Great Expectations
Elise Speck, the owner of Great ExSpecktations at The Shoppes at Oldies But Goodies, has had a passion for baking, creating and “antique picking” since she was a young girl. Her main source of inspiration was her mother, Doris, who started teaching her at a young age about baking and creating.
Elise won many awards at the local county fair for her baked goods. Now she shares her talents in the kitchen by baking delicious treats for customers who venture into the store. Her recipes are all crafted from the heart in her home kitchen to bring memories of Grandma’s kitchen to all. On the creative side, Elise enjoys “antique picking” to find items to salvage, re-purpose and sell in her booth. Along with that, she offersa wide variety of products for people to re-purpose their own items. In her vendor booth, customers can select from: Country Chic eco-friendly chalk paints, waxes and glazes, Re-design With Prima transfers, decoupage paper and medium, molds and molding materials, stencils and waxes and stamps; Jamie Ray Vintage stencils, stencil brushes and decoupage papers. Elise has a large selection of items for all ages including collectibles, decorative items and furniture.
In 2009 our interest began to change into homesteading and becoming more self-reliant. We began keeping poultry and started a small apiary. We started mowing less grass and growing more fruits and veggies. It was at this time we decided to become a legitimate farm, never thinking it would go anywhere too far outside of our circle. Late 2010 a cancer diagnosis changed our lives and perspectives. Choosing a natural and holistic approach to dealing with a disease, we began to change our lifestyles completely. We began to become very mindful of the world around us and how that world affects us, both physically and mentally. We studied and learned transcendental meditation, reiki, cell-level healing, and more. The farm’s focus became more holistic which pushed it in the direction of permaculture and sustainability. Our focus became more holistic as well. We stopped using the harmful things that made us out of balance and fertile ground for disease. We turned to the world literally right outside our door and began to learn how to use plants and plant medicine to heal and thrive.
Practices
We took some herbalism courses and began using these natural products and sharing them with friends and family. We never had any idea that something amazing would happen. People ended up loving the products and they actually helped other people. So, we’ve come to a point now where we have the desire and the skills to help people from all over the country. We’ve begun to put our dream of doing this full time in to reality. We have decided to go all in with the Bespoke Apothecary brand. Bespoke means goods made to order. Apothecary means one who prepares medicines. Being that we make small batch custom plant-based medicines and products, we felt this name represents who we are and what we do.
Bespoke Apothecary
Mike Manwaring
I developed an interest in and started collecting art glass shortly after retiring from the military in 2017. Within a few years of collecting, my interests expanded to other forms of art, such as paintings, sculpture & music. I think that some things in the world are more beautiful and/or more tragic than we have language for and that is where the best art comes from. I don't think it's possible to fall in love with art and not have that eventually lead you to antiques. The effort that was put into adding beauty to otherwise everyday practical use items in previous generations is unmatched in most things available for purchase today.
I've been selling some of the treasures I find in booth B68 at The Shoppes At Oldies But Goodies since 2022. You'll sometimes find obscure items in my booth, but I always have art glass, lamps, stoneware & paintings available.
