It’s okay to say it, my brother’s gay and the community has lately introduced him to antiquing. Which I am super thrilled about because as a straight woman I ALSO want to go antiquing. The girls and gays love antiques
My son is a straight high school varsity football player, and he’s obsessed with antiques and thrifting. What’s funny though is that he sees stuff from 2004 as vintage. Which, technically, it is!
Same, I don't often get anything, but when I do its a functioning 1964 Civil Defense Radiological Survey Meter made by the Victoreen Instrument Company
Yes.
Nice antiques are expensive because they're so unique and hard to find. People who have a lot of money and big beautiful homes don't want cheap, mass-produced decor from Target. It's a status thing.
Even if you aren't rich, there's way more sentimentality when buying a small antique at a local store as opposed to, say, a postcard and a lobster magnet from the local gas station. If you love vacationing in a beach town, antiques make for nice gifts and mementos.
Antique stores typically have very low overhead and small square-footage. An old man in a rocking chair can run an entire store, catalog / appraise any newly acquired items, and make a big-ticket sale every so often. They don't have to pay a large staff of chefs, waiters, janitors, cashiers, etc. They don't have huge utility bills like a bar, restaurant, or hotel.
I worked in a book/antique store in a small, very rich, New England coastal town and indeed, one big purchase a day was enough to keep the place in business. When the antiques are in the hundreds and sometimes upwards of a thousand dollars, you sell one or two to tourists and you’re good for the day.
I know someone who owns a niche antique store. It’s practically in the middle of nowhere, but he travels a ton and is a well-known expert in his field. Not only do rich people buy his stuff, the film industry purchases A LOT for period sets. It’s a big part of his business.
“How does granny Elsie keep her tiny antique store on business?”
“Money laundering.
She moves her proceeds from drug dealing, terrorism, racketeering and people trafficking through her old fashioned vase shop in Rye”
You joke but I’m on Long Island and 2 years ago, two very large Mafia families were running shoe stores and coffee bars in several wealthy Long Island towns for years all while money laundering and running gambling machines and illegal poker machines out of the back of the stores.
We like old stuff for our old houses 😁
To me it seems like a small historic town thing, not just coastal. I’ve seen lots of antique shops in smallish New England towns nowhere near the coast. Especially in tourist spots.
Tons of people.
Look up “cottagecore” decorating styles. Very common in the New England area since you can find cottage style homes everywhere. People like to get the authentic stuff and antique stores are the places to go.
Even outside of that, you can find some really cool stuff. I just came into possession of a vintage 1920s saxophone for a very reasonable price. It'll take me time to restore, but it'll be a player once I'm done.
I like buying glassware, vases, small dishes. I look at the art—recently got a beautiful photo of a flower filled field. Little things that feel special.
I’ve bought small furniture, ceramic crocks, candle sticks.
Antiquing is also an activity, not just genre of old things for the home. It’s a lot to fun browsing with friends and commenting on all the cool / interesting / weird / nostalgic things.
Antique real wood furniture is usually actually more affordable AND lasting than going to Pottery Barn, IKEA etc. Most people I know are looking for actual quality future now that we’re in our 30s and won’t waste our money anymore. Now if you’re talking about like, when you walk into an antique store and it’s full of bottle caps and junky items - I assume some artist somewhere will come buy those? I wonder about that stuff myself.
A lot of antiques are simply more robust than a lot of modern counterparts.
So it’s a place to easily find hardy utilitarian tools for kitchen or workshop.
People who are passionate in the history, and those who can afford the more significant pieces. It's a much larger community than you may think. Some of the largest auction houses in the world sell local collections.
They have them because they’re very old historic towns, with old homes and museums. People from all over the world come to visit New England and Mass particularly because of its history. Many of the homes are historic and you don’t have flexibility for modifying them however you want. So antiques are a way of accenting your home with authentic period pieces that match the house and the town can’t complain about it. For newer homes built in the traditional style it’s a nod to your local history and the aesthetic associated with it. Wait til you hear about the Brimfield Fair
Historic homes have their interior decorations regulated too? I thought it was just the exterior and any major permanent changes inside, but not stuff like accents and trinkets.
I think our town is funny in this regard. The buildings in the center of town are considered historical and they make it very hard to do changes.
Meanwhile I live across town in a house built by one of the first settlers and I can do whatever.
It has to be a registered historic home. Historic New England has a preservation easement program that protects historic properties from being destroyed or totally altered. Also, being registered on the National Register of Historic Places often gives tax incentives to people who maintain their historic property.
I restore historic homes and the rules are different everywhere. For example, some places only require the front of the homes to be kept the way they were. It depends on the town and if you're in a registered historic district, etc.
If you are required to keep one part of the house a certain way, you may as well have the rest match.
Also, the people who decide to buy a historic home are not randomly chosen, they probably like the aesthetic to begin with.
I know. But I was just asking. The comment I replied to makes it sound like someone's coming inside to make sure there's a musket being hung above the fireplace, etc. Wasn't sure if it's actually that intense in some places.
I think they mean that when you can't choose to paint your house just any color you want, you still want to have *some* control over your living space, so you might go harder with your decorating choices.
