That person coming in off the street with a bulging bag, or with the classic question: “Do you buy stuff?” does make our eyes light up (most of the time). Even more exciting is the phone call: “My (grandmother, aunt, mother, great-uncle) died and I don’t want to keep anything. Can you come over?” And off we go, often up a wash-board dirt road heading miles into the desert. We’ve had, my friends and I, adventures that defy belief or description. “My Life as a Small Town Antiques Dealer” wants to be written.
Your small town sounds charming.

Our web site is a positive embarrassement, somebody’s idea that we should have one & did it himself. It has not been updated in years! Maybe we should revamp it …

You are welcome to email me directly if you would like to continue sharing stories.

Constance

One is owned by a lovely elderly lady about to retire at 80
She has had a shop more years than she cares to remember.
And has seen many come and go in this city.

Another by my friend Bev who has had a passion for antiques for years and was a full time teacher until she took early retirement and opened a shop, something she does not regret at all.

Another is owned by a youngish guy the son in law of a local bric a brac collector, he siphons off the better more saleable gear to his shop, has another job and only opens on the weekend.

3 others are owned by people of various ages and all are doing well given the current ‘recession’ We are on the only major route between Sydney and Canberra and a favourite stop point for a break, that helps :)

As one shop closes another opens, I have thought a couple of times of opening my own shop but I would find it hard to let go of a lot of things as I love them all.

My favourite times are when,I am in say Bev’s shop and a person comes in with a bag or box and disgorges the contents on the table, or better still leaves them to be pawed over at our leisure, always an exciting time for me :)

All the best to you Constance and your group of dedicated shop owners. And to keep the positive view, our replacements are out there just waiting to take the plunge, they just don’t know it at the moment. LOL

Kind regards, Nick

PS. I saw your dealer profile “Mojave” on the net, oh you can tell you are a Pro. photographer, your pictures stand out well above the others. Photography is also my second passion and it is so good to be able too mix the two.

My misunderstanding of your intent, I apologize. And your statement about no one being indispensible is a higher truth to which I ascribe, I am really glad to find it here!

A confession: I am not an erudite, but I recognize one when I meet her/him. Also, my experience is limited to California north and south. I am more than glad to be “wrong”, as the positive view is my favorite in any situation and the realest when we make it so.

In our town, we coincidentally all established businesses within the same five years, give or take, and we were in our thirties and forties. It’s still the “same gang” with no heirs in sight. I too know people with a serious passion
who are under fifty, but they tend to be collectors, artists and decorators, not shop owners, appraisers or writers on antiques. But this doesn’t mean the thirty-somethings are not out there, right?

Thank you for all your thoughtful comments and great attitude. May the very best antiques beat go on and on all over the world.

all the very best to you, Nick.

Constance Walsh

Are you saying then that when you first got into antiques there was NO one else selling antiques except the oldies, you say a friend has been in the game 32 years so she started in her 30′s, there are plenty of youngsters interested in antiques, they may not have accumulated much of the knowledge yet, but will in time, I have 2 sons in their 30′s one detests antiques and the other loves them, but is busy with his family at the moment.

People do not amass years of knowledge without putting in the hard yards often starting early on, like our Harry and he is a one off as we all are, but I can well imagine an old gent 30 years ago with a wealth of knowledge in his retirement, wondering the same thing, as Harry started out on his antiques journey.

Maybe Harry should take an apprentice to pass his knowledge on. I am sure there are options to do this in the States as there our in many countries, often government funded.

I know several people around the world with a passion and dedication to match Harry’s and whilst I do not want to take anything away from Harry and his great service to the trade, he is not alone. And no one is indispensable.

It heartens me to read your comment that you are thriving & doing well as are your friends businesses, Harry wrote an article about the downward trend in antiques a short while ago and had very little response from dealers indicating otherwise, this positive trend remains the same here as well, in Australia. Keep up the good work!

Kind regards, Nick

Second, they don’t make ‘em like that any more. The level of erudition in our business is going the way of dumbed-down America in general, with some exceptions of course.

I’m happy to see solid writing in some publications devoted to antiques, and it’s mostly from the boomer generation. Go into any antiques store in California and you will see lots of tags with “pretty blue vase” and “very old antique rocking chair.” (!) Compare this with items descriptions in an old high-end auction catalogue, and swoon with horror. Mr R. knows the language, the beautiful, precious, poetic, precise language of antiques.

A small-time antiques dealer in a small-town mall for the last fifteen years, I am seeing our hairs whiten, our steps slower, and we women don’t heft the armoires from sale yard to truck like we used to. Our business is thriving and our neighbors are also doing well,but where is the next generation? In the couple of dozen or so dealers in our town I don’t know anyone under fifty-five. Most of us are in our sixties and seventies and we’ll all go with our boots on,but who will come after us? and who will care, as we do, about more than the bottom line?

A visit to a small, exquisite antiques store in Santa Monica (CA)introduced me to a woman in her late sixties who’s lovingly tended her shop for thirty-two years. She is alone and none of her younger family are interested in the business. She is sad that a “next generation” has not showed up there either.

Mr Ryan, I am afraid that there will not be another Harry Rinker no more than there will be anothr Betty Anne Nelson (beloved owner of our mall). Let us appreciate them to the dregs while they are still with us.

In general most antiques do not enter the market place without face to face contact, be it a deceased estate or someone downsizing their living arrangements or their collections, until a human actually sees and values and the item is offered for the sale it is all face to face, this aspect will never change.

Once the item gets to the retailer, well then it is open market how it is disposed of, trends and times change, many people attempt to cut out the middle man by using for instance eBay but they may not be realising the best price, you pays your money and takes your chance.

Alan Carter who produces Carters Antique Guide here in Australia has produced his last guide book, someone will step in and fill the gap Harry, it may not be immediately, but they will.

I await the next 2 articles with interest.

Kind regards, Nick