Antiquing For Smaller Items? Try Antique Annex II

John and Ilona Barry were on the way home from their Jersey Shore home and John’s recuperation from an illness in 2005 when the notion hit them:

Time to open another antique shop.

“I said to John the store had to be ours,” regarding the location at 176½ Broad St., which had housed a former antique shop. “The number of the rental company was on the front door, and when we called, the gentleman from the rental company was here. We took a look at the store, the price was right…”

And Antique Annex II was born. Antique Annex I was, and still is, in Passaic Park. John and Ilona owned it for a year before passing it to a friend, and their initial store in Clifton had a big basement where the couple sold furniture and bigger items in addition to smaller. But you can tell the Clifton residents enjoy where they are now.

“We get lots of folks from Soho, locals from Bloomfield, as well as people from East Orange, West Orange and Newark. Antiques encompass everything from furniture, jewelry, vintage clothing and more.”

Yes, Antique Annex II is a small store, but the “wealth” inside, with things ranging from turn of the century to the 1930s primarily, is a spot you can get lost in – but happily. The couple finds most of their stock at estate sales and other antique shops, and from folks who bring things in. John also handles light restoration of any items that are damaged or in disrepair upon arrival. While walking around the store, you’ll find vintage toys and furs, glasses, artwork, dolls (“I used to be a doll collector,” says Ilona. “I started antiquing at home with my mom”), sterling and silver and costume jewelry from the 1950s and 1960s, Asian accessories, vintage linens from doilies to bed spreads, and much more. “Having a smaller store is good,” says Ilona, “because a lot of the homes here are smaller in Bloomfield.”

I spotted some favorites of my own while at the store. One was a 1930s portable Victrola (when’s the last time you heard that term used?), crank lever and all, with 78 rpm records. Another was an Underwood manual typewriter from the 1920s, and both of the before mentioned still work.

Perhaps the oldest item in the store? A light green, 1890s Victorian chair. The most expensive? A Tiffany lamp, in the front window, priced at $600. Most of the items are less and, in Ilona’s words, “affordable.”

“A customer that shops in an antique shop appreciates quality, workmanship, and loves the past.” And for the Baranys, the antique shop business is right up their alley. “It’s a great business for us because we’re retired. We meet some very interesting people, and form a bond with these people. The people are special.”

And the “location, location, location” tag works here. “This is a good area with traffic going by,” says Ilona Barany with regard to Broad Street. “I didn’t want a store on a main drag like Bloomfield Avenue. It’s a nice area, and the people are nice.”

Antique Annex II, 176½ Broad St., Bloomfield, (973) 429-3355