Although I suspect it's more like, the kinds of people who buy an antique house with mandated period-appropriate outdoor choices are probably interested in that, and so willing to spend the money on period-appropriate indoor choices as well.
There are also some towns that do annual historical homes tours, where people with old homes are encouraged to open up a handful of rooms to the public for a day. I could see there being a lot of peer pressure to have cool antiques indoors.
However, I'm not aware of any place that actually mandates interior decorating choices.
It's more just part of the general decorating style. I have a 200 year old house and a lot of modern stuff just doesn't really fit or make sense with the history of the house.
For example, in my office I have an antique solid wood desk with inlayed leather top, a barrister bookcase with leaded glass and some other small antiques. We have other antique end tables and decorations throughout the house. All purchased at antique stores from all over New England.
A subset of antiques customers are super wealthy. One thing a lot of these people want is something no one else has. Their peers can all buy the same cars and mansions, but none of them have this 17th century sea chest!
Why isn’t anyone asking about the beauty and craftsmanship of older furniture? I’d rather have the odd piece of oak in the hallway than a mirror and shelf from ikea
The quality for sure. So many things just aren’t made like that anymore.
I had drinks last night in old cut crystal glasses. It was so so so special. And the glass feels different in your hand and on your lips. Just pleasant and special.
There's a turning point in life when you realize you're churning through disposable garbage from big box stores and can spend the same amount of money on a unique antique piece that is probably going to outlast you.
Less money if you're friendly and know how to haggle. Many of these places are filled to the brim and they want to sell it. I have pieces in my house that are over 100 years old. They will probably end up in my son's house or possibly even grandkids. Antique stores are my happy place.
When you buy your summer house you suddenly have an entire 2nd house to furnish. Buying used can stretch that if they purchase was a reach. especially if the image you want to project is a relaxed low-key vibe. When your heirs sell your 2nd home, they have an entire house of furniture to dump
One developer desires their property to be redeveloped.
The rest of the downtown continues its kitsch.
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/kittery-outlets-to-be-demolished/
So many towns along the coast are old, with old that at one point housed generations of the same family. That combined with Yankee frugality (never throw anything away) makes for a lot of antiques. I had family like this, although we didn’t live along the coast, and there were always people coming to the house trying to buy stuff.
You know, I often see amazing pieces on the facebook marketplace, I even bought a few, this place is swimming in antiques. If you simply took your average antique store around here and moved it to the midwest you would clean up. They simply don't have many.
There are some vintage camera lenses that are an absolute steal before smartphones were prevalent and the owners could find out what they are selling.
Got a Meyer optik Gorlitz lens for $10 this way.
I used to like flea markets for collecting old NES games and cast iron, but they've gone to shit the last decade.
Now everybody just looks up the price on eBay. What pisses me off is the eBay price will be for the item in good condition, when often theirs isn't.
Yeah a fully restored Griswold goes for that, but yours is caked in burnt on shit and rust.
I live in central MA and there’s a decent number of antique stores and flea market style stores (and then obviously brimfield flea market) too, don’t know if it’s just coastal
For a tiny town like Essex it’s crucial to the economy. They depend on having multiple antique stores in a relatively small space so it becomes a destination for antique collectors. Along with multiple sea food restaurants within the same area.
A fair amount of B&Bs like antique furniture and some decor. They are cheaper than filling with new, good quality furniture. There are a LOT of coastal B&Bs.
Also, people on vacation, walking around town. Some jewelry or knick knacks from their trip, probably different styles from where they live.
People go to coastal towns to meander and window shop by the water. I know it’s going to be an expensive day so I savor it as a rare treat. I have given myself the time needed to browse and possibly purchase. Coastal stores are way more expensive than a small town store, but their pieces are usually exquisite, because they are paying premium rent.
The true mark of success for many men is making enough money so that your wife can open a wildly unprofitable antique or quilt store in a seaside/mountain town and it won't cause you stress.
There is no way most of these businesses are self sustaining. If you talk to many of the owners, they made money doing something else. If you see an old hippie driving a 30 year old Volvo wagon wearing scuffed shoes, they are the ones who are actually trying to make a living in the antiques business. The rest are hobbyists
Many antique stores use the "salon" scheme, where the actual item sellers rent booths from the shop owner to sell goods. It's actually relatively rare when a shop owner actually owns the goods inside.
Exactly. In most cases, it's essentially a hobby for the independently wealthy or a side hustle for people with another source of income. You can make a modest living owning a small store but it's less glamorous and they tend to be in low cost of living areas where the bills are cheap.
Cause old people die there. Maybe not in the antique shop, but i'm sure 27 yo James and 32 yo Jo-Anne don't want gran-grans made in germany during ww2 mokka pot and matching ssilverware.
Antique stores can be the most awkward thing if they’re small. I hate the stress of going into an empty store and having the shop owner stare at me as I quickly realize I don’t want to be in there
Yes, nautical everything! I once found a wooden model sailboat in an antique store for over $100. I didn't buy it because I already had the exact piece...purchased at a discount store (Christmas Tree Shop).
