{"id":556,"date":"2017-02-24T13:13:45","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T19:13:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpacad2.winona.edu\/winona360\/?p=556"},"modified":"2017-02-24T13:22:10","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T19:22:10","slug":"local-antique-shop-sells-treasures-shares-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/blog\/2017\/02\/24\/local-antique-shop-sells-treasures-shares-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Local antique shop sells treasures, shares memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen I first started, I was totally optimistic and thought everybody was going to love my stuff,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cAfter a few months\u2026 that wasn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

by Allison Mueller<\/p>\n

The red brick building on the corner of Main and Third Street is one of many old structures in Winona\u2019s historical downtown. What makes this space unique is what waits to be discovered downstairs.<\/p>\n

Along the Main Street side of the building, a steep staircase leads curious customers to a hefty door. A large red and white \u201cA-Z COLLECTABLES\u201d sign hangs above the entry to this hidden shop of treasures.<\/p>\n

The creak of the door as it opens and reveals the shop\u2019s unique contents is enough to give any antique collector goose bumps. Narrow pathways are carved throughout the basement\u00a0space that holds a nine-person maximum occupancy.<\/p>\n

To the right, past the collection of old lunchboxes suspended from ceiling pipes and an arrangement of still-packaged toy cars hanging on a wall, shop owner Neil Hunt sits surrounded by mountains of his treasures. He inspects the locks one of his regular customers, Michael, has brought in.<\/p>\n

\"A-Z<\/a>
A-Z Collectables\u2019 owner Neil Hunt discusses the locks and other items, Michael, a regular customer, has brought into Hunt\u2019s shop to sell to him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hunt has\u00a0owned\u00a0A-Z Collectables for more than 23 years, and said he looks to buy things of personal interest to add to his ever-growing collection of antiques and collectables.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t buy what I don\u2019t like,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked books and kitchen\u00a0items, antique lighting, definitely toy cars. The stuff I really don\u2019t want to part with I take home. I have several hundred cars here, but at home I have another couple hundred.”<\/p>\n

Originally from Eastern Michigan, work with a natural foods bakery brought Hunt to the co-op in La Crosse two or three times a week to deliver bread. He often stopped at donation stores and yard sales in the area to acquire unique items and then sold\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

Hunt said, \u201cA friend of mine who I was selling my pickings to, she was one of my regular dealers I sold to, kept saying, \u2018If I was as old as you are, I\u2019d open my own shop.\u2019 And finally, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

A-Z Collectables opened in 1993 in half of the street-level space where the kate + bella clothing store is. After a few years, Hunt needed more space and moved his business downstairs.<\/p>\n

\"Hunt<\/a>
Hunt has owned A-Z Collectables for more than 20 years in downtown Winona.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen I first started, I was totally optimistic and thought everybody was going to love my stuff,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cAfter a few months\u2026 that wasn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt\u2019s \u201cstuff\u201d encompasses a vast range of items including nonfiction and classic books, hand-painted pottery from the 1950s, old kitchen tools, antique lighting, games and more. There is also an entire corner of the shop dedicated\u00a0to antique Winona items \u2013 bottles, toy mascots from schools, buttons and\u00a0local calendar plates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can probably make a collection out of just about anything you hand me,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a collection that would be worth anything, or that anybody else would want, that\u2019s totally up to debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt, who has been retired for a few years, acquired different jobs to support his buying and selling habit. The job he was at the longest was with RGIS Inventory Service, which required him to travel to western Wisconsin and southern Minnesota. He said he could only open his shop several days a week, but the days were not consistent.<\/p>\n

Now A-Z Collectables is open weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 12:30 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Hunt said business booms during the summer compared to winter where he \u201cjust squeaks by.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said during summer he\u00a0makes a profit. When it comes to antique shops, he said the more the merrier in terms of attracting customers.<\/p>\n

\"Hunt<\/a>
Hunt shows Michael around the basement shop, talking about various pieces for sale.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like antique shops compete,\u201d Hunt explained. \u201cWe compete when it comes to buying the stuff, but when it comes to selling, you need several to attract collectors looking to buy and think this is a good town to go to and make it worth the visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Hunt, his antique shop is one of around three left in town. He said when he started there were six or seven shops in Winona. Much of the collecting market lives online, Hunt said, with sites such as eBay and Etsy. But, in addition to tourists, there are always the regulars who stop by the store.<\/p>\n

One of these regulars is Dale Hadler, who has been coming to Hunt\u2019s antique shop for four years. Hadler said he occasionally brings in items to sell, but stops by a few times a week to buy items, specifically antique things made of die-cast and aluminum.<\/p>\n

