Happy 28th Anniversary Hattie and Nan's Antiques and Books

Joanna Sexton, owner of Hattie and Nan's

“Did you find your treasure today?” is something you may hear from Joanna Sexton, shop owner of Hattie and Nan’s Antiques and Books, while shopping in her unique antique shop. Sexton has been the owner of Hattie and Nan’s since its opening in the 1990s, and her shop is one of the oldest businesses on 14STW, coming up on its 28-year anniversary on September 28th. Sexton said she began her business on 14STW mainly selling rugs, and it quickly grew into selling furniture and a variety of books, which she feels make her shop special. She said she has a specific taste for classic books and always has a nice collection of classic books on the floor in addition to technical books.

A Brief History

Sexton said she began selling antiques professionally in the 1990s. “I say professionally because I bought and sold since I was a kid,” Sexton said. “I've helped pay my way through school or buy some books or I'd have a little sale. I love to do that, you know, buy a bunch of stuff and have a yard sale at the end of the year, get to get tuition together, or whatever.” Before her mother settled in Huntington, Sexton lived in New York City for over 40 years and sold out of her apartment for many years. She would make the commute to Huntington before the 90s to sell antique furniture.

After she and her mother opened Hattie and Nan’s, she kept her apartment and opened a little shop in Nolita, a neighborhood in New York City. She said until the later 90s, she would continue to come to Central City and buy antiques, take them to her shop in Nolita, and sell them to her customers and local dealers in the City. After 9/11, Sexton said her shop, like many in the neighborhood, took a bit hit and she eventually closed a year after. She continued to sell antiques at her newly opened shop in Central City, this time, bringing products from New York and selling them in Central City. 

Who is Hattie and Nan?

Sexton said she struggled on deciding on a name for her business for a while. “Out of all the names, my grandmothers’ names kept coming to mind,” said Sexton. “My grandmother, Hattie, that I was very close with, taught me to work her penny counter in a store in a logging mill, where she sold to the workers that mined the logs,” she added. Her father’s mother, who she called Nan, would make her breakfast every morning. She said, “So I would walk every morning up this little garden path up this hill straight up the hillside in Logan County for my grandmother, Nan. And thus, I made my store for my two grandmothers Hattie and Nan.” 

Sexton said her mother, June, was a community leader and helped make her business successful. “She always had my back and she kept that counter going,” Sexton said. “She's just was a huge part of my business, and had my heart.” Sexton also added that she and her mother figured it out on their own while her grandmothers watched over them.

Shop at Hattie and Nan's Antiques and Books today!

#Throwback!