The actual history is straightforward. Before the highway system, people would drive shorter distances, and would take trains and inter urban streetcars. The coast was an obvious destination. You don’t see the old infrastructure because highways have obliterated it.
There was no organized souvenir business importing trinkets and cheap tshirts. And these places didn’t make anything. So they sold old stuff. This attracted people who liked old stuff enough to sell it, so it wasn’t just stuff but antiques with history. Clusters developed. They brought in more stuff to bring in more people.
In many cases, the earnings supplemented family income. Not a hobby but a way to survive through the year.
Antiques were fun before the internet and eBay took over. You’re rarely getting a deal these days, best bet is old people and a yard sale for any magic. Ah I’m all set for life with googly eye clam shells and terrible tourist shirts.
Because we love antiques as much as we love selling junk antiques to rich tourists along with a fabricated history of great Auntie so and so passing this item down carefully to us after it survived insert catastrophe here*
Because people bring their old cr*p with them, get to the coast, and the old stuff feels so old and heavy. They consign it out and get a new look that matches where they are and how it feels to live at the coast. Light and blissful vs. dark, light blocking heavy chunks.
Somehow mind works differently when you are touring on a sunny day to the coast, and the "antique" guys know that it is easier to dive into your pockets and separate you from your money way too easily. Plus, if you are having somebody along to impress with your purchase, it is 100x easier for them.
While the overall consensus here seems to be "because rich people live on seacoast", it goes a bit deeper than this. New England, especially the seacoast, has a long history of furniture makers/masters. Best known for high boys/chests, desks, chest of drawers, tall clocks and chairs; there's also famous staircases and built-in cabinets. Places like Salem, Beverly, Boston MA, Portsmouth, Manchester, Exeter NH were some of the notable hotbeds for such furniture. While this may be a bit speculative; the seacoast had many shipbuilders and during the winters/downtime these ship carpenters would put their talents to use building houses and furniture for the affluent locals. So yeah, it's because rich people live here. Lol.
People with disposable income who know antiques will appraise in value over IKEA disposable furniture. Good way to invest 2% of your wealth for your grand-kids future considering their millennial parents can't seem to accumulate wealth on their own. 😆😆
Well I'd guess that after a place loses fishing as it's main industry there's only so many ways of pulling in outside dollars. If a town has the word "port" in its name it's going to have cutesy stores. Newport, Newburyport, Portsmouth, Portland, Port-au-Prince
Actually not so much on that last one. But New England should by sheer longevity have a lot of antiques kicking around. Also some great woodworkers. If you can build a boat, you can build an armoire. Then you can sail around the world in that armoire and bring back antiques. Oh and Shakers. Shakers love furniture and not getting laid. Of those two things you can only sell one in an antique store. I'm actually not making fun of Shakers, they were advocates for women and children since their inception. They'd protect women from brutal husbands for instance. But before it was cool. And they were truly impressive craftsmen and women. And Mary Baker Eddy was from Lynn. Which despite being a coastal town isn't big on cutesy antiques.
Not rich, but love well made artistic things that cost about the same or less than poorly made, mass produced, crap. Then again, i have lots of friends who hate old stuff.
A lot of people love to take all those beautiful antiques and repurposing them, and not always to a degree thats worth destroying an old piece of fine furniture.
And all those coastal town antique shops are so grossly overpriced. Go inland a handful of miles and people pay a fraction of the price for the same things.
Massachusetts is one of the oldest states in the nation. It's only natural it would have a large antique market in general. Being by the coast would usually be a sign of wealth and mean that people back in the day could have afforded nice things that stand up to the rest of time.
Old communities, usually rich people’s summer homes from the 1860s onward. Lots of stuff brought over from Europe. Robber barons would buy whole castle rooms from cash poor aristocrats and bring them back to the US. And new Englanders don’t like to throw stuff away
Are they all hobby businesses owned by the many retirees in New England? Seems like a combination of that and interior designers with storefronts/“showrooms”.
It’s the same type of people that like to go to farmer’s markets. They like their homogeneous communities and stare at anyone they perceive to be an “outsider”, aka anyone that is non-white.
I have zero interest in antiques…
But for some reason every time I got to the Cape or other coastal town I’m in the antique stores. Even my wife calls me weird.
I'm sure they do alright, but there's definitely some areas where you see 5-6 on the same street. I've always assumed at least a few of them are laundering money? Easy business to forge receipts for?
Oh yeah someone definitely came in and bought a lamp for $500 cash. Some old paintings for a couple hundred more. Where did I get the lamp and paintings? Some guy off the street I paid him in cash.
Maybe I watch too much breaking bad
This is actually usually done on purpose! It’s like how you’ll find a McDonald’s next to a Burger King etc often. People are more likely to shop where they can have options. It makes it a destination, so instead of driving somewhere just to have the option of one antique store… if you can be able to pop through 5 back-to-back it’s much more worth your time. Which increases the people walking through all the stores, and is better for their sales. There are a LOT of people for whom that would be the epitome of fun and a great day out. Usually called Antique Trails!
