Joy Cadarette and Sharon Beauchesne are old friends, opening a store in an old building where they will sell old things. But the idea of starting a new antique shop in Concord together is newly hatched, when just three weeks ago they discovered that the location at 208 North Main Street was for sale.
Antiques & Estates at 208, will feature art, furniture and home goods, arranged artfully in tableaus by Beauchesne. The store, which opened on Sept. 1, smells like Balsam fir and lavender, wafting from open barrels of the stuff that customers can buy by the cupful.
The items for sale will come from antique dealers and estates sales. The two owners say their longtime knowledge of where to find high-quality and unique goods and their existing relationships with dealers will help them create an eclectic mix of products.
“All our secrets cannot be revealed. If we told you, we would have to shoot you,” Beauchesne said.
Prices will range from affordable to high-price – from $5 to $5,000 for an item.
“We’re mixing and matching from the very formal to the very simple and letting people realize that it can all mix,” Beauchesne said. “You don’t have to have a theme.”
Cadarette and Beauchesne, both 69, are former managers at Concord Antiques and bring many years of combined experience in antiques. Cadarette began bidding at auctions as a child with two quarters, while accompanying her antique dealer parents. She bought her first item at age 7 – a Bible box from an early church.
As a teenager, Beauchesne spent her pocket money on antiques. She remembers buying a wicker baby basket with money she received for her 16th birthday.
Each has her own specialties when it comes to the business. Beauchesne has a talent for interior design and loves re-purposing and repainting, while Cadarette has a background in fine art and knows how to dig into researching the history and value of different antiques.
“We are best friends,” said Cadarette.
“Our tastes are different but our love for the old and the unique,” said Beauchesne.
“It’s our passion,” Cadarette said, finishing her sentence.
Neither is too concerned about waning interest in antiques as their typical customer ages. They believe that young buyers will be drawn to old furniture for its durability and sustainability, eschewing cheaper modern alternatives that quickly break.
“The younger people seem to love the re-purposed and repainted, and recycled, for lack of a better word,” Cadarette said. They plan to honor that environmentally-friendly attitude, in part by giving out paper bags instead of plastic to customers.
The building at 208 North Main Street was built in 1941 and used to house Mamos Market, where Cadarette said she bought cigarettes as a teenager.
Both women want customers to know that Antiques & Estates at 208 have something for everyone to appreciate.
“Come in and experience something a little unique to the Concord area. Not just knick-knacks, but home decor,” Beauchesne said.
“Come in and create a new lifestyle for yourself,” Cadarette said.