\"Dale<\/a>
Dale Hadler holds an item of interest he found in Hunt\u2019s antique shop and discusses with the shop owner what year the item might have been made.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBack in 2013 I moved to Winona and I was curious about this place so I came down and checked out this shop,\u201d Hadler said. \u201cHe has a nice collection\u2026 it\u2019s a little bit of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said he is surprised at some items that sell. He explained how years ago he had one of his largest single sales when a couple came to the shop and bought several boxes of Fire King dishes, totaling several hundred dollars. They packaged the vintage glassware and brought it back to the store they were opening in Japan.<\/p>\n

He also recalls an instance where a buyer purchased a $10 bucket from him that ended up being an antique lard pail worth $1,000, which Hunt found out once the buyer called him back to share its worth. Hunt had mistaken the pail for an old kid\u2019s sandbox bucket.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat made mine unique and what threw me off, was that it didn\u2019t say lard on it, but it had a cute little picture of a pig on it,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cThat was one of my larger missteps, which will happen with antiques.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt said he now looks online to research the items he acquires. He will also tell people who bring in items to sell him if they are better off trying to sell their items online.<\/p>\n

\"Hunt<\/a>
Hunt sits in the middle of his shop and updates the A-Z Collectables’ Facebook page. He said he tries to stay away from online selling and uses the internet to mainly research the age and selling price of items in his shop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSome things will sit here for years, but on eBay, if it\u2019s priced right, it\u2019s gone in two weeks,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cI buy things on eBay, but I don\u2019t sell. I need to, just to thin out some of my things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The abundance of antiques stacked and piled while strategically organized in A-Z Collectables offers a journey through history \u2013 something a buyer would not experience online.<\/p>\n

Hunt said, \u201cWhen you walk in the door here, it doesn\u2019t take you too long and you understand the character, heart and passions of the guy that\u2019s running it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Since<\/a>
Since Hunt\u2019s retirement, he has been able to keep A-Z Collectables open with set hours during the week and on Sunday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The first room of A-Z Collectables contains used leather jackets, hand-painted glassware, board games, records, toy cars and more.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hunt\u2019s<\/a>
Hunt\u2019s shop holds countless books, ranging from labeled categories that include \u201cwestern America,\u201d \u201cMinnesota writers,\u201d \u201cMidwest\u201d and \u201cother USA.\u201d Hunt said he focuses on selling mainly nonfiction and classic books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A-Z<\/a>
A-Z Collectables\u2019 owner Neil Hunt discusses the locks and other items Michael, a regular customer, has brought into Hunt\u2019s shop to sell to him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Old<\/a>
Old lunchboxes hang from ceiling pipes in Hunt\u2019s antique shop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Piles<\/a>
Piles of old board games await potential players in Hunt\u2019s antique shop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hunt<\/a>
Hunt holds a particular item for sale he\u2019s \u201cexcited about.\u201d He explained how the bottom of the china has printed on it MEMBER UNITED STATES CONGRESS, and he is trying to figure out how much it is worth and if this dishware was only sold to members of congress. He said this print makes the item more unique to him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hunt<\/a>
Hunt explains what kind of books he has bought for his shop during its 20-plus years of business.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hunt<\/a>
Hunt looks through items in the corner of his shop that is made up of strictly Winona memorabilia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A wall in Hunt\u2019s shop displays numerous soda bottles. Hunt said, \u201cI wasn\u2019t interested in going the beer route, so I went with soft drinks. It used to be that small towns had their own bottling works, so I started collecting different soda pops.\u201d He also explained how his collection of soda bottles is \u201cmore of a museum now,\u201d after the housing collapse in 2008 when people stopped collecting them as much.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen I first started, I was totally optimistic and thought everybody was going to love my stuff,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cAfter a few months\u2026 that wasn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d by Allison Mueller The red brick building on the corner of Main and Third Street is one of many old structures in Winona\u2019s historical downtown. What makes … Continue reading Local antique shop sells treasures, shares memories<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[232,233,234,241,243,229,238,239,242,230,231,237,240,236,235,23],"class_list":["post-556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-a-z-collectables","tag-antique","tag-antique-shop","tag-business","tag-collectables","tag-downtown","tag-ebay","tag-etsy","tag-local","tag-main-street","tag-neil-hunt","tag-online","tag-selling","tag-shop","tag-store","tag-winona"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/02\/DSC_0357.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":587,"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556\/revisions\/587"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educate.winona.edu\/winona360\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}