Meet Barbara H. Hartsfield | Collector of miniature chairs for over thirty years. Member with the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, the Author’s Guild, Georgia Association of Museums, and the Small Museum Association.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barbara H. Hartsfield and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Collectible & Antique Chair Gallery opened in 2009 to display my Guinness World Record collection of miniature chairs, (not doll furniture). The record for 3,000 chairs was established in 2008. The chairs are functional for daily use: lamps, teapots, clocks, inkwells, salt/pepper shakers, etc., custom one-of-a-kind items, and unique designs for all major holidays, displayed with multiple themes.

An initial goal was to establish this business within a tourist location. The museum building is a renovated house, constructed in 1850, located on Main Street, in the historic Stone Mountain Village.

The museum and collections have been featured in books, magazines, newspapers, TV, National Public Radio, a national/international scavenger hunt, and included in a 2022 national/international calendar of unique & quirky collections with the Dull Men’s Club. This calendar also included entries from five other countries, (Germany, Hong Kong, Wales, Netherlands, & Italy).

Most customers visit after viewing the museum on travel websites. They provide great Google reviews. One college student flew in for an interview associated with her grant funded project.

It has been a great adventure developing and expanding the business. I’m excited with creating a pre-school pictorial book series with the chairs. The first edition, MY ABC “CHAIR” BOOK is available on Amazon and other major book outlets.

The positive feedback I receive from customers keeps me motivated to promote, “CHAIRS WITH A DIFFERENT PURPOSE.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m an Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse with Grady Hospital, employed for 52 years, (semi-retired 17 years). I will fully retire December, 2024. My collection started from this employment. Thirty years ago I decided to write an article on pregnant patients with mental illness. I purchased a chair and baby doll to set the mood to write the article. While shopping for this chair, I noticed different unique chairs. After the article was published in 1991. I started collecting the chairs as a weekend hobby, it resulted in a Guinness World Record, and the museum to display the chairs.

This business continues to be a very fun and exciting journey. My nursing job pays the business expenses, that includes purchasing the historic museum building, that will be paid off in December, 2024. After my initial semi- retirement, I worked at the hospital two days weekly and operated the museum on Friday and Saturday. Planning to keep these same two day museum hours with full retirement.

The biggest challenge involves marketing & branding to promote that these are not full size chairs or small miniature doll furniture, “Chairs with a different purpose.” People get very excited when they learn about the difference. I have been very surprised with response from people finding the business on the web. I took advantage of free publication & marketing webinars, esp. during pandemic.

Really excited with my pending preschool pictorial book series, “Early Learning With Miniature Chairs.” I plan to focus on ebooks since the current 8.5 x 11 color hardcopy is expensive for an ABC book. I am the photographer for the book photos.

I’m proud that as a nurse, I learned new skills as a collector, world record holder, author, photographer, & entrepreneur.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
After giving a tour of my museum, other activities would include Stone Mountain Park, Six Flag, Centennial Park with the aquarium, Civil rights museum, World of Coke, and local eatery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to family, friends, co-workers, church members, vendors, and other collectors who embraced my business vision over the years.

Website: https://www.museumofminiaturechairs.com

Instagram: @minichairgallery

Linkedin: Barbara Hartsfield

Twitter: @minichairmuseum

Facebook: @collectibleandantiquechairgallery

Other: Pinterest

@barbarahartsfield

Image Credits
Carolyn Richardson gives permission for the free use of the floor picture with the author and multiple small chairs