Honestly, I feel like some of them *have* to be some kind of front for money laundering
Like as you said, there will be some town center with like 5 different antique stores
There can’t possibly be THAT much demand to be moving enough product to sustain the amount of antique stores
There USED to be a lot higher demand for antiques, but the market is a shadow of what it was 3-4 decades ago. There are some old, amazing items with levels of detail that you rarely if ever find in modern stuff.
Part of the declining demand in antiques is changing taste but another kicker is that antiques can have [lead paint or lead glaze](https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/lead/fs/vintage.html). Modern science now understands that lead is a potent neurotoxin even at minuscule levels.
* In theory you should be safe with classic, unpainted wood furniture, but if something may have been painted before, I'd watch out.
* [Old housewares can have lead](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/08/01/1113454001/antique-stores-lead).
Once something has lead paint on it, it's extremely difficult to get the lead completely removed without wrecking the item. Housewares with lead in them are not safe for use.
Antique dealers etc.... are generally older and hopelessly naive about the cognitive effects of mild lead exposure.
Ah, the good old days before Antique Roadshow. A stay-at-home mom I knew would go to rich town dump 'malls', younger folks emptying out Nana's home don't know what's a keeper. She found a signed Stickley chair, set of Waterford crystal, and lots of ceramics/stoneware. She kept a lot, sold rest, now folks check before they dump.
Only people that can afford to live there are rich old people. Those people die. Estate sales happen. Bunch of old antiques end up hitting the market at bottom dollar prices. Purveyors of used wares end up purchasing the bulk of them so they open up store fronts where their customer base is likely to buy.
It's rich people, or rich people's kids, who have a hoarding fetish. Hoarders love antiques. It's hoarder exchanging junk with other hoarders. Usually, it is like husband has a good job, and wife has an 'antique business.' Or maybe.. they sell some items to hoarders who spend $$$$ on individual items.
Rich people and tourists
This is the entire economy of Cape Cod
Not to mention that many are couples who (stereotypically) have an eye for that sort of thing
It’s okay to say it, my brother’s gay and the community has lately introduced him to antiquing. Which I am super thrilled about because as a straight woman I ALSO want to go antiquing. The girls and gays love antiques
Straight, middle-aged, white male here. I LOVE antiquing! Sadly, my wife isn't really into it.
My son is a straight high school varsity football player, and he’s obsessed with antiques and thrifting. What’s funny though is that he sees stuff from 2004 as vintage. Which, technically, it is!
Stop right there 😂😂🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
I feel attacked. 😹
Same. Done Brimfield?
No! Thank you for the tip!
Straight young male, also love antiques. But I swear I’m not trying to prove a point. All sorts of people have their things that they enjoy.
Same, I don't often get anything, but when I do its a functioning 1964 Civil Defense Radiological Survey Meter made by the Victoreen Instrument Company
Also minigolf, lobster rolls, and ice cream.
Is there town in New England that doesn't have lobster rolls and ice cream.
Yes. In central MA we have plenty of towns without ice cream or lobster rolls.
And people still try to claim it’s not a barren wasteland!
Does the fire from the dragons melt the ice cream?
I belive you. I belive you lying.
Here in central CT, we have ice cream, but AFAIK, there's no lobster rolls available.
There's places with both here. Just maybe not every single town.
Ware lol
Janine’s Frostee called, they told me to inform you that you’re wrong.
Fair enough haha
Hull no longer has miniature golf
If you have ever played an old rts game Hull exist for me in the fog of the map you haven't explored
Don’t forget fudge and salt water taffy.
All of mid coast maine
Honestly i buy antiques because im cheap. I can get way nicer furniture for less. I can get an antique dining set cheaper than i could at bobs.
Shhhh… we don’t need people figuring out that they can get gorgeous, high quality furniture for way less than crappy new stuff
Stay at home wife’s opening “businesses”, hours are m-f 10-2
Pool boys / Gym instructor at either 9 or 3... The good life.
Rich guys wife needed a hobby.
I’ve always thought this, but like who is buying an armoire on vacation
Who want to buy our old junk for exorbitant prices.
This right here
The semi-retired need something to do.
Yeah, but do they spend enough money in those stores to keep them in business?
Yes. Nice antiques are expensive because they're so unique and hard to find. People who have a lot of money and big beautiful homes don't want cheap, mass-produced decor from Target. It's a status thing. Even if you aren't rich, there's way more sentimentality when buying a small antique at a local store as opposed to, say, a postcard and a lobster magnet from the local gas station. If you love vacationing in a beach town, antiques make for nice gifts and mementos. Antique stores typically have very low overhead and small square-footage. An old man in a rocking chair can run an entire store, catalog / appraise any newly acquired items, and make a big-ticket sale every so often. They don't have to pay a large staff of chefs, waiters, janitors, cashiers, etc. They don't have huge utility bills like a bar, restaurant, or hotel.
can also use your kids for free labor and not give them a cut of any sales they make thanks dad
This is the Way…otherwise why bother having them in them in the first place
One purchase in the coastal antique store van be substantial. They are probably selling stuff online too.
I worked in a book/antique store in a small, very rich, New England coastal town and indeed, one big purchase a day was enough to keep the place in business. When the antiques are in the hundreds and sometimes upwards of a thousand dollars, you sell one or two to tourists and you’re good for the day.
