The Antique Mall, Where the Stock Changes Daily

"I always wanted to be an archaeologist when I grew up, and, in a way, that's exactly what I am."

Janice Johnson, owner of the on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, spoke with Sherman Oaks Patch about her 25 years at the store, dealing with newly unearthed, unique collectibles, all of it for sale to the public.

"I get to oversee this amazing array of fantastic objects, from vintage jewelry, which is our house specialty, to clothes and fur coats; rare things from Chanel, Tiffany, Lalique or Baccarat; kitsch items from the '50s and '60s; mirrors, discontinued crockery, old-time dishes and glasses, handbags—you name it, we've got it," Johnson said.

You can get lost wandering the 7,000-square-foot store, which is packed with stalls, counters and other display spaces.

"We have about 100 vendors, old and new, each with their own space full of whatever they have," she said. "The stock changes literally from day to day. When something is sold, other things take its place, just as rare and unique.

"People find our setup mysterious, fascinating and surprising, not to mention fun, and sometimes even overwhelming! The store just goes on and on," she said.

"Some customers come in literally every day to see what's new and rare,"
Johnson said, and that includes celebrities.

"Let's just say someone who was once married to Brad Pitt came in one time with her bodyguard. I didn't recognize her, and I mentioned how tolerant her husband was to shop with her. She looked at me a little funny," Johnson said.

"We used to have a wine machine to serve our customers. Gary Shandling used to come in, drink the wine, and I'd say, 'Can I help you?' He'd say, 'No, I'm just watching.' " Then there was the time the King of Pop dropped by, she recalled.

"One time Michael Jackson came in with a mustache disguise. I didn't recognize him, but thought he looked strange, so I had one of our guys follow him around," she said. "My husband did recognize him, and just to tease me, had all the employees do the moonwalk in front of me. I still didn't get it. Then I noticed the guy's white socks and the signature shoes! Michael bought a clock, then put on a gorilla mask and walked out."

She spoke about the shop's vintage jewelry, saying people come from all over the world to buy it.

"We have one of the most extensive arrays of exotic, rare jewelry anywhere, both costume and real, and due to the Internet, people everywhere now travel here to buy," Johnson said.

"Many [staff from] TV shows and movies come here to buy period stuff for their shows. We had a chair left from Elvis' estate that one of his designers wanted to sell. It was silver and red, really over the top, very ornate and unusual. The show True Blood bought it and used it as the throne for the witch last season."

Johnson related her favorite Antique Mall story.

"We had this employee, a little old lady, and one of the vendors brought in a 'sweetheart bracelet' from the 1940s: little hearts on stretch bands. The woman looked at it and said, 'I had this exact bracelet that my parents gave me when I graduated from high school, and I lost it.' She'd lost it in Iowa, I think, where she grew up.

"Then she said, 'That's funny—it's been soldered exactly where mine was broken.' She turned it over and it was engraved to her. It was her bracelet.

"Amazing things can happen in here."

The Antique Mall, 14034 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 818-906-0338. Open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.