Theodore’s self-proclaimed ‘junk man’ a sought-after craftsman and Alabama Maker
Charles Phillips Antiques and Architecturals in Theodore makes old treasures like new. Photo courtesy of Mark Sandlin.
The Maker: Charles Phillips, Charles Phillips Antiques and Architecturals, Theodore
Charles Phillips calls himself a “junk man,” but his antiques, collectibles and unique cabinet creations fill homes and businesses around the world. The Mobile area craftsman grew up with an appreciation for antiques and an appetite for collecting.
“My parents started taking me antiquing at an early age, I remember going to auctions when I was 2 or 3 years old,” says the owner of Charles Phillips Antiques and Architecturals. “My mother and I opened an antique shop when I was 16.”
After attending university in South Carolina, and meeting his future wife, Sue, Phillips returned to the family farm in Alabama to open his own antiquing business. “Sue and I put up a building, and bought a tiny ad in a local newspaper paper advertising our shop,” he remembers. “We sold $12 worth of stuff that first day.”
Charles Phillips restores antiques and more as an Alabama Maker from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
With that first dozen dollars, the hard-working antique hunter built a sprawling complex just south of Mobile. The original building is now joined by eight huge barns holding about 50,000 square feet of antiques, accessories and salvaged architectural details from all over the world.
“In addition to all that, we’ve also raised six kids,” Phillips adds.
As his antique business has grown, so have Phillips’ antiquing trips. “You can buy some stuff by word of mouth or online, but you really have to go and see it,” he says.
And Phillips has found a new way to stay busy while he’s home. “About eight years ago I started making things like consoles, bars, kitchen islands and tables from reclaimed wood and architectural pieces salvaged from old buildings,” he says. “I’m not a fine arts craftsman, I basically just look at the parts and create the furniture I see in them.”
Selling such pieced together masterpieces now accounts for about 70 percent of the total business, with customers coming from all over the country looking to find a one-of-kind item for their home or office. Even with all his success, however, Phillips doesn’t like to brag. He’d rather talk about his late father, Dr. Sidney Phillips, (a family physician and World War II hero who was one of the soldiers portrayed in the HBO miniseries The Pacific and Ken Burns’ documentary The War), or his son Luke Phillips (known across the South for his custom-made porch swings and daybeds).
“My dad was a real intellectual and my son is a real craftsman,” Phillips says with a smile. “I’m just the junk man in the family.”
The Product: Antique furniture and salvaged architectural pieces; home accessories and decor (such as collectibles, prints and linens), and custom-made consoles, counters, bars, kitchen islands, headboards, desks, and potting benches made from reclaimed wood and antique architectural elements.
Charles Phillips Antiques and Achitecturals, 4505 Laurendine Road, Theodore 36582
- Telephone: 251-973-2885 www.charlesphillipsantiques.com
- Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Take Home: A decorative cross made from antique architectural elements ($30 to $85), or an antique dough bowl ($68).
