Matthew Burnette, Staff Writer

Some interesting items have been filling the window of the storefront just passed the corner of S. Spring Street and Hillsboro Blvd thanks to Sherry Callahan, the owner of All the T in China.

The store, located in the building that used to house Good Friends Music Parlor, offers unique décor items and furniture, a lot of which Callahan refurbishes herself.

“I am a furniture flipper basically,” she explained. “I get older, neglected pieces of furniture and often paint them, put transfers on them, and sometimes I’ll change the whole look of the piece and then it goes to its forever home.”

Callahan started working with furniture five years ago where she focused solely on refurbishing nightstands, hence the name of her furniture business One Night Stand Home Furnishings. After some inspiration on the Internet, she decided to branch out to other pieces.

“There were other furniture flippers that were really big on YouTube and Instagram and stuff like that,” she says. “I started watching them, and I was like ‘I think I can do this,’ so it started out as kind of like a hobby I guess and then it just took off from there.”

The idea for the new store came when Callahan realized that the previous location she sold at didn’t really fit the needs of her business.

“At the other store I was at, they dropped down to three days a week which impacted one, my customers’ ability to buy paint and two, I list a lot of my furniture on Facebook, so when the store is closed four days a week, that doesn’t really work, so when this place came available for rent, we were like ‘Now’s the time,’ and so we jumped on it,” she says.

In addition to furniture, Callahan also sells supplies to fellow furniture flippers including Dixie Bell and Wise Owl paints.

“I’m the only vendor within 30 miles,” she explained. “I’m locked in so no one else can sell that paint here, so I get a lot of customers who do the same thing I do, but they just buy paint from me.”

Though she says that furniture is her real passion, Callahan has found herself finding and selling other items as well recently.

“Since opening the store, I’ve started collecting vases and lamps, I have a lot of lamps, and décor pieces because I love to decorate,” says Callahan. “So, I like to pick up pieces that I think other people will enjoy in their home, so I go looking for that.”

Originally from Virginia, Callahan has lived in Tennessee for the last four years and has spent the last two in Manchester. It was when she was living in Oregon that she experienced the fastest turnaround on a piece of furniture.

“There was one piece, it was a five-drawer dresser that I put a transfer on, and I’ve never seen a piece of furniture fly off of Facebook as fast as that piece. Within twenty minutes it was sold, and everyone wanted it,” recalled Callahan. “Here when I put transfers on furniture, it takes a specific buyer. Not everyone here loves transfers.”

A transfer involves placing an adhesive image on a piece of furniture, usually the front, to give it a painted-on look. Though there’s not as big of a market for transfers in Manchester, Callahan says she’s gotten a good response from customers since opening in October.

“So far, everyone that’s come in has been very receptive. They love the store,” she says. “It’s a different feel than an antique mall. I try to keep more higher, upscale things here. I do have some vendors, and we do have some vendor space still available, but I think so far everyone’s been warm and welcoming.”

Callahan says she also enjoys Manchester, particularly when comparing it to Memphis, where she lived previously.

“That was like the Wild, Wild West, so I like the slower, you know, I can get anywhere in five minutes where in Memphis just to go downtown you’re an hour sometimes depending on traffic,” she explained. “I like that there’s no crime here. I can leave my door unlocked and not be stressed and worried about it.”

The store also gives Callahan the chance to work with her daughter, Sarah, who you can often find greeting customers at the front counter.

“She’s awesome at marketing, which if you follow the Forum, you see some of her funny posts on there, but yeah, she’s great,” remarked Callahan.

Though she’s still settling in, Callahan says she does have plans to expand, just not right now.

“I want to see how this goes and then we’ll go from there,” she says. “But one day I would like to be in a much bigger space with more vendors and more stuff to see.”

All the T in China is located at 105 Hillsboro Dr. and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.