One of the businesses helping to innaugurate the renaissance of Senoia’s historic downtown is Second Hand Sams, the eclectic boutique whose collection of new offerings and consignments serves as a metaphor for the growth and preservation of this small Coweta city. Karen Laing and Tammie Golden have at 90 Main Street assembled a potpourri of wares that is often surprising and certain to intrigue all who pass through. The consignments, where one can always discover something, are given new life by the new handbags, luggage, gifts, accessories, and articles of home decor, a combination of the antique and the novel that makes Second Hand Sams so unique.

The melding of diverse elements at Second Hand Sams extends to the personalities of its owners. The extroverted Laing, a former nurse from Boston, is known to customers as the “sassy Northerner,” while Golden, an Alabamian who has worked in retail and wholesale buying, is called the “sweet Southerner.” This is a contrast, made spicier stillby the idiosyncracies of a small Southern town, that the habitués of Second Hand Sams have come to expect, and is one of the reasons they keep coming back. They keep coming back because of the relational customer service, too; delivering a purchase one time, Laing and Golden were invited to stay over for a dinner party.

The melange of personalities and the small town sensibility inspired Laing and Golden and continue to do so. New customers’ surprise at the variety of their stock does so, too. In addition to the accoutrements one would expect at a gift shop and home decor store, Second Hand Sams offers consigned clothes in popular brands and embroidery services. As school starts up again Second Hand Sams is ready for those shoppers and offers a particularly large selection for college students in need of furniture. Laing and Golden are also preparing for the car show in Senoia next month as visitors come to the city and encounter the surprising finds and consignments at Second Hand Sams.

Located at 90 Main Street in downtown Senoia, Second Hand Sams is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and is open until 7:30 p.m. on Friday evenings. The store may be reached 770-599-0647.