Published March 5, 2025
BY ABBY COE
Antique dealing has thrived for centuries, gaining momentum during the 18th century when wealthy Europeans would travel across Europe to bear witness to the continent’s fine art and antiquities, notes Chloe Mobsby of Lee Wright Antiques.
The antiques stores of the Monterey Coast continue this tradition, offering everything from postcards to a German Biedermeier desk.
Robertson’s Antiques specializes in artisan pieces from all around the world. (photo by ABBY COE)
Sherrie Welchner, owner of Pickings Antiques in Pacific Grove, acknowledges how her store has been an outlet for the community, not only in terms of the variety of her vendors, but with the people she meets on a daily basis.
“I enjoy meeting people and getting smiles from people who walk in,” Welchner says. “There’s so many people who walk in here that we can call them by their first name.”
Welchner describes her choice for taking in multiple vendors as a way to provide some variety to the commodities she sells. Her vendors specialize in different things such as sewing and postcards. Welchner recalls having some customers sit down for hours trying to find postcards from where they live or their hometown.
“I’m probably most proud of this place because it’s like the meeting place in Pacific Grove,” Welchner affirms.
Nick Robertson, owner of Robertson’s Antiques in Carmel-by-the-Sea, stands by his independent ownership, inspired by the antiques that he knows were handmade and of high quality. Having majored in art, Robertson prefers to sell items that were clearly touched by an artist.
Maria Lindley and Nick Robertson scan inventory near a variety of statues that Robertson admires because of their artisan quality. (photo by ABBY COE)
“I’m not so interested in things that came out of a mold or the things that are common,” says Robertson. “That’s what the antique business is, sort of what people thought was beautiful then and how that’s changed.”
Edeen Hill, owner of Jane Austen at Home located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, explains how she changed the name of her store after teaming up with the owner of The White Rabbit. Originally named Deanhill at Home, the name change not only resulted in more customers, but in a store that shared the legacy of both Jane Austen and Lewis Carroll, author of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” by integrating Carroll-themed merchandise into the store.
“Jane Austen just brought in more people, and it is that period, Georgian and Regency, which worked for me,” says Hill. “At home means that you are open for visitors. It also to me means the furnishings and objects they would have had during the Georgian and the Regency period.”
Welchner attempts to stay up-to-date with the antique trends, but stays true to her goal of having her store hold objects that are 100 years or older. While other stores in the area allow a specific percentage of goods that are a century or older, Welchner doesn’t conform to a specific period of time.
Sherrie Welchner, owner of Pickings Antiques, sorts through postcards from around the country, one of her favorite displays. (photo by ABBY COE)
“They know that the things they find here are going to be old, and not reproductions,” Welchner says. “I think people know there’s an honest factor.”
Hill, however, prefers to stick to her Georgian and Regency period inventory, including a German Biedermeier desk dated just after the Napoleonic Wars during the 1820s, which is one of her favorite pieces.
“We own everything and each of us have a few people that really are friends that we’ve sold things for,” Hill says. “This looks more like a home, and people really like that. People who haven’t seen old things, especially young people, look at everything.”
Hill explains how in addition to her devoted Carmel customers, she also has a wide range of customers from out of state including people from Texas to East Asia.
“We have a huge following in Japan and China,” Hill notes. “They put us on all sorts of things and they flock here, not so much to buy, but just to gawk.”
Robertson, whose wife’s family encouraged him to enter the antique business, not only found a way to support his family, but a true sense of purpose.
“That’s one of the realizations of the antique business, particularly because you’re surrounded with stuff that was owned by other people who treasured it and took care of it,” Robertson says. “It shows you what they cared about and what they thought was beautiful.”
Although she doesn’t purchase the most expensive goods, Hill holds true to her preferences and sells items that match her store’s Georgian-Regency aesthetic: “The things that are sold here sell for a lot, even now, because they’re the best of what was made.”
