Dept. One Three Hosting Ladies Night Out

Jessica Wheeler, owner of Dept. One Three in the East Ridge Antique Shopping District, located at 6501 Slater Road in Chattanooga behind the Cracker Barrel, wants all you ladies to know she thinks you deserve a night out! In fact, Jessica is hosting a “Ladies Night Out” on Friday, Dec. 10 from 6 to 9-ish p.m., and it’s for ladies only! Leave the men at home or ask them to go do their Christmas shopping for you while you enjoy a night out with the girls. Jessica’s husband, Jamie Wheeler helps her throughout the store, moving, staging, building – you name it. But this is one night, Jamie will be left at home, too!

Dept. One Three hosted a fantastic Christmas Open House on Saturday, Nov. 13, and she and Jamie send their appreciation to everyone who came out and supported them, and enjoyed all the snacks and great sales. Now, Jessica and Jamie, along with all their vendors, are working like busy bees trying to restock the booths and stage all the new and old goodies coming in. It will be wall-to-wall with great antiques, vintage, primitives, collectibles, old store items, paint and painted items, and so much more, just in time for the ladies night out event. 

Dept. One Three has added several new vendors since we last visited. One vendor custom crafts pillows of all kinds – some with blanket stitching, and stencils with unique stitching as well, and these pillows are selling fast! There’s a new vendor who specializes in Vintage toys for both girls and boys. They are from wood, metal and plastic, and are most all “old school type toys.” Be sure to visit the ladies clothing boutique; you’ll love all the new styles and colors. Another vendor has been with the Wheelers since opening, and carries hundreds of die cast collectibles of automobiles. These make great stocking stuffers for boys and girls, and for those car enthusiasts you left at home. You might just take him a couple of special ones for supporting you having that great night out with the ladies. 

Another vendor who Jessica says she could not do without is Becky Brown. Becky works four or five days a week and you will often hear Jessica say when a question comes up, “Ask Becky, she’s the boss, I just own the place.” Becky also loves to paint, and she will be having a paint party Saturday, Dec. 4 at 11a.m. You’ll be able to choose a door hanger of your choice to paint. Becky cuts all the patterns out herself, and sands them and cuts in the designs – you just pick your colors and paint. Jessica and Jamie have opened up another room and made it private, so Becky and others who want to hold classes will have a quiet place to host them. You can look at her samples on Facebook; go to “Beck and Company.” It’s a great and fun idea to schedule your office Christmas party, a church class party or even a birthday party to bring a small group together to visit and share a memory.

Dept. One Three has another vendor who custom builds solid wood tables: end tables, side tables, dining tables, book cases, a variety of shelving and numerous other items, just the way you want them. They have a vendor who specializes in Dixie Belle paint, which would be a great class to take as well. There’s 70 vendors inside Dept. One Three, and I can’t describe what each specializes in, but you can be sure you’re going to find a lot you like!

Jessica and Jamie want you to mark your calendars for 2022, when they will start hosting the monthly cruise-ins the second Saturday of March through October from 6 to about 8 p.m. This year, they had 134 at one cruise-in, the highest number of old, new and classic vehicles they’d had so far. Plan on bringing your friends who are passionate about their vehicles, and make it 200 in 2022! Ladies, invite a couple of friends, and take them to the “Ladies Night Out” to shop and snack and enjoy the fun on Friday evening, Dec. 10. Jessica looks forward to meeting all of you. Tell her you read it in the Busy Bee Trader!

By Maxine B Jones, Ocoee, Tennessee