Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 21st 2006, 1:50pm By queenseyes

On my way to a meeting at Cafe 59 this morning I passed Harold's Curiosity Shoppe located at 85 Allen. On this particular morning my eye spotted a green Aemes chair in the front window, so I popped in to ask the shop's owner a few questions. The owner, Harold, showed me around his double-store antique/curiosity showroom, while pointing out all of the various collections that he accumulated over the years. All together there are three rooms filled from floor to ceiling with some of the most interesting finds... and Harold is expanding his business into the basement where there will soon be a section dedicated to rare books.

Harold's been in the business of collecting for a long time. When he was younger he would travel from place to place, visiting flea markets and yard sales looking for curiosities. He had a knack for spotting rare antiques and highly sought after collectibles. Eventually he found himself in the same company as well-known antique dealers. Once they discovered that he had ean eyei, they started utilizing his services and it was then that Harold became a 'picker' for a number of well-regarded antique shops.

From there he opened his first shop on Allen, which was located at 63 Allen. His wife at the time told him that he had to unload his collections... "She wanted me to get the stuff out of the house. It was then that I decided to open up my first curiosity shop. I was at 63 Allen from 1999 until this past January when I moved into this place. It's a lot like treasure hunting... I went to design school in Chicago, but this is my passion. As they say, I have a trained eye... look around, I have collections of antique dolls and toys, vintage jewelry, depression and Victorian glass, ekitchenaliai, table settings, original oil portraits, Arts and Crafts, Art Modern, American Revival, black memorabilia, cookie jar collections, American art pottery... I have so much we could sit here all day long going over it all." And he does. The store is huge and the items that Harold has acquired are fascinating.

I'm heading back after lunch to go check out that chair again and I am sure that I will see totally different things that I may have missed the first time. Michael Morgulis, if you are reading this - there's an antique wind-up robot in there!

Harold is also going the way of the internet. You can take a peak here. Or give him a call at 716-362-2552.