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Berkshires
Make A Perfect Destination for an Antiques Road Trip
THE BERKSHIRES,
MA-Like an angler with a favorite fishing hole, most savvy antiques
aficionados have a favorite, often secret destination. For many
collectors and shop owners-be they New England day-trippers enjoying a
treasure hunt, Canadian visitors shopping their way up or down Route 7
or Northeast dealers replenishing their inventory-the antiques mecca of
choice is western Massachusetts' Berkshire County.
Whether you're searching for formal early American pieces or Fiesta
Ware, the Berkshire's galleries, specialty dealers and group
marketplaces offer an astonishing range of antiques and collectibles in
a relatively small region. Collectors looking for antique American
clocks, 18th and 19th century glass and china, Oriental furniture,
estate jewelry or rare books will find places that specialize in these
items and others.
Many antiques road trippers begin in southern Berkshire County, where
some of the largest shops are located. Sheffield, home of the Berkshire
County Antiques and Art Dealers Association (comprised of more than 60
area shops), offers a particularly large concentration of dealers. Most
shops offer the association's free Antiques Map & Guide, an
invaluable resource for plotting your trip.
Step into Sheffield's Painted Porch Antiques for English and French
country furniture and accessories from the 18th and 19th centuries,
including armoires, tables, cupboards and desks. Cupboards &
Roses boasts a large selection of fine 18th and 19th century
paint-decorated European and Scandinavian furniture. Twin Fires
Barn-Robert Davis Antiques is stocked with American and European
antiques and waxed pine and classic leather furniture, while Susan
Silver Antiques is the place to find 18th and 19th century English and
Continental formal furniture, gilded mirrors and chandeliers.
Next door, in Southfield, Buggy Whip Antiques Market has15,000 square
feet filled with antiques, books, furniture and jewelry in an 18th
century setting. Great Barrington, just north, features an assortment
of antiques shops including the Emporium Antique Center, an upscale
downtown dealer featuring jewelry, art glass, sterling and other fine
decorative arts. The huge gallery at Asia Barong features Asian art
antiques and sculpture. Berkshire Antiques displays a large eclectic
collection of French country furniture, decorative accessories, garden
and architectural elements and plumbing fixtures. Country Dining Room
Antiques focuses on antique tableware, with porcelain, stemware,
silver, dining furniture, and linens displayed in formal and country
settings.
From Great Barrington, travel southwest on Route 23 to South Egremont.
Kenver Ltd. offers antiques along with their line of fine apparel and
winter sports equipment. Point the car north on Route 7 and drive to
Lenox, where Charles L. Flint Antiques buys and sells oil paintings,
Shaker items, 18th and 19th century and early American wares, folk art
and blown glass. Also there is Past and Future Antiques, with19th and
20th century fine small antiques, perfume bottles, sewing accessories,
china, glass and sterling.
Bellefontaine Antiques, in adjacent Pittsfield, displays European art
pottery, dinnerware and glass and other antiques while Nora Martin
Antiques has 19th and 20th century furniture, china, sterling, vintage
jewelry, linens and clothes. Just over the state line to the west, in
New Lebanon, NY, is Meissner's Auction Service & Antique
Center, LLC, which holds weekly Saturday evening auctions. Meissner's
specialties include antique furniture, stoneware, art, glass, quilts
and linens.
The heaviest concentration of dealers is in southern Berkshire County,
but myriad antiques shops dot Berkshire County's roads countywide. In
northern Berkshire, check out Library Antiques in Williamstown for a
wonderfully eclectic selection of furniture, antiques, prints, folk
art, housewares, jewelry and rare books, making it another ideal
starting point or destination for a day of antiquing throughout the
Berkshires.
To obtain complete information on antiques hunting in Berkshire County,
call the Berkshire Visitors Bureau (866-444-1815) or visit their web
site at berkshires.org.
Selected
Berkshire County Antique Dealers and Resources
Asia
Barong-Large space for displays of antiques. Leading supplier of
museums, galleries and decorators nationwide. (413) 528-5091; 199
Stockbridge Rd., Great Barrington, MA01230 www.Asisbarong.com
Bellefontaine
Antiques-Tasteful collections of American and European furniture, art
pottery, dinnerware and art work. (413) 499-1391) 814 East St.,
Pittsfield, MA 01220 www.info@bellefontaineantiques.com
Berkshire
Antiques-Offering a large eclectic collection of French country
furniture, decorative accessories, garden and architectural elements
and plumbing fixtures. (413) 644-9262; 107 Stockbridge Rd, Great
Barrington, MA 01230 berkshireantique@aol.com.
Berkshire
County Massachusetts Antiques and Art Dealers Association-An
association of more than 60 area shops offering a broad variety of art,
antiques and collectibles. (413) 229-7773; 28 South Main St.,
Sheffield, MA 01257 www.berkshireantiquesandart.com.
