We were first introduced to antiques as a young couple in the late '60's, when a friend took us to a local country auction near our New Jersey home. From that point on, we were hooked! We began by acquiring a few pieces of mid- to late-19th century furniture, but then quickly migrated to earlier pieces, with emphasis on Hudson Valley furniture and folk art of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
As so often happens, we soon began selling antiques to support our "habit", first as pickers and later in an antique center in central New Jersey. Weekends were spent on buying trips to the lower Hudson Valley and beyond, and then transporting our newly acquired "finds" back home, often on the roof rack of our car, to our children's chagrin. (They said we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies as we pulled into our driveway with our car piled high with cupboards, bureaus, blanket chests and the like.)
When Allen took early retirement in 2000, we took full advantage of the extra time available by moving to the lower Hudson Valley and rapidly expanding our business. At one point, we were selling out of four locations in three states, which required maintaining an increasingly frenetic pace to acquire quality antiques that could still be sold at reasonable prices. More recently, we purchased a beautifully restored barn in Sheffield, MA and have now consolidated our antiques business into that one location. This is the very first time we've actually had an antique shop of our own, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to re-establish personal contacts with many of our old customers, and hopefully meet many new ones as well.
Our shop is well-stocked with American country furniture, folk art, paintings, stoneware, textiles and other accessories, with emphasis on those dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Our inventory consists mainly of items that we would be happy to live with ourselves or, in some cases, have been "deaccessioned" from our own collection to make room for other "finds" in our admittedly cluttered home. So whether you are looking for that special item, out for a day's enjoyment in the Berkshires, or just wanting to shoot the breeze, we hope you'll stop in to see us.
Linda and Allen Rosen