Quarrier Street in downtown Charleston has been home to The Purple Moon in one form or another since 2005, when the business opened its first physical storefront after four years of selling vintage goods strictly online. What started as an internet-only outlet for mid-century pieces has grown, through a relocation in 2008, an expansion into a separate contemporary furnishings venture called Modern by Design in 2011, a merger of those two collections back into one operation in 2013, and a final move to its current address at 817 Quarrier Street in 2018, into what is now described as West Virginia’s only dedicated mid-twentieth-century design studio. Owners Chuck and Connie Hamsher, longtime collectors themselves, run the shop with an emphasis on curating rather than simply accumulating, favoring pieces of genuine design or historical merit over volume.
The Purple Moon operates across three connected but distinct lines of business. The retail shop floor carries mid-century modern furniture, vintage home accessories, and design-forward decor pulled from estates and private collections. Alongside that sits an active art gallery component, showing work from some of the region’s more prominent contemporary artists, which has helped the business build a reputation extending well beyond typical antique shop circles and into Charleston’s broader design and arts community. The third leg, PM Estate Sales, applies that same collector’s eye to full estate liquidations, helping Charleston-area families sort, price, and sell the contents of a home, a service that has made The Purple Moon a recurring name among people navigating a difficult transition like settling an estate or downsizing a longtime family home.
That estate sales arm also feeds the retail floor in a very direct way, since standout mid-century pieces uncovered during a liquidation frequently make their way into the shop’s own inventory rather than simply passing through a one-time sale. It is a symbiotic setup uncommon among smaller antique dealers, most of whom either run a static shop or handle estate work but rarely build a business model that connects the two so closely. Combined with the gallery space, it means a single visit to The Purple Moon can turn up a mid-century credenza, a locally made piece of contemporary art, and a conversation about an upcoming estate sale worth attending, all under one Quarrier Street roof.
The shop is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, with other visiting times available by appointment for serious buyers, designers, or anyone coordinating an estate consultation outside normal hours. Its downtown Charleston location puts it within walking distance of the Kanawha River and the city’s other cultural anchors, making it an easy addition to a day spent exploring the capital’s arts and antique scene. Anyone with questions about current inventory, gallery openings, or scheduling an estate sale consultation can call 304-345-0123 directly. The Purple Moon in Charleston, West Virginia is a mid-century modern shop, contemporary art gallery, and estate sale service built around two decades of collecting twentieth-century design, giving Kanawha Valley shoppers a rare combination of vintage furnishings, regional art, and estate liquidation expertise in a single downtown storefront.