Buggy Whip
Antiques Market-15,000 SF antiques, books, furniture and jewelry in an
18th century setting. Reproduction French Canadian Farm House
Furniture. (413) 229-0002, 208 Norfolk Rd., Rte 272, Southfield, MA
01259 www.buggywhipantiques.com
Corner House
Antiques-American antique wicker of the 19th and early 20th century.
Extensive collection of tables, chairs and sets in traditional wicker
styles. (413) 229-6627, Corner Old Mill Pond Rd. and Rte. 7, Sheffield,
MA 01257 www.americanwicker.com
Country
Dining Room Antiques-This leading antique tableware specialist presents
porcelain, stemware, silver, dining furniture and linens beautifully
displayed in formal and country settings (413) 528-5050; 178 Main St.,
Great Barrington, MA 01230 info@countrydiningroomantiq.com.
Cupboards
& Roses-One of the largest selections of fine 18th and 19th
century paint-decorated furniture from Europe and Scandinavia,
including armoires, chests and tables. (413) 229-3070; 296 S. Main St.,
PO Box 426, Sheffield, MA 01257; goantiques.com
Elise Abrams
Antiques-Fine antiques for dining- largest inventory of antique
porcelain, stemware, art glass, furniture and tabletop accessories.
(413) 528-3201, 11 Stockbridge Rd., Rte. 7, Great Barrington, MA 01230 www.eliseabrams.com
The Emporium
Antique Center-An upscale antique center featuring an extensive
collection of jewelry, art glass, sterling and other fine decorative
arts. (413) 528-1660, 319 Main St., Rte. 7, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Charles L.
Flint Antiques-Museum quality 19th century paintings and American
antiques, Shaker, Norman Rockwell, Folk Art, blown glass and stoneware.
(413) 637-1634; 52 Housatonic St., PO Box 971, Lenox, MA 01240; chazma@vgernet.net
Green River
Gallery-Located in a 1775 Historic Colonial. 19th and 20th century.
American Art. Appraisals and restoration available. Selected furniture
and accessories circa 1680-1860. (518) 789-3311; 578 Boston Corners
Rd., County Rte. 63, Boston Corners, NY 12546
Kenver
Ltd.-Retailers of fine apparel, antiques and winter sports equipment
since 1959 in an 18th Century former Inn. Old world charm. Open Sept.
to April. (413) 528-2330/(800) 342-7547 39; Main St., PO Box 38, South
Egremont, MA 01258 info@kenverltd.com
http://kenverltd.com
Library
Antiques-Nothing in our shop is ordinary-furniture, antiques, prints,
folk art, housewares, jewelry and rare books. (413) 458-3436/(800)
294-4798 70; Spring St., Williamstown, MA 01267
Meissner's
Auction Service & Antique Center, LLC-Antique auction house.
Weekly on Saturday evenings. Preview during the day. Antique furniture,
art, glass, stoneware, firearms, quilts and linens. (518) 766-5002 438
US Rte. 20, New Lebanon, NY 12125 www.meissnersauction.com
Nora Martin
Antiques-Operating since 1979, offering 19th and 20th century
furniture, china, sterling and collectables. Also, vintage jewelry,
linens and clothes. (413)499-0927, 446 Tyler St., Pittsfield, MA 01201 www.noraantiques.com
Painted
Porch Antiques-English and French country furniture and accessories
from 18th and 19th centuries. Specializing in pine and painted
armoires, tables, cupboards and desks. (413) 229-2700; 102 South Main
St., Rte. 7, Sheffield, MA 01257, (Mailing Address: Box 428, Sheffield,
MA 01257) paintedporch.com
Past and
Future Antiques-19th and 20th century fine small antiques, perfume
bottles, sewing accessories, china, glass and sterling. (413) 637-2225,
63 Church St., Lenox, MA 01240
Susan Silver
Antiques-Offering English and Continental 18th and 19th century formal
furniture. Featuring fine furniture for the library, period mirrors,
chandeliers and decorative accessories. (413) 229-8169; Rte. 7, 755 N.
Main St., PO Box 621, Sheffield, MA 01257 ssilver@bcn.net
Twin Fires
Barn - Robert Davis Antiques-Out of the way, out of the ordinary. Amply
stocked with American and European antiques, poster art and waxed pine
and classic leather furniture. (413) 229-8899; 1350 Berkshire School
Rd., PO Box 17, Sheffield, MA 01257
Phil
Watson's Antique & Vintage Lighting-Leading source of antique
lighting in New England with a wide selection of residential and
industrial lighting from 1820s to 1840s. (413) 664-9150, 2 State Rd.,
Great Barrington, MA 01230 www.pwvintagelighting.com
R. W. Wise,
Goldsmiths, Inc.-Handmade contemporary, antique and estate jewelry.
Special sourcing for rare colored gemstones and pearls. On site
workshop. (413) 637-1589, 81 Church St., Lenox, MA 01240.
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The New
England Marketplace
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Shop New England style online
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Stonewall Kitchen
is best known
for their award-winning Specialty Foods, also offers a wide variety of
gourmet foods and gifts, kitchen and cookware, home decor and garden
accessories, recipes and their classic Product of the Month, always 10%
off.
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