Bringing a personal touch to estate sales

BRINGING A PERSONAL TOUCH TO SORTING AND SELLING ESTATES

By: Jessi Haish LaRue

n heirloom, by definition, is a family possession handed down from generation to generation. The same could be said of Heirloom Estate Sales, a business based out of Sycamore, and owned by Rob and Cris Frye of DeKalb. They purchased the company from Cris’ aunt, Pam Faivre, and Faivre’s sister Mary Martin about five years ago. “She’s the one who got me into antiques and auctioning when I was a kid,” Cris said of Faivre. Cris started by working for them and holding sales when Faivre was unable, and it eventually blossomed into Cris and Rob purchasing the business, even though they also work full-time jobs. Cris is a hairdresser of more than 30 years and runs a beauty shop out of their home. Rob has worked for Johnson Controls, now Adient, for more than 30 years. However, they enjoy working estate sales and the bond it allows them to have with their local community. They see themselves in the estate sale business for a long time. “This started as part time, a sale here and there, and now we do one or two sales every weekend,” Rob said. “It morphed very quickly. We got a lot of push locally from people who wanted this.” Cris even offers services for valuations through the DeKalb County courthouse and estate hearings. They both graduated from Sycamore High School and currently live in DeKalb. “We’re local and very much in tune with the community,” Rob said.

They’ve found happiness and success in their venture over the years, but their latest challenge has been getting back to “normal” following a year of shut downs due to COVID. They’ve recently returned to in-person sales, usually located in the home of the seller, with strict mask guidelines and social distancing in place. “We experimented with online sales but it is a lot of work,” Cris said. “We’re happy to be doing in-person sales again.” Rob said about 95% of their sales are held within the home of the seller. Heirloom Estate Sales steps in to organize a sale when there’s typically a death in the family, someone moving into assisted living, or even just downsizing homes or moving out of state. They stress that they are an estate sale company, not an auction company, and each item in a sale is individually priced. The owners and employees of Heirloom know it’s an intimate job, as they are hired to go through someone’s belongings. “We’re very selective on who works for us, so this is really a family business,” Rob said. “You’re going through people’s lives. So often you get to know people for who they were just by going through their homes.” Rob highlighted his sister Angie Cano and Cindy Montoya as their “backbone” employees. “Those are the two people that we count on to step up and run the show,” he said. “We don’t have to worry.” Cris said that although both she and her husband were born and raised here, they still meet so many new, wonderful people through their business. Although there’s a lot of emotions involved, the Fryes try to take that out of the equation for the homeowner. “It makes it easier because we can go in and go through things and take the emotion out of it,” Cris said. “We don’t have the emotional ties to the stuff. But it is an entire array and we deal with a lot of emotions.” However, working in such an intimate business has allowed the Fryes to get to know people on another level. “We have met amazing people through our business, from the people we’ve held sales for, to the customers who shop there,” she said. COVID closures also allowed time for Cris and Rob to work on projects at their building, located at 560 DeKalb Avenue in Sycamore. This building allows for Heirloom to combine multiple, smaller sales, especially for people who have items to sell but not enough to host their own sale. It’s also an option for people who can’t hold a sale at a place like a retirement home. Between this building and in-home sales, they sometimes have one or two sales every weekend. “We enjoy doing it.” Rob said. “We enjoy the people we meet. We’ve gained friends through the people we’ve met.” They have also spent a lot of time educating themselves on current trends and the market, which is ever-changing, Cris said. “The trends change quick,” she said. “Two years ago it was Joanna Gaines, now it’s very mid-century. What was hot two, five years ago, now is not.” With the changing trends, they’ve also seen a change of audience at their sales. While they have a lot of familiar-faced regulars, they’re seeing a younger generation, the “minimalist generation,” as Rob put it, is out shopping as well. That even applies to the Fryes’ children. “We love when young couples come in when they buy a house,” Cris said. “What we are seeing is that they want an experience. With thrifting being so hot, I think it’s catching on in our industry as well.” The latest “hot” item? Antique toys. “You don’t have to promote that, it promotes itself,” Cris said of old toys. “1980s and older. Everybody wants what they had when they were a kid, and they want their kids to like it, too.” And whatever one may be looking for, they usually have it. Rob says they sell everything from antiques to cleaning supplies, to cars and even boats. However, as expansive as their sales may be, they’ll always be in DeKalb County. “We’re staying right where we are at,” Rob said. “We have outstanding customers, and a huge following on Facebook. There is more than enough business here for us.”