Terry Boone is just like his store – a little of this and a little of that mixed to make one image. He is a self-professed Mr. Mom or Daddy Daycare, a spirit animal and early bird who decided to open a storefront to share his memorabilia.
“Been putting together the store, T.B.’s Flea, maybe like two, almost three years,” Boone said.
He offers free pumpkin spice coffee at T.B.’s Flea during weekday business hours, but he will also take appointments for people that want to visit outside of those hours.
“I really wanna open more weekends, especially Saturdays,” he said.
Opening a business and curating the merchandise takes time and effort, he said, and so he worked behind closed doors to make it as perfect as it could be before opening.
“All of this takes time and effort and money to get a store up and off the ground and open,” he said.
He researched and worked at many flea markets and vendor malls for five years before officially opening on Sept. 12 at his location at 220 Hamilton Ave.
“I’m tucked away by Owensboro Grain and Dee’s Diner … you can’t miss me,” he said.
Boone said he has items for “all walks of life,” but specializes in rock and metal music and horror memorabilia.
“I have a ton of band and horror T-shirts, CDs, cassette tapes, some vinyl,” he said. “It is very eccentric – odd, rare and weird stuff. Just stuff in general.”
His love of horror and “scary stuff” is shown in posters, masks and trinkets.
“Even blankets – something for everyone, I kid you not,” he said.
Relying on pop culture and heavy metal, his music items range from country to rap and even Taylor Swift.
“All of the above and then some,” he said.
Although he touts a slow opening, he is excited about the “cool folks” he has met and preparing for Halloween sales to increase his business.
“I’m setting up at Ghostly Production’s Halloween kickoff event this Saturday as a vendor,” Boone said.
Boone emphasized the importance of shopping local if the area wants to keep oddity stores around.
“Support and shop local stores often … walk in and support the mom-and-pop places before all cool stores are gone, never to return,” he said.
T.B.’s Flea is located at 220 Hamilton Ave. Regular postings of merchandise can be viewed on its Facebook page.
