“Diggers dig the obscure, the unusual, the beautiful. They are not afraid of history.”
- Natali Pope, co-owner of Diggers Antiques and Uniques
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The soulful lyrics of Pink Floyd flow through the air as I open the door. He laments,
“… how I wish you were here ...“ as if calling to take me down memory lane.
Behind the register, Digger’s co-owner, Terri Garner, greets me with soft blue eyes. Her long blonde strands are memorable, her hands, unmistakable. Native American Navajo jewelry of silver and turquoise encircle each of her fingers and her wrists. Her fingernails are painted in clear polish with tips to match the stones on her hands. It’s jewelry, it’s art, but more so, it’s Terri.
“It’s my signature,” Terri admits, proudly.
Terri lives in the heart of Fayetteville where her grandparents built their home almost 100 years ago, just a few miles away from Diggers. They were dairy farmers who raised cows and planted corn. Back then, life was simple, but rich, saturated with family ties, and strong friendships.
“If your neighbors were sick, you’d all be there helping them. It’s what people did. You were there for one another. Good times and bad times,” Terri explained.
Ms. Lois, Terri’s mother, would heat up the iron to just the right temperature, on the only pot belly stove in the house. Then, she would press the white dresses she made for her four daughters, nice and flat. A pot belly stove now stands in the corner, at Diggers.
Terri reminisces, “Antiques were everywhere in our home. We just didn’t know it.”
Her present home is graced with Victorian furniture, including a circular bed and ornate lamps, which she finds beautiful, elegant, and “peaceful.”
“We’re not going to live forever, but lamps can stay around forever.” Terri remarked.
Diggers Antiques and Uniques was born four years ago, basically out of survival. Terri Garner and Natali Pole had individual spaces, with another 46 vendors, in an antique shop. One day, the owner dropped the news that he was shutting down the business and gave all renters 26 days to leave the premise.
“We panicked,” says Natali, her eyes widening from behind her round glasses. “Terri and I came together, and said, ‘Yeah, let’s start a business on our own’.”
One month later, all 48 antique enthusiasts moved into this one-story, nondescript building with a big, unpaved parking lot, on the busiest street in Fayetteville. In the store window, there are no mannequins with porcelain skin and new clothes to lure you into the store. Yet you’re “called” to enter. You’re called to walk down memory lane.
I wonder aloud about the name - “Diggers.” Natali and Terri quickly make it clear to me - the important difference between a “digger” and a “picker.”
Natali explained, “We’re diggers! We don’t pick. We dig through piles of stuff, just to find that one special thing!”
“Diggers dig the obscure, the unusual, the beautiful. They are not afraid of history.” Natali added softly.
Natali stands on the other side of the counter. In front of her, a shallow tray holds heaps of brooches, rings, and necklaces. She rubs the underside of a brooch, a careful finger gliding effortlessly under the pin.
I watch, mesmerized. “Do you ever get tired of cleaning and polishing?”
She laughs. “I could do this all day. Each piece is unique. Each piece has a story.”
I’m now curious. “What’s your story?”, I ask.
A true East Coaster, Natali was born in Boston and raised in Cape Cod. Her grand father studied at Harvard, and her dad was a Naval Architect in WW2. After completing a double major in history and technical theater, young Natali moved to California to seek a career in the film industry. Many years later, she and her husband decided to move to the South.
“I always wanted to live in the South. We packed our things and left.”
A set decorator for over 30 years, Natali continues to design sets for movies and TV, and manages Diggers, with her partner, Terri.
Natali’s designated area at the store is a lady’s paradise. Fancy furs, bedazzled shoes and vintage bags with rhinestones and beads are her sweet obsession. Old perfume bottles, some with ornate curves and fancy tops sit on shelves in turn-of-the-century glass cabinets. I try on a feathered hat and feel like twice the lady. I ask Natali if the hat is sitting right. She motions me to tilt it, just a tad, further back on my head.
This lover of history and beauty offers me a tour. We begin at the front examining a woolen forage hat of a soldier from the Civil War.
“We have a flag or two from back then too”, Terri chimed in.
As a digger visiting Diggers, you’re free to wander though the aisles without any hassle from the owners.
“We leave people alone when they come in here. They can take as much time as they want. If they have questions, we’ll try to answer them,” said Terri.
Interesting inventory pulls customers in from all walks of life. Folks from Pinewood and The Walking Dead seek out layering pieces for their movie sets. Maybe a magazine, an old lamp, anything that could tell a story. My eyes scan countless items that were once functional and meaningful in people’s homes. A pair of plush velvet armchairs, a collection of vintage cars and a small bundle of letters addressed in faded ink. Natali points to a yellowed cotton shirt, with a scalloped collar, small enough to fit an infant. I compare the once-starched outfit to the “onesies” babies now wear, and Natali and I chuckle. An hour later, covering 16,000 sq. ft. of inventory, we’re finally back at the register. I feel as though we had weaved a shortcut through history.
Vendors at Diggers come from all backgrounds. When the old store went out of business, all 49 dealers traveled together to set up shop at this new location. Selling antiques at Diggers is usually a side hustle for most sellers. Husband and wife team, Marty and Laura, share a space and show dogs for a living. A retired Air Force pilot, Marty enjoys collecting military uniforms and other war-related objects to sell. Steve, a retiree, stocks curio cabinets, brass bird cages, and gilded frames, on the other side of the store.
“A lot of memories of people wanting to pass their things on. Sometimes their families don’t want those things or have space, so they bring them here to sell. When they are here they find a new home, but not for long,” explained Natali.
Diggers Antiques and Uniques isn’t looking for a new home anytime soon. Though the inventory keeps growing to satisfy its customers’ appetites, the plan is to stay put.
“We’ll keep expanding, though just in the packing lot,” Terri and Natalie joked.
A century ago, the busiest street in Fayetteville was once a dirt road lined with thick trees and no buildings. Someone had a vision, and changed the course of history. Over time, so will others. And we’ll be left with the choice to bury the past, or celebrate it.
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