MAI would like to introduce to you this month’s Center Stage feature, Carolyn Boone and her booth “Black Belt Antiques.”
Carolyn is originally from Lowndes County, Alabama, and has lived in Tuscaloosa for thirty-two years. She and her husband have five children and six grandchildren. By education, Carolyn is a registered nurse but she has a great passion for antiques. She founded The Black Belt Antiques, LLC in 1996 as her vehicle to immerse herself in her love of history and antiques; a love she credits her great grandmother and both grandmothers with instilling. Her great grandmother, who died when Carolyn was sixteen, had inherited portraits, paintings, furniture, and silver from her grandfather, Lewis Owen, who was a jeweler and silversmith in Montgomery from 1831 to 1856. As a child, Carolyn was fascinated by the “Stories” connected to those pieces.
Black Belt Antiques, specializes in English, French, and southern antiques. Carolyn strives to find beautiful pieces in good condition that are well priced. Currently, her favorite pieces are the framed original drawings from the Victorian stained-glass company, Clayton and Bell. The drawings are beautiful and listed on the back and in the margins are the colors of the panes, date of drawing, and the names of the churches where the windows would be installed.