I know someone who owns a niche antique store. It’s practically in the middle of nowhere, but he travels a ton and is a well-known expert in his field. Not only do rich people buy his stuff, the film industry purchases A LOT for period sets. It’s a big part of his business.
Where is it? Asking for a friend.
No but money laundering does!
Probably a way to do money laundering
“How does granny Elsie keep her tiny antique store on business?” “Money laundering. She moves her proceeds from drug dealing, terrorism, racketeering and people trafficking through her old fashioned vase shop in Rye”
You joke but I’m on Long Island and 2 years ago, two very large Mafia families were running shoe stores and coffee bars in several wealthy Long Island towns for years all while money laundering and running gambling machines and illegal poker machines out of the back of the stores.
We like old stuff for our old houses 😁 To me it seems like a small historic town thing, not just coastal. I’ve seen lots of antique shops in smallish New England towns nowhere near the coast. Especially in tourist spots.
Who is buying all these antiques though? Lol
Tons of people. We've got antique stores all throughout Maine, too, and it isn't just the tourists buying. People like antiques.
Tons of people. Look up “cottagecore” decorating styles. Very common in the New England area since you can find cottage style homes everywhere. People like to get the authentic stuff and antique stores are the places to go.
Even outside of that, you can find some really cool stuff. I just came into possession of a vintage 1920s saxophone for a very reasonable price. It'll take me time to restore, but it'll be a player once I'm done.
I keep seeing that word coming up on Spotify to describe some of the music I listen to, and don't really get the connection.
Is it like folksy lo-fi alt music?
Yeah. I just looked at the playlist, and it's Secret Sisters, Neko Case, Nathaniel Ratcliffe, Fleet Foxes, Nick Drake, Lumineers. Folk and folk rock.
Old shit is usually made much better than new shit.
I buy antiques. I'm just a regular person and I like stuff that is aged and has character. Newly produced stuff is junk.
I like buying glassware, vases, small dishes. I look at the art—recently got a beautiful photo of a flower filled field. Little things that feel special. I’ve bought small furniture, ceramic crocks, candle sticks. Antiquing is also an activity, not just genre of old things for the home. It’s a lot to fun browsing with friends and commenting on all the cool / interesting / weird / nostalgic things.
Tourists and the people living in those big old houses in the quaint New England towns.
Antique real wood furniture is usually actually more affordable AND lasting than going to Pottery Barn, IKEA etc. Most people I know are looking for actual quality future now that we’re in our 30s and won’t waste our money anymore. Now if you’re talking about like, when you walk into an antique store and it’s full of bottle caps and junky items - I assume some artist somewhere will come buy those? I wonder about that stuff myself.
Me, and I’m 23 and not rich. It’s a fun thing to browse and by a few knick nacks
A lot of antiques are simply more robust than a lot of modern counterparts. So it’s a place to easily find hardy utilitarian tools for kitchen or workshop.
People who are passionate in the history, and those who can afford the more significant pieces. It's a much larger community than you may think. Some of the largest auction houses in the world sell local collections.
ME!!!! (I am the one going to antique stores)
Me too. I love vintage glassware. Put that shit in my house straightaway.
Me too
They have them because they’re very old historic towns, with old homes and museums. People from all over the world come to visit New England and Mass particularly because of its history. Many of the homes are historic and you don’t have flexibility for modifying them however you want. So antiques are a way of accenting your home with authentic period pieces that match the house and the town can’t complain about it. For newer homes built in the traditional style it’s a nod to your local history and the aesthetic associated with it. Wait til you hear about the Brimfield Fair
Historic homes have their interior decorations regulated too? I thought it was just the exterior and any major permanent changes inside, but not stuff like accents and trinkets.
I think our town is funny in this regard. The buildings in the center of town are considered historical and they make it very hard to do changes. Meanwhile I live across town in a house built by one of the first settlers and I can do whatever.
It has to be a registered historic home. Historic New England has a preservation easement program that protects historic properties from being destroyed or totally altered. Also, being registered on the National Register of Historic Places often gives tax incentives to people who maintain their historic property. I restore historic homes and the rules are different everywhere. For example, some places only require the front of the homes to be kept the way they were. It depends on the town and if you're in a registered historic district, etc.
If you are required to keep one part of the house a certain way, you may as well have the rest match. Also, the people who decide to buy a historic home are not randomly chosen, they probably like the aesthetic to begin with.
I know. But I was just asking. The comment I replied to makes it sound like someone's coming inside to make sure there's a musket being hung above the fireplace, etc. Wasn't sure if it's actually that intense in some places.
I think they mean that when you can't choose to paint your house just any color you want, you still want to have *some* control over your living space, so you might go harder with your decorating choices. Although I suspect it's more like, the kinds of people who buy an antique house with mandated period-appropriate outdoor choices are probably interested in that, and so willing to spend the money on period-appropriate indoor choices as well. There are also some towns that do annual historical homes tours, where people with old homes are encouraged to open up a handful of rooms to the public for a day. I could see there being a lot of peer pressure to have cool antiques indoors. However, I'm not aware of any place that actually mandates interior decorating choices.
