Meet The Founder of Heirloom House

Step inside Heirloom House, and you’re greeted with a joyful mix of color and charm. The newly opened Memphis shop is the creative collaboration of Dorothy Collier and Alice Kerley, two longtime friends who share a love of artful living and meaningful objects. Together, they’ve curated a space filled with vintage treasures, playful accents, and one-of-a-kind pieces that feel collected rather than simply purchased.

Two women stand on a colorful rug; one wears a red and white striped dress, the other wears a navy floral jumpsuit. Shelves with glassware and decor are in the background. — Meet our newest FACES of Memphis, Alice Kerley and Dorothy Collier. Image: Kim Thomas

Before Heirloom House, what were each of you known for around Memphis?

Alice: I’ve had my Southern lifestyle blog, Lone Star Looking Glass, for about twelve years now, where I share fashion inspiration, travel guides, motherhood, and life in Memphis. Highlighting local adventures alongside my antique booth helped grow my Memphis following and opened doors to connect with other creatives.

Dorothy: Before Heirloom House, I was known for my work as an artist under Dorothy Art — bright, joyful, maximalist paintings that often draw directly from the vintage pieces I love to collect. I never planned to sell vintage, but I started sharing pieces I found while sourcing for paintings on Instagram, and my art collectors loved it.

The vintage and the art spoke to each other, and a new layer of my business was born almost accidentally.

What was the inspiration behind opening Heirloom House?

Alice: We wanted to create a vintage shop that felt carefully curated in a fresh way, more grandmillennial and maximalist than your typical treasure-hunting antique store. We’re both very social and loved the idea of Heirloom House being not just a shop, but a gathering place for community and creativity.

We haven’t even been open a full year yet, but being able to offer both an elevated vintage retail experience and a stylish place to sip a cocktail while learning to needlepoint feels like a dream come true.

Alice Kerley and Dorothy Collier stand on a small corner step outside a black brick building, smiling for FACES; one holds onto a pole while the other raises an arm, both dressed in colorful summer outfits. — Dorothy had always been attracted to the building that now boasts Heirloom House. “I felt this real pull in my chest every time I drove by,” she says. “It always felt like it was waiting for me, even before I knew what it would become.” Image: Heirloom House

You describe your shop as a place for “happy little heirlooms.” How do you define an “heirloom”?

Dorothy: An heirloom is really about sentiment. Sometimes you can tell a piece has lived a life because of its age or patina, but the real magic happens when you add your story to it. Maybe it’s where it sits in your home, the person you gift it to, the moment you bought it, or simply how it makes you feel.

An heirloom doesn’t have to be expensive or old. It just has to be special. It’s that little extra sparkle — the lamp that makes a room glow, the object that turns a house into a home. An heirloom is anything that stands out because it carries meaning.

When someone walks into Heirloom House for the first time, what do you hope they feel?

Alice: I hope they feel joy first and foremost — and ideally, inspiration too. We want our unique vintage finds to feel like they’re waiting for their person, not the other way around. Our hope is that Heirloom House is a place where visitors feel connection and community, whether they’re learning a new skill at a workshop, meeting a new friend at an art opening, or finding the perfect chinoiserie lamp for their living room.

Woman standing indoors holding two vases, wearing a sleeveless navy top and a long red patterned skirt, surrounded by furniture and decorative items from Dorothy Collier’s and Alice Kerley’s collections. — A native of Memphis, Alice has cherished childhood memories of hopping across the Mid-South to visit estate sales and antique shops. “My mom and grandmother both had antique booths around the city, including one just down the road from where Heirloom House is now.” Image: Heirloom House

Alice, you’ve cultivated a reputation as a Southern lifestyle tastemaker. How does your approach to style show up inside Heirloom House?

Alice: I’ve spent over a decade curating mostly fashion-related content on Lone Star Looking Glass, and it’s been an exciting challenge to translate that sense of personal style from fashion to interiors.

Curating vignettes at Heirloom House or styling a scene for a photo shoot never feels like work because it’s so much fun. At the end of the day, if every day at Heirloom House feels as fulfilling as it does now, I know we’re doing something right.

Dorothy, how does your work as an artist and muralist influence the identity of the shop?

Dorothy: In two ways. First, I curate the gallery side of the shop, and I’m so grateful to be connected to a vibrant community of artists in Memphis. Bringing their work into the space adds depth and dimension and keeps the shop from being just “vintage finds” and turns it into a living, evolving creative environment.

Secondly, my artwork is deeply inspired by color and pattern, especially bright chinoiserie and playful, Southern maximalism. So when I’m sourcing vintage, I naturally gravitate toward pieces that carry that same spirit. Bold lamps, joyful textiles, blue and white ceramics, unexpected little treasures that make you smile. The shop mirrors my studio in that way; it’s layered, colorful, and full of heart.

A woman in a white shirt and black floral skirt holds a carafe and glass of pink drink, standing by a table with bottles and cocktails in front of a Dorothy Collier landscape painting. — “I grew up in Nashville, and my childhood was spent quite literally surrounded by antiques and art,” Dorothy says. “The school bus used to drop me off at my grandmother’s antique shop, so instead of going home to cartoons, I went home to chinoiserie, silver trays, and stories about where each piece came from.” Image: Heirloom House

How do each of you approach decorating your own home? Do you have “rules” or guiding philosophies you follow?

Alice: I always start with pieces that mean something — art painted by family or friends, furniture that’s been passed down, or something special found on a trip. If you love it, it will work.

Dorothy: For me, everything starts with a color palette. I always think of each room as having its own personality, so I begin with the wall color, then choose a rug that grounds the space, and layer from there. Furniture and fabrics, then art and decor. I love to decorate in layers. I’m a maximalist at heart, but it still has to be thoughtful and intentional.

Even when I’m mixing patterns and styles, there are always parameters. I give each room a defined palette or mood, and if I fall in love with a piece, I already know where it belongs because it fits into the “story” of a room. That keeps the overall home feeling collected and cohesive, while allowing for personality, history, and playfulness.

What advice do you have for someone who loves the look of collected, meaningful spaces but doesn’t know where to start?

Alice: Start small. Find one piece you love and build around it. Don’t overthink matching or coordinating. If you fill your space with things that speak to you, it will all come together organically.

Dorothy: Give yourself parameters. Start by choosing a color palette or a theme that feels like you. I also love to work in recurring motifs, a thread that ties everything together visually. That consistency is what makes a room feel intentional rather than random. From there, think about layering and texture when you style little moments or vignettes. Those layers create warmth and dimension.

Three women, including Alice Kerley and Dorothy Collier, wearing decorative FACES masks, sit around a table with drinks and a menu, posing for a photo in an art-filled room with colorful decor. — “We want Heirloom House to be a gathering place where artists, designers, and vintage lovers can cross paths. A hub for creativity, community, and connection,” Alice says. Image: Facebook

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Alice: That in life, some of the balls we’re juggling are plastic and some are glass. The plastic ones can bounce… the glass ones can shatter. Learning to tell the difference (and giving myself grace to drop the plastic ones when I need to) has been the most freeing life lesson.

Dorothy: Run toward what lights you up. When I follow that, things tend to fall into place.

And finally, aside from faith, family, and friends, what are three things you can’t live without?

Alice: Books, cheese dip, and the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie soundtrack.

Dorothy: My Kindle, a good cocktail with friends, and flipping through vintage design books.

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Meet the Owners of Memphis’s New Elevated Vintage Shop: Heirloom House