Space is a commodity at Carolina Pickin,’ an antiques and collectibles store in downtown Mebane. The shop was opened in 2005 by brothers Donald and Tony Whitfield, who have since taken out walls and annexed a neighboring space to accommodate the many items found on their treasure hunts far and wide. Nearly every inch of the small business is packed with history, much of it involving Mebane.
About two months ago, a couple of entrepreneurial 14-year-olds carved out a space large enough to fit a card table and two chairs. Camden Logan and Dayton Whitfield have known each other almost half their lives, initially becoming friends as teammates on the same football team, and then playing baseball together. As they got to know each other, the two boys realized a shared fondness for sports collector cards. Not long after that, Camden and Dayton’s friendship took the unusual route of devising a business plan for their hobby.
“I’d say it was around sixth or seventh grade when we really started looking at each other’s cards and trading them,” said Dayton. “Then we realized that we had a couple valuable ones that we might want to sell.”…