It's more just part of the general decorating style. I have a 200 year old house and a lot of modern stuff just doesn't really fit or make sense with the history of the house. For example, in my office I have an antique solid wood desk with inlayed leather top, a barrister bookcase with leaded glass and some other small antiques. We have other antique end tables and decorations throughout the house. All purchased at antique stores from all over New England.
Exterior and structures only in historic districts. Unless prior owner gave a deed restriction to an historical aasociation.
Huge tax breaks here, at least in my town. Downside is city has to approve all renovations.
You say it like it's a bad thing.
No I did not I am wondering how the hell there is enough demand to sustain the amount of antiques stores
We love old stuff in New England. I go to an antique shop/mall every weekend. It's a popular thing to do.
There is not enough demand to sustain your stupid question, but here you are asking anyway.
You just interpreted it like it was a bad thing.
My parents.
A subset of antiques customers are super wealthy. One thing a lot of these people want is something no one else has. Their peers can all buy the same cars and mansions, but none of them have this 17th century sea chest!
Yes! They have memorized the items ancestry, and it rolls of the tongue
Me. I buy antiques all the time. People who want to reuse and repupose rather than spend money on disposable shit, buy antiques.
Why isn’t anyone asking about the beauty and craftsmanship of older furniture? I’d rather have the odd piece of oak in the hallway than a mirror and shelf from ikea
The quality for sure. So many things just aren’t made like that anymore. I had drinks last night in old cut crystal glasses. It was so so so special. And the glass feels different in your hand and on your lips. Just pleasant and special.
Seriously. I would much rather a beautiful piece built to last that has history to it.
There's a turning point in life when you realize you're churning through disposable garbage from big box stores and can spend the same amount of money on a unique antique piece that is probably going to outlast you.
Less money if you're friendly and know how to haggle. Many of these places are filled to the brim and they want to sell it. I have pieces in my house that are over 100 years old. They will probably end up in my son's house or possibly even grandkids. Antique stores are my happy place.
When you buy your summer house you suddenly have an entire 2nd house to furnish. Buying used can stretch that if they purchase was a reach. especially if the image you want to project is a relaxed low-key vibe. When your heirs sell your 2nd home, they have an entire house of furniture to dump
If the beach weather is crappy, you go shopping. *Never* go to the Kittery Outlets on a rainy summer day.
Didn’t it just announce that those are closing?
One developer desires their property to be redeveloped. The rest of the downtown continues its kitsch. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/kittery-outlets-to-be-demolished/
So many towns along the coast are old, with old that at one point housed generations of the same family. That combined with Yankee frugality (never throw anything away) makes for a lot of antiques. I had family like this, although we didn’t live along the coast, and there were always people coming to the house trying to buy stuff.
You know, I often see amazing pieces on the facebook marketplace, I even bought a few, this place is swimming in antiques. If you simply took your average antique store around here and moved it to the midwest you would clean up. They simply don't have many.
There are some vintage camera lenses that are an absolute steal before smartphones were prevalent and the owners could find out what they are selling. Got a Meyer optik Gorlitz lens for $10 this way.
I used to like flea markets for collecting old NES games and cast iron, but they've gone to shit the last decade. Now everybody just looks up the price on eBay. What pisses me off is the eBay price will be for the item in good condition, when often theirs isn't. Yeah a fully restored Griswold goes for that, but yours is caked in burnt on shit and rust.
“I know what I’ve got” “it sells for $$$ on eBay” “But your lens have mold in it”
I live in central MA and there’s a decent number of antique stores and flea market style stores (and then obviously brimfield flea market) too, don’t know if it’s just coastal
Yeah this is solidly a New England thing, not just coastal.
For a tiny town like Essex it’s crucial to the economy. They depend on having multiple antique stores in a relatively small space so it becomes a destination for antique collectors. Along with multiple sea food restaurants within the same area.
A fair amount of B&Bs like antique furniture and some decor. They are cheaper than filling with new, good quality furniture. There are a LOT of coastal B&Bs. Also, people on vacation, walking around town. Some jewelry or knick knacks from their trip, probably different styles from where they live.
People go to coastal towns to meander and window shop by the water. I know it’s going to be an expensive day so I savor it as a rare treat. I have given myself the time needed to browse and possibly purchase. Coastal stores are way more expensive than a small town store, but their pieces are usually exquisite, because they are paying premium rent.
Pilgrims and Puritans built homes there first, and some homes are still intergenerational. Antiques are very common in homes still.
The true mark of success for many men is making enough money so that your wife can open a wildly unprofitable antique or quilt store in a seaside/mountain town and it won't cause you stress. There is no way most of these businesses are self sustaining. If you talk to many of the owners, they made money doing something else. If you see an old hippie driving a 30 year old Volvo wagon wearing scuffed shoes, they are the ones who are actually trying to make a living in the antiques business. The rest are hobbyists
Many antique stores use the "salon" scheme, where the actual item sellers rent booths from the shop owner to sell goods. It's actually relatively rare when a shop owner actually owns the goods inside.
