Welcome to the Ivy Cottage!
Come on in, pull up a rocking chair and grab a cup of coffee, while we tell you a little about us. Then flip through our pictures to get a feeling for what it means to be a member of the Ivy Cottage family.
We hope you’ll plan to spend a lot of time in what the Insider’s Guide calls “Wilmington’s favorite furniture and home accessory consignment shop.” (You can read more about what others have to say about us here.) We’ve have more than 25,000 square feet in four buildings and two outside garden areas. The Ivy Cottage specializes in selling classic furniture and home accessories, antiques, china, crystal, silver, fine jewelry, oriental carpets, art work and yard and garden items. Hundreds of new items arrive every day!
The Ivy Cottage was opened in 1998 by the mother/daughter team of Sam Dunn and Kelaine Vargas. Sam and Kelaine came to Wilmington originally to run a bed & breakfast but found it a little too quiet after traveling the world as a military family, so the idea of The Ivy Cottage was born.
But the idea didn’t come out of nowhere–Sam, who was an Army daughter and Army wife her entire life before moving to Wilmington, had sold furniture and Oriental and Persian carpets for many years. She also spent years as a volunteer in the Army’s resale shops. These consignment shops are set up to help Army families sell unwanted items so they don’t have to move them from one post to the next. Naturally, this was a great training opportunity for someone who would eventually see the need for such a business here in Wilmington. Kelaine spent countless hours with Mom (and without) exploring antique shops and flea markets in Europe and the United States. These adventures gave her a great love for and knowledge of antiques, old sterling and fine linens.
Armed with this knowledge and some courage, hard work and luck, Sam and Kelaine opened the first Ivy Cottage at 3020 Market Street. Fortunately, the people of Wilmington thought it was a great idea too. It was a big success from the first day and filled to overflowing within a year. By 2001 the second building was built right next door at 3030 Market Street and in 2004 Building 3 and the warehouse were acquired at 3100 Market Street.
Now that you know our story, pour a second cup of coffee and flip through our album below — of the things we have to offer and the people who make our store a home away from home. And then stop by in person and let us show you around!
