My Vintage Home: Candice Spicer’s Life is a Nod to the Past

My Vintage

Candice Spicer’s Life is a Nod to the Past Home

L. A. DISON

Spicer’s living room is a celebration of classic Sixties décor.

Since she was a child, Smoke Rise resident Candice Spicer has been obsessed with everything vintage. More than just an avid collector of items manufactured between 1960 and 1980, Spicer lives a vintage life, in everything from her home architecture and decorating, to the clothes and accessories she wears on a daily basis.

Spicer was born and raised in Tuskegee, Alabama, the oldest of two daughters born to city planner Walter and college professor Nan. Spicer has fond memories of her childhood, especially of the frequent Saturday mornings when the family would pile into the car and visit an estate sale or auction. The upper middle-class family would not have been out of place browsing through the items for sale except for the color of their skin. “We were often the only people of color at auctions in these Alabama towns,” remembers Spicer, “but my parents raised us with an appreciation for these finer items, and we were taught that nothing there was off-limits to us nor impossible to acquire.”

Spicer’s mother nurtured her oldest daughter’s love and appreciation of vintage items when they visited the auctions together, where Candice watched her mother purchase carefully selected items and then often resell them at a profit. Spicer also became fascinated with the architecture in her community; both her parents and her grandmother owned mid-century houses. “I grew up with people who lived in mid-century and post-modern houses (built between the 1940s and the 1980s). There was always really cool stuff inside.”

At twelve, Spicer bought her first antique, a mammy rocking bench, which she still has, and hasn’t stopped since. Over the past thirty-five years, she has amassed a vast treasure trove of vintage items, which includes over three hundred furs in addition to clothing, furniture, glassware, dishes, vinyl records, telephones, jewelry and other accessories, and more than a few one-of-a-kind period items. She travels often in search of unique collectibles to add to her collection, visiting estate sales, garage sales, and private collections throughout the United States. Her friends are also resources; she collects discarded items from them so often that they have lovingly nicknamed her “The Junkernecker,” which, roughly translated from German, means “someone who loves junk.”

In 1999, Spicer “accidentally” moved from Alabama. “I never intentionally moved to Atlanta,” explained Spicer with a smile. “I helped my family move in 1999 and didn’t even bring any belongings. I just never left.” In 2016, she purchased and renovated a 1960s-era house in Smoke Rise, which she has furnished and decorated from her vintage collection. “My friends would say my house looks like the set from the movie ‘Casino,’ or ‘That 70s Show.’ Every room in the house has a Seventies or Eighties theme, and I actually change each room seasonally. My favorite room has to be my living room; it’s Seventies and gaudy on purpose!”

About ten years ago, the Seventies and Eighties began a comeback. Late Boomers waxed nostalgic for reminders of their youth, and Zoomers developed a fascination with the period, due in part to the popularity of television shows like “Mad Men” and “Stranger Things.” With an extensive collection of vintage items from the period, most in pristine or like-new condition, Spicer became known as a ready resource for film and television props. Sharp-eyed viewers can catch sight of some of her items in comedy series “Boomerang” and “The Wonder Years” reboot, and videos from several music artists, including Young Dolph and Snoop Dog, Nivea, Usher, and Summer Walker.

With the growing popularity of the period, and the continuing growth of her personal collection, Spicer began to market her items online in 2018, opening an official online store in 2019. Post-pandemic, she wanted to leverage her online success in a brick-and-mortar model, and searched for a local location that would fit her vintage stylings. She found it in a vacant 1970s-era, former auto repair shop on Railroad Avenue in downtown Tucker. Fifty years of auto repair had left layers of oil and grime in the building, which Spicer spent months cleaning up mostly by herself. Earlier this year, she moved into the space with a select inventory from her collection,

Spicer with some of her inventory of vintage glassware.

and is allowing a limited number of customers into the store by appointment. Early next year, she plans a grand opening, and will then open the store to the general public. Spicer also recently launched Tha Vintage Diva, a YouTube channel where she chronicles her adventures searching for vintage treasures.

Spicer’s mother, who helped develop her daughter’s love of vintage, is still an important part of her life and business. Spicer will host monthly lectures at My Vintage Home, featuring experts in period topics. The first lecture, “Music as Social Commentary,” is scheduled on Wednesday, November 16 at 6:30 p.m., with Dr. Nan Poole Spicer, retired professor of music, Savannah State University.

My Vintage Home (4204 Railroad Ave in Tucker) sells and leases vintage, antique, retro, and repurposed housewares, furnishings, and more from several eras, including Mid-Century, Art Deco, Retro and Hollywood Regency. The store houses an extensive collection of carefully curated vintage fur and leather coats, vintage or period clothing, and luxury accessories. It also has access to a substantial fleet of classic and exotic cars which are available to book for all types of productions. My Vintage Home is “All Things Vintage.”

The store currently has five vintage resellers, but is looking for three more resellers. Contact Candice Spicer with questions and inquiries at myvintagehomestore@gmail.com, or visit myvintagehomestore.com.