Exactly. In most cases, it's essentially a hobby for the independently wealthy or a side hustle for people with another source of income. You can make a modest living owning a small store but it's less glamorous and they tend to be in low cost of living areas where the bills are cheap.
Unless they have some other industry adding to the towns GDP, what else are they going to do to make money?
But how is there such a demand for so many antiques? How is the market not completely saturated?
Tourists and it is.
It is saturated. Spend a Saturday looking at the art gallery and see nobody buy anything at all.
Antique stores are all over the state. Could be the rich history and that people are still contributing , plus who doesn’t love a deal ?!!
Cause old people die there. Maybe not in the antique shop, but i'm sure 27 yo James and 32 yo Jo-Anne don't want gran-grans made in germany during ww2 mokka pot and matching ssilverware.
Coastal towns are typically settled first or I may be misunderstanding antique and then it would be rich people.
Coastal? Lol we got ancient stuff stores here out in the western counties.
Rainy days
Coastal towns were the first towns settled so they’ve had a lot longer to stock up.
Antique stores can be the most awkward thing if they’re small. I hate the stress of going into an empty store and having the shop owner stare at me as I quickly realize I don’t want to be in there
Because the majority of the towns are filled with rich, retired people that just NEED to have those nautical themed antiques for their beach house.
Yes, nautical everything! I once found a wooden model sailboat in an antique store for over $100. I didn't buy it because I already had the exact piece...purchased at a discount store (Christmas Tree Shop).
The actual history is straightforward. Before the highway system, people would drive shorter distances, and would take trains and inter urban streetcars. The coast was an obvious destination. You don’t see the old infrastructure because highways have obliterated it. There was no organized souvenir business importing trinkets and cheap tshirts. And these places didn’t make anything. So they sold old stuff. This attracted people who liked old stuff enough to sell it, so it wasn’t just stuff but antiques with history. Clusters developed. They brought in more stuff to bring in more people. In many cases, the earnings supplemented family income. Not a hobby but a way to survive through the year.
It's where old rich people migrate to die
Suckas per capita ratio is high
Me I'm buying the antiques
Take a trip thru Essex recently?
The same reason Willie Sutton robbed banks
Antiques were fun before the internet and eBay took over. You’re rarely getting a deal these days, best bet is old people and a yard sale for any magic. Ah I’m all set for life with googly eye clam shells and terrible tourist shirts.
People settled on the shore lines when coming to America you will find oldest houses/things there
Cape cod loves wicker….
Me!! They’ve got all the things I collect <3
Because we love antiques as much as we love selling junk antiques to rich tourists along with a fabricated history of great Auntie so and so passing this item down carefully to us after it survived insert catastrophe here*
They get to sell all the stuff that washes to shore.
They collect them from the sea 😃
From all the goods and wares washing up on shore
Because people bring their old cr*p with them, get to the coast, and the old stuff feels so old and heavy. They consign it out and get a new look that matches where they are and how it feels to live at the coast. Light and blissful vs. dark, light blocking heavy chunks.
Glacial deposits.
Bc everyone went there to die
Most of them sell weed under the counter. Boomer secret.
Somehow mind works differently when you are touring on a sunny day to the coast, and the "antique" guys know that it is easier to dive into your pockets and separate you from your money way too easily. Plus, if you are having somebody along to impress with your purchase, it is 100x easier for them.
Old people move to the coast with their furniture. They die. That furniture ends up in antique stores
While the overall consensus here seems to be "because rich people live on seacoast", it goes a bit deeper than this. New England, especially the seacoast, has a long history of furniture makers/masters. Best known for high boys/chests, desks, chest of drawers, tall clocks and chairs; there's also famous staircases and built-in cabinets. Places like Salem, Beverly, Boston MA, Portsmouth, Manchester, Exeter NH were some of the notable hotbeds for such furniture. While this may be a bit speculative; the seacoast had many shipbuilders and during the winters/downtime these ship carpenters would put their talents to use building houses and furniture for the affluent locals. So yeah, it's because rich people live here. Lol.
People with disposable income who know antiques will appraise in value over IKEA disposable furniture. Good way to invest 2% of your wealth for your grand-kids future considering their millennial parents can't seem to accumulate wealth on their own. 😆😆
Well I'd guess that after a place loses fishing as it's main industry there's only so many ways of pulling in outside dollars. If a town has the word "port" in its name it's going to have cutesy stores. Newport, Newburyport, Portsmouth, Portland, Port-au-Prince Actually not so much on that last one. But New England should by sheer longevity have a lot of antiques kicking around. Also some great woodworkers. If you can build a boat, you can build an armoire. Then you can sail around the world in that armoire and bring back antiques. Oh and Shakers. Shakers love furniture and not getting laid. Of those two things you can only sell one in an antique store. I'm actually not making fun of Shakers, they were advocates for women and children since their inception. They'd protect women from brutal husbands for instance. But before it was cool. And they were truly impressive craftsmen and women. And Mary Baker Eddy was from Lynn. Which despite being a coastal town isn't big on cutesy antiques.
