How to Find Great Antiques Near You

Much of the fun of buying, owning, decorating and living with antiques is in the thrill of the hunt. The “need” for a new chair, or end table, or addition to my teapot collection doesn’t have to be too pressing to send my wife and me out on a new search. An early Saturday morning might find us stalking intrepidly among the aisles and back rooms of a dusty warehouse or antiques mall, at unlikely garage sales, in the muddy fields of local antiques fairs and in the elegant showrooms of upscale antiques stores in neighboring towns and villages.

Sometimes it takes as much sleuthing to find the stores, fairs and garage sales as it does to find that elusive antique. Here are some ways to find good sources for antiques near you.

Make friends. Hunting for antiques is not a loner sport. Antiques dealers and store owners are generally a friendly and talkative lot who like to have their knowledge and expertise tapped.

Dee, the owner of Whistle Stop Antiques in my little town, warms right up when you ask her about how to find other local antiques resources. “Believe it or not,” she says, “the Yellow Pages is still the best place to start. We all have phones, so we’ll be in the book.”


Check resource guides. Most antiques stores and malls have some kind of resource center, like this table at the Antique Society antiques mall in Sebastopol, California. It has fliers for upcoming local fairs and flea markets, as well as little maps of shops in the surrounding areas.


Antiques malls. These are practically omnipresent, with a range of products that is usually a conglomeration of the good, the bad and the ugly. Big malls can overwhelm with their sheer volume of merchandise. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so just have fun. If there’s something specific you’re hunting for, talk to the owner or a salesperson. These people love to be helpful and can point you in the right direction, often helping you see something you might otherwise have missed.


Just the thing. What a thrill when, tucked unassumingly behind a basket, sitting inconspicuously on the floor, is a beautiful little 19th-century hand-sewn sampler … just the thing you’ve been wanting to add to your collection in your entry hall.


Or you find a perfect little drop-leaf table that is exactly what you need for your kitchen dining nook.


Ask for help. If you can’t find just the thing you’re looking for, don’t despair. Most mall staff will happily take note of what you’re seeking and will keep an eye open for that item. Their goal is to find exactly what you want and sell it to you.


Stand-alone antiques stores. These days an old-fashioned stand-alone antiques store is as rare as hen’s teeth. To make matters worse, hours are often geared to fit the eccentricities of a rarified clientele who like to be buzzed in while their chauffeur placates a pack of impatient poodles in the car.

OK, this may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. Many of the stand-alone stores that have survived this economy are, generally speaking, not a great choice for the average Joe. Even my wife, who is not cowed by anybody, will not enter an antiques store if she has to be buzzed in.

Independent antiques stores used to be my favorite haunt, but most have disappeared — especially on the West Coast.


Street fairs, markets and shows. Honestly, these are my new favorite places to shop for antiques. Many a Sunday finds us racing out of church to get to the outdoor French Antique Market in Marin, California — held monthly April through October. We never fail to see multiple things we want to take home.

A good antiques market will have a wide variety of dealers with quality merchandise, which is often just a taste of what they may have available in their home or shop. Don’t be shy about asking.

I find, by the way, that the later in the day we attend, the better price we are likely to get. Dealers would rather sell something at a discount than pack it up and take it home.

While you’re there, be sure to pick up the fliers and postcards promoting other fairs and markets. Soon your calendar, like ours, will have a street fair, market or show every weekend.


The Salvation Army, Goodwill and thrift stores. Although these organizations and shops provide an important service to the community and can be a great source for many useful things, my observation is that as a resource for antiques, they’re not worth the effort. Unless you live at the store 24/7 and grab the one-in-a-thousand great item coming off the truck, you’ll likely come up empty-handed, antiques-wise.


The thrill of the hunt. Finding great antiques from local dealers is even more thrilling if you can make good friends in the process. I almost always find that if I ask owners a few questions about their store — how long they’ve been in business, what they love about antiques — they will be delighted to help me, befriend me and even “give” a little on the price when I’m ready to buy.

If I run into the occasional curmudgeon, I will steer clear in the future — but curmudgeons are rare among antiques dealers, in my experience.

There are wonderful old things in local shops and fairs and markets just waiting to be found. The search is an adventure, and the result is beauty in our homes. Good hunting!

More:
Antiques Shopping? Let Love Guide Your Search
Treasure Hunting at the Brimfield Antiques Fair

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