| Feature
Decorating With the Past
Antiquing in the U.P.,
by Becky Greiner
Recent television shows such as Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars have sparked new interest in antiquing and the value stashed away in grandma’s attic, but antiquing in the U.P. has been an active, vibrant hobby for several years.
Between Ishpeming and Negaunee, collectors and antique decorators have five shops and an antique mall to choose from. Nona Erickson, owner of Northern Interiors, says she and the other shop owners in the area know one another and do not compete.
“We’re all in it for the same reason; we enjoy it,” she says. “This industry is unique and you’ll hardly ever find the same thing in any two shops. If a customer comes in and can’t find something in one shop, we help each other out until they find what they’re looking for.”
Raised by her parents with an appreciation for quality art and antiques, Erickson says she finds herself challenged by the new generation of antiquers.
“The generation of collectors is dwindling; younger antiquers are more decorator-oriented. They want things that look good and make their houses look good,” she says .
As a result, Erickson says she blends new with old in her shop and focuses on interior design.
“We need to get the word out that if you go and compare an antique table to a retail table made of particle board that you have to put together yourself, you will see that you can get a beautiful, solid wood table for a decent price that will last you for years,” she says.
One example of Erickson’s focus on decorating is her decision to include Dash & Albert rugs to her store merchandise. Located in Maine, Dash & Albert hand-woven rugs are brand new, but well-made and a good pairing with antique furniture, says Erickson.
“This is how I’m bringing in accents to keep houses modern-looking but cool at the same time. I’ve dabbled with the rugs over the past few years and they’re great quality because the company tests them out with their dogs,” she says.
Why is antiquing such a big part of U.P. culture? Carole Prisk, owner of Tickled Pink Antiques in Negaunee, says it has to do with geography.
“Geography has made it necessary for people in this area to be inclined to make the most of our dollars,” she says. “Yoopers seem to have the ‘use it up, make do, or do without’ mentality ingrained in them. The people who live here appreciate items that have stood the test of time. Furniture that is sturdy, tough and able to hold up to family living is appreciated.”
Prisk says she got into antiques when she was nineteen years old.
“I was married with a baby and attending college. We needed everything and our resources were tight. We happily lived with castoffs from everyone. We were thrilled to get Aunt Nora’s mirror, Grandma’s bedroom set and Cousin Susie’s crib. Those relics honed our carpentry, painting and refinishing skills and my husband and I became quite proud of our knack to make ‘silk purses out of sow’s ears,’” she says.
The items found at Tickled Pink vary from day to day, Prisk says, but she does tend to follow small themes.
“I have a variety of items from rustic to fine French antiques. I stock vintage toys, quilts and some clothing. I have garden décor items and watering cans. I’m not a purist and I freely mix new and used items in with the antiques and collectibles,” she says.
She adds the atmosphere of her store is very feminine.
“My niche has a fairly feminine focus with pastel colors and a girly-girl flavor. Men have been known to stop dead upon entering the shop...overcome, I guess, by the pink. I remind them that the shop’s name is Tickled Pink and go on to joke that I’m planning a future expansion called Tickled Camo. This usually gets a laugh and defuses the pinkaphobia,” she says.
When asked about other antique shops in the area, Prisk says she agrees everyone needs to work together.
“It’s not an easy business to be in. You don’t make big money doing this. Most dealers are retired or have another job,” she says. “Not many antique sellers can support them selves completely on their antique business; it makes excellent sense for shops to pool their advertising resources and coordinate events designed to attract shoppers.
As with retail stores, Prisk says there are items that rise and fall in popularity in antique shops.
“Twenty years ago, everybody wanted copper boilers. Now you sell one of those now and then for a lot less money. People are always looking for sturdy dressers, kitchen tables and chairs, small side tables and kitchen wares,” she says. “Since gardening has become a popular hobby there’s a lot of requests for watering cans, old seed boxes and statuary. And many of the decorating magazines are showcasing white rooms now, and I’ve noticed things in that color move pretty fast.”
Prisk also agrees television shows about antiquing have had an impact on the industry.
“Yes, it’s cool now to be green and antiques are definitely recycled. There are so many shows like Cash and Cari, Pawn Stars and Storage Wars out there that shoppers believe they might unearth that ‘find’ that’s been overlooked by everyone else,” she says.
Although the area’s antique shops are scattered between towns, there is one location that several of them have in common—where Prisk, Erickson and others took their first foray into the antiquing industry and then went off on their own—the Old Bank Building in Negaunee.