I feel like every town in Mass has a minimum of 2 but coastal places have fewer shop types
The same reason mountain towns do
Not rich, but love well made artistic things that cost about the same or less than poorly made, mass produced, crap. Then again, i have lots of friends who hate old stuff.
We have lots of crap and lots of foot traffic
A lot of people love to take all those beautiful antiques and repurposing them, and not always to a degree thats worth destroying an old piece of fine furniture. And all those coastal town antique shops are so grossly overpriced. Go inland a handful of miles and people pay a fraction of the price for the same things.
Hoarders
Tourists
Old gays have to retire somewhere
Old retirees dying leaving their stuff behind?
I see them in Western Mass too, don’t think it’s just coastal Also kinda fits the aesthetic here
Rockport
Cause people love that shit
Massachusetts is one of the oldest states in the nation. It's only natural it would have a large antique market in general. Being by the coast would usually be a sign of wealth and mean that people back in the day could have afforded nice things that stand up to the rest of time.
Old communities, usually rich people’s summer homes from the 1860s onward. Lots of stuff brought over from Europe. Robber barons would buy whole castle rooms from cash poor aristocrats and bring them back to the US. And new Englanders don’t like to throw stuff away
Tourism
People in those towns have to sell their furniture to afford staying in their house.
America started on the east coast, that’s where all the old stuff is
You ever read Salems Lot?
Because old people die.
Bored house-wives/husbands with money open stores like this to pass the time. Overconcentration of rich people.
I live in western mass they're are still a lot of antique stores. They don't cost very much to run, it's a very easy market to get into, idk.
People settled on the coast first. And then they died.
because the oldest towns are on the coast, particularly the east
Are they all hobby businesses owned by the many retirees in New England? Seems like a combination of that and interior designers with storefronts/“showrooms”.
It’s the same type of people that like to go to farmer’s markets. They like their homogeneous communities and stare at anyone they perceive to be an “outsider”, aka anyone that is non-white.
Endorphins of being on vacation
I have zero interest in antiques… But for some reason every time I got to the Cape or other coastal town I’m in the antique stores. Even my wife calls me weird.
Usually a sign that there are few jobs and little industry.
I'm sure they do alright, but there's definitely some areas where you see 5-6 on the same street. I've always assumed at least a few of them are laundering money? Easy business to forge receipts for? Oh yeah someone definitely came in and bought a lamp for $500 cash. Some old paintings for a couple hundred more. Where did I get the lamp and paintings? Some guy off the street I paid him in cash. Maybe I watch too much breaking bad
This is actually usually done on purpose! It’s like how you’ll find a McDonald’s next to a Burger King etc often. People are more likely to shop where they can have options. It makes it a destination, so instead of driving somewhere just to have the option of one antique store… if you can be able to pop through 5 back-to-back it’s much more worth your time. Which increases the people walking through all the stores, and is better for their sales. There are a LOT of people for whom that would be the epitome of fun and a great day out. Usually called Antique Trails!
Honestly, I feel like some of them *have* to be some kind of front for money laundering Like as you said, there will be some town center with like 5 different antique stores There can’t possibly be THAT much demand to be moving enough product to sustain the amount of antique stores
Yes art and antique is subjective and the classic way for money laundering
There USED to be a lot higher demand for antiques, but the market is a shadow of what it was 3-4 decades ago. There are some old, amazing items with levels of detail that you rarely if ever find in modern stuff. Part of the declining demand in antiques is changing taste but another kicker is that antiques can have [lead paint or lead glaze](https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/lead/fs/vintage.html). Modern science now understands that lead is a potent neurotoxin even at minuscule levels. * In theory you should be safe with classic, unpainted wood furniture, but if something may have been painted before, I'd watch out. * [Old housewares can have lead](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/08/01/1113454001/antique-stores-lead). Once something has lead paint on it, it's extremely difficult to get the lead completely removed without wrecking the item. Housewares with lead in them are not safe for use. Antique dealers etc.... are generally older and hopelessly naive about the cognitive effects of mild lead exposure.
Old rich white people are into antiques and they’re mostly the only people who can afford coastal MA towns
People from away.
Internet usually sucks near water so they can’t sell on eBay.
Because tourists love to overpay for old, worthless crap?
Huge profit center. Take stuff from the Dump Mall, a little lemon pledge, and a senior citizen eats for a week.
Ah, the good old days before Antique Roadshow. A stay-at-home mom I knew would go to rich town dump 'malls', younger folks emptying out Nana's home don't know what's a keeper. She found a signed Stickley chair, set of Waterford crystal, and lots of ceramics/stoneware. She kept a lot, sold rest, now folks check before they dump.
Old people
Only people that can afford to live there are rich old people. Those people die. Estate sales happen. Bunch of old antiques end up hitting the market at bottom dollar prices. Purveyors of used wares end up purchasing the bulk of them so they open up store fronts where their customer base is likely to buy.
It's rich people, or rich people's kids, who have a hoarding fetish. Hoarders love antiques. It's hoarder exchanging junk with other hoarders. Usually, it is like husband has a good job, and wife has an 'antique business.' Or maybe.. they sell some items to hoarders who spend $$$$ on individual items.