Terri Jones gets some help from Ballew and Reed. photo by Chrissy Alspaugh
Their combined style, meticulously showcased by Ballew’ s professional designer’ s eye, gave their booth space unmistakable appeal.
Reed had been running a booth at the Brown County Antique Mall for about five years when the women learned that their shared booth at another beloved antique mall was coming to an end. She approached Brown County Antique Mall owner Cheri Sumter with the idea of expanding their booth into her entire back warehouse building. Sumter said their initial meeting left her excited about the duo’ s abundance of energy, ambition, and ideas. And almost immediately after their trove of vintage opened in October,“ it started drawing a new crowd,” Sumter said.“ When you hear‘ antique mall,’ trust me, they’ re nothing you’ d imagine! There are people coming to their store who have lived in Nashville their whole lives and have never visited this antique mall.”
Some of Route 46’ s signature offerings stem from Reed’ s passion for tiki, Western wear, Mexican pottery, and pop culture. She’ s said the store also boasts the largest collection of vintage Hawaiian shirts in Indiana.
The store’ s romantic, sometimes French-inspired touches are Ballew: beautiful women’ s clothing, accessories, and household wares featuring velvet, lace, sequins, and satin.
“ We can walk into a thrift store shopping together and hone in on completely different things,” Ballew said, beaming.“ Our eye is complimentary. At this point, we just trust each other, and it all ends up working beautifully.”
Nashville textile artist Terri Jones described Route 46 Vintage as“ one of a kind.”
“ You’ re not going to find anything like this at your usual mom and pop( store),” Jones said.
Indianapolis resident Sherri Roizen stopped by the shop after recently visiting her family in Nashville and was loosely looking for textiles for quilting. Or maybe a new pair of cowboy boots. Roizen couldn’ t help stroking a beige cashmere sweater, noting the heavier weight of older cashmeres compared to those produced today.“ These pieces will just last forever,” she said.“ You won’ t find anything like this today.”
Customers inspired by Route 46’ s style can get
Continued on 62 March / April 2024 • Our Brown County 61