A childhood penny collection inspired a career for a new business owner in the NOTO Arts District.

Tina Meier began collecting wheat pennies at a young age with her father, who also enjoyed collecting the coins. After his death when she was in fifth grade, she continued to collect the pennies in honor of his hobby.

Shortly after, her mother passed away and the coins kept arriving.

The wheat coins arrived in places Meier never expected. She found the pennies on her window "two Christmases in a row" and on her pillow when she was "going through a very hard time."

After she was approved to begin her business in the NOTO Arts District, the most recent wheat penny arrived, dropping out of a roll of coins and rolling to the then-vacant building windows.

"That was my mom telling me it's going to be OK," Meiers said.

What can be found at NOTO's Wheat Pennies?

Wheat Pennies, 840 N. Kansas Ave., opened July 1. It features a variety of resale furniture, wall and table decor, purses, clothes, jewelry and more.

Four vendors are located in the shop, and all dispense their own items and prices. T & R Coins, a buy, sell and trade coin currency vendor can be found inside next to a glass display of coins.

Meier said her goal is to succeed not just for herself but for her vendors, too. She said she tells them often that it's not only her store but also theirs.

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"We're like a family in here and it really is," she said. "If anybody has questions about anything, they know they can come to me. If they have suggestions, they know they can bring their suggestions to me."

New items are brought in "all the time."

Antique and resale stores are bringing people 'back to their roots'

When walking into Wheat Pennies, customers say they often have fond memories when seeing certain items on display.

"I've had people come in and say: 'Oh my god! I had those glasses growing up. I have to have them,'" Meier said.

Meiers said considering "where we are in the world," these shops are allowing people to feel a sense of comfort as if it were their home.

"When it comes to why it's thriving, I think people are kind of going back to their roots a little bit," Meiers said, adding that believes time and knowledge are the two key factors in operating a resale store successfully.

"Knowing your supplier and knowing the demand of what you're selling, that's a big thing," she said. "If you have stuff in that people aren't looking for, it's just going to sit there and collect dust. So, know what people want and what they're looking for."

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What are the business hours for Wheat Pennies?

Wheat Pennies is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. During NOTO First Friday Art Walks, Wheat Pennies is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at Klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Wheat Pennies resale store opens in Topeka's NOTO Arts District