally be kept abreast of what's going on in and around the district.
Jeff Fendorf