The Old Bank Building first opened its doors in 1988 as an antique shop and has had its rooms filled with thousands of items from hundreds of dealers over the years. It serves as Erickson’s second location. Her shop in Witch Lake is seasonal and only open until October. For Prisk, it was her primary location for eighteen years.
“Trying to do it on my own has been challenging and rewarding. The only negative is that there’s no backup person when I’m sick,” she says.
Jeff Plummer, current owner of the Old Bank Building, says it houses antiques from ten different dealers.
“Our shop offers a wide variety of wonderful objects for both the serious collector as well as the casual decorator. There are many unique collections from vintage clothing, vinyl records and jewelry, to traditional antique furniture and mid-century, retro items,” he says.
Plummer also points out some of the buildings that antique shops are located in—such as the Old Bank Building—are antiques themselves.
“Antique shops are a major component in the preservation of historic downtowns like we have here in Negaunee. Shops like ours have repurposed these wonderful, old historic buildings that otherwise may have languished,” he says.
David Aeh, owner of the Main Street Antique Mall in Downtown Ishpeming, is one such antique dealer who has brought a historic building back to life. Aeh now operates out of what used to be the Butler Theater and its adjacent building, which has been a furniture store in the past.
Aeh says the antique mall houses toys, dishes, kitchenware and furniture, to name a few. He added his job satisfaction not only comes from being around collectibles but also the personal relationships he forms with customers.
"The most fulfilling part is seeing how happy customers are when they find something they lost in a fire or a flood, or something that reminds them of their childhood or even something their husband broke while doing the dishes. There's a different karma with this business as opposed to conventional retail stores,” Aeh says.
Another ‘repurposed’ building in Negaunee is Lowenstein’s Antique Marketplace on Iron Street, which serves as a consortium of antique dealers operating under one roof. The building was constructed in 1916 and sold clothes and sundries with the tag line “Where good things come from.” Current owner Anne Michelsen says she and her husband, Dan, have kept the tag line and use it along with their Web site, wheregoodthingscomefrom.com
The Michelsens first purchased the Lowenstein building in 1994 to house their music shop, Michelsen Music, which still is located there.
“That’s why we bought it and it was more room than we needed, and for a long time there was a lot of vacant space,” says Anne. “Having the antique mall has been fun; it suits the building since it used to be a department store, and just like back then, you can find just about anything in here.”
Although the antique mall has only been open for three years, Anne said she always has had an appreciation for the industry.
“I’ve always liked them, but it was never something I knew a whole lot about. I loved going thrifting and I’ll go to antique shops first for some items, but I’m no expert. It’s nice to have dealers that specialize in certain things and have a variety of interests,” she says.
The Michelsens moved to Wisconsin eight years ago but come up periodically to check on the building. Nancy Gaines, also of the Lowenstein Antique Marketplace, says she enjoys working in the building because of the high rate of change.
“We’re never stagnant; we rearrange all the time and make sure there’s always something new for the regular patrons to look at,” Gaines says.
She says sometimes the Lowenstein staff even go picking for their patrons.
“If someone mentions something they’ve been looking for but doesn’t want to sit and wait at an auction, we’re willing to do that. It gives us an opportunity to get out and see what’s out there,” Gaines says.
The Michelsens say they plan to continue upgrading the Lowenstein building and possibly getting its unique “basket system” running again. Anne says the system was used by the Lowenstein family and consists of wire baskets on a pulley system that used to take the cash from a transaction from the sales floor up to a balcony where a Lowenstein family member would send back the receipt and change. It was not only used as a system to keep everyone honest, it also gave the Lowensteins an eagle eye view of their store and the opportunity to watch for shoplifters and other wrongdoings on the sales floor. Also still intact are the building’s skylights, Anne says.
“They put a lot of light onto the sales floor; even then, people were thinking of being energy-efficient,” she says.
Prisk says the antiquing industry has taught her a lot, including how to be patient.
“Standing in line at an estate sale for five hours waiting for it to open will teach you patience,” she says. “I’ve also learned how to recognize a bargain and how to make quick decisions. I’ve also learned that having an antique business in the U.P. isn’t going to make me rich, but it has put me in a position to meet and visit with people that share my enthusiasm for all things old, tattered and tarnished.”
As for the future of antiquing, Aeh notes there are a lot of variables.
"In a place like this it's seasonable; it's feast or famine depending on what season it is. eBay and the Internet are changing antiquing everywhere, and the tastes of young people are also changing. What we carry in antique shops has changed dramatically since I was young. It also depends on the strength of tourism, which is not to say that our local regular customers are not equally as important," he says.
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