Timeless treasures

by Michael J. DeCicco

If you're in the market for quality second-hand merchandise, the differences between an antique shop and a consignment store are subtle but worth comparing.

Take the example of Fairhaven's What A Find consignment store at 154 Huttleston Avenue. Co-owners Leif and Linda Johannessen say they don't sell antiques but they are fussy about their merchandise quality.

"People bring in their items for us to sell for them with a 50-50 split," Linda Johannessen explained.

"People would be surprised by the quality of the merchandise we carry. We will always look at a picture of what's being offered first. They have to be from a smoke-free, pet-free environment, clean, and ready for the customer to bring home. Like in a newmodel furniture store."

She said she and her husband have never had to aggressively reach out to the public to collect merchandise from consignees. The store has had success attracting consignees and thousands of customers from the very start.

What A Find opened 13 years ago after the building's previous tenant, Modern Galleries, closed. The Johannessen family had owned the building since 1951, and Leif and Linda didn't want the store to stay vacant for long.

Linda recalled telling the realtor they would do consignment sales if the store didn't find another tenant. She said this without really believing the couple would or could actually do that, until her husband exclaimed that it would be a good idea.

The store's success began very soon afterwards. She and her husband were still cleaning up the recently vacated building when their first consignees entered and offered what would be their first merchandise for sale, a sofa and oversize chair.

"We just grew from that point on," Linda said. "We don't visit yard sales or estate sales. The merchandise finds us. Most people consigning to us are downsizing or contacting us after a death in the family. We offer mid- to high-end style furniture, home decor, and accessories."

She is proud to note the store's furniture offerings once even included a chair claimed to have come from the Nantucket home of famed television newscaster Walter Cronkite.

But now the couple is approaching retirement age. He's age 74. She's 70. What A Find is holding a retirement sale until the store closes by the end of the year. At this writing, that means the Johannessens have taken 25 percent off all of the store's inventory.

The couple has mixed emotions about their retirement. "I liked putting together pieces to make each display look like a perfect roomful of furniture that belong together, even though they might not have come in together," Linda said. "So many who have consigned their pieces here will come in and say this looks better than it did in my own house. That I will miss."

She and her husband's biggest regret over retiring, she said, is "giving up the property that's been in the family for 71 years. But we are looking forward to the future, to the next chapter in our lives."

Learn more about What A Find at whatafindfairhaven. com.

Oldies and goodies

At the upper end of the second-hand market, antique shops are only a slightly different animal.

The owner of Antiques at Olde Tiverton at 1019 Main Road in Tiverton, Peter Lacasse, has sold antiques for 35 years. He explained his antique merchandise comes to him through contacts and collector friends he has known for years as well as walk-ins with antique items for sale, and no consignment commissions are involved.

He said his customers come to his store because they are looking for something specific, though "Some people just like a good conversation," he added with a smile.

He said his store's best sellers are its nautical items – anchors, boat ketches, captain's wheels, nautically-themed art and other decor. He's seen many customers come in to buy what they needed to decorate a nautically-theme room or yard, with a lobster trap, a sculpture, or a captain's wheel lamp.

He emphasized that he makes sure that any antique item he carries is genuine.

"I try to find unique and different types of items," he said. "Not just your 'basic' antique item. All from New England sources. Nothing 'made in China' or bought in an online catalog. Something that makes you go 'Wow.'

And I get that reaction nearly every day from people who walk into my store. People like to see the kind of real antiques I carry." He became an antiques dealer 35 years ago when he bought local newspapers concerning the Civil War and started selling them at antique stores. He expanded to selling antique advertisements, then finally realized he wanted his own shop. His first brick-and-mortar store opened five years ago in Whittenville, MA. He's been open in Tiverton for 15 months.

So why Tiverton? "I wanted a place where I could live and work," he said. "I was looking for a place that had mixed commercial use, where I could live and have my store on the same property."

He doesn't regret the move.

"I enjoy being here. I have a variety of types of antiques. You can't have only one type of merchandise. I have been told by customers that I have one of the better antique shops of this kind in New England. You can walk slowly around my shop and enjoy it. I offer a lot of high-end items. My goal is to make sure I please my customers with unique merchandise and courteous attention."

Learn more about Antiques at Olde Tiverton at antiquesat-olde-tiverton-ri.business. site.