Family furniture store and card shop makes plans to move from Fairhaven to Ferndale
A store that found a winning retail combination will be moving from Fairhaven to Ferndale later this spring.
Miles Woodworking and Joe’s Sports Cards plan a moving sale soon and will be at 2016 Main St. in Ferndale by Friday, May 1. The store, currently across the street from Village Books, sells handcrafted furniture made by Joe Miles III. His parents, Joe Miles II and Joyce Miles, sell the furniture on one side of the store and sports memorabilia on the other.
The business has been around Bellingham for five years, but the building was sold and the space will eventually become home to a clothing boutique, Joe Miles II said.
High-end, locally made furniture and sports memorabilia may seem like a strange combination for a store, but it worked out well in terms of sales to couples. Many times the sports enthusiast would head over to one side of the store, while the spouse would wander around looking at the furniture, Joe Miles II said.
The business also worked out well for the Miles clan. The parents moved to Whatcom County in 2014 from Connecticut to be closer to their furniture-producing son and that has brought them closer as a family, they said.
The sports card shop has done well as the hobby experienced a bit of a resurgence in recent years, Joe Miles II said. Baseball card companies have worked hard to avoid mistakes made in the 1990s, like large print runs that flooded the market. They also have been adding other things to the cards, such as player signatures and special limited-edition cards that have made the hobby exciting again.
“(The hobby) is the best I’ve seen it in 40 years,” Joe Miles II said, adding that he’s particularly happy that he is seeing more children enjoying the hobby.
Joe Miles III said the furniture business has turned out well, as customers have responded by buying a variety of things, with rocking chairs one of the top requests. He noted that business was challenging for the first couple of years, but building trust with customers on both sides of the business helped.
The family also has a third local business: Gabriel Miles, wife of Joe Miles III, is the founder of Gabriel’s Art Kids.
For more information and updates on the move, visit Joe’s Sports Cards Facebook page or call 860-480-0583.
