THRAMS Antiques has been open in Bronson for about four months and was started by women because of their hobbies that turned into a business.
“We pick up antiques and furniture in our spare time,” Mandie Ericson, one of the pickers said. “This is a hobby that we started several years back and used the extra room at the Bronson Locker (same building and same family) to display our unique finds. We take passion in finding rare collectible antiques that can be repurposed and used in homes.”
According to https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Picker,
a picker is an early bird who hunts swap meets, estate sales, thrift stores, etc, and scoops up the good deals – often for resale in antique shops or on eBay.
“All antiques have a story to tell, and they become more valuable over time,” she said. “It is our passion to make people happy and for people in our area to have the opportunity to shop for antiques and unique items.”
“We find things (to sell) through people selling on the marketplace and estate sales as well as people wanting us to buy from them directly,” said Mandie Ericson.
The antique storefront is adjacent to the Bronson Locker, 504 Clay Street.
“Helen Bolling is the owner of the Bronson Locker so we had room to open it in the old hardware building (adjacent to the Bronson Locker) and we think it’s a great addition to the town of Bronson,” said Mandie.
The name of the antique shop is THRAM’s Antiques, with the R for Rayma Ridge, recently added.
T is for Tyler Ericson, H is for Helen Bolling, R is for Rayma, A is for Amber Ericson, and M is for Mandie Ericson.
Helen and Mandie work at the Bronson Locker, while Amber Ericson, the main investor of the antique shop, is a 4th-grade teacher at Uniontown. Tyler Ericson is currently at Pittsburg State University pursuing her degree in elementary education and Rayma works in insurance, helps at the locker when she can and has her own disc jockey business.
“Helen is Amber’s mom and Mandie and Tyler are Amber’s daughters-in-law and Rayma is my sister,” Mandie said. “I basically manage the Bronson locker so we take care of the antique shop through the locker while Amber teaches at school.”
Mandie and Helen work at the antique shop during the day while Rayma and Tyler help on weekends and Amber helps after school and weekends, Mandie said.
The antique store will be open every weekend in March on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 to 3 p.m.
Contact Amber (call or text) 620-363-1159 to schedule an appointment or with any questions regarding the store, according to their Facebook page.
“Our family has been collecting antiques for several years and really enjoy it,” Mandie said. “We have very nice collectible items, household basics, as well as one-of-a-kind furniture for fantastic prices!”
