Not your average antiques shop


 


MILLERTON — Walking up the steps of 21 Main St., you’ll find yourself face to face with Nipper, the RCA record company’s official mascot dog. Nipper is probably from the 1920s or ’30s, according to estimates, and stands several feet tall, constructed from paper mache. Watching the village from his perch in the store window, he is exemplar of the odds, ends and everything in between that the Hunter Bee shop offers.

"We purposefully didn’t put antiques anywhere we described our store," co-owner Kent Hunter explained. "We want to leave it open."

Hunter and partner Jonathan Bee opened their store on Black Friday this past year, to Hunter’s relief. Over the past few years Hunter’s collection has grown considerably, and he’s glad to have a place to put it all.

"Collectors are addicts," he joked. "You always need your fix. With the shop, it’s fun to have a purpose to my hunting and gathering."

If there is a recurring theme in Hunter Bee’s collection, it is the reappropriation of aging tools and utensils as art. An herb-drying rack is now a wooden pattern on someone’s wall. Old metal factory pieces become gnarled sculptures on a shelf. Bike tires are cut and sewn into a lawn chair set and accompanying table. Wooden casts for iron factories become large rustic columns.

"I like the beauty of everyday objects," Hunter said.

Hunter, who grew up in Texas, has lived in New York City for the last 20 years as a partner in a graphic design, advertising