Madison County and the surrounding area is choc full of antique items with plenty of outlets for folks to find just what they’re looking for. And you just never know what you may run across – Civil War era items, European pieces with unique histories or just great items to fill your home space. Pette’s Antiques’ Pette Montgomery has 3,000-square feet of European pieces and has been in the business for the better part of three decades.
“An antique is a piece 100 years or older. We try to do 1800s and back,” Montgomery said. “We do have a few decorator items or an accessory.”
Montgomery has plenty of sources for her antique treasures which include antique markets in Atlanta and other US cities.
“We travel. We don’t go to Europe but we have suppliers that import and we go to warehouses when they get the furniture in and we purchase it,” she explained. “After having done this for so long, most of my vendors know what I want and what I pay so when they get a piece they send me pictures.”
Montgomery finds pieces “ready to sell” so they don’t spend time fixing furniture.
“My husband cleans them and we polish them to get ready for sale,” she said. “We get a lot of French and German pieces – a lot of Grandfather Clocks and a lot of furniture. I stick with furniture that I know more about.”
Pette’s Antiques carries plenty of bedroom furniture, mirrors, paintings and lamps.
“Most of my lamps are not old because they have to be rewired,” she said.
And with 27 years in the industry, she has come across some valuable and quite unique pieces.
“We’ve sold a bedroom suit that belonged to (Benito) Mussolini (the Italian Fascist Party Dictator from World War II). We had all the papers,” she said. “We’ve sold a water clock – it only runs on water. There’s a spigot you open up a bit and as the water runs down the hands move. I have a helmet from the 1500s and a pair of cannons from the 1600s. We do a lot of statues that are really old.”
And over the years Montgomery admits that she has had pieces “that were really expensive but we didn’t know it” and she’s had plenty of valuable pieces that she knew their worth.
And even with 3,000-square feet of antiques her own living space has plenty of items that have come through her stores. She began in Clinton before moving to Madison. Her husband sold medical equipment and would pick up antiques and the accumulation led to her opening an antique shop.
“I started with 800-square feet and in six years it was 4,500 square-feet – it’s a disease I can tell you (laughing). It’s very addictive,” she said. “We are retired and we do this and we love it.”
And the Montgomerys enjoy learning about their antiques from customers and suppliers and with the Internet she can research and find the history of most things in her store. And with such a wealth of antiquities, Montgomery has had high-profile customers appreciate her inventory as well.
“A lot of state officials and people like that. We have had every person from top to bottom come in. And you make friends. That’s the bottom line, they come in and sit and talk and tell about things that have happened to them. We enjoy being in Madison. Our location has been wonderful.”
There are numerous places in the metro area where antique consignment stores are set up, including Canton Square Antiques on the historic downtown square as well as the Antique Mall of the South where folks interested in “all things antique” can find that special item they’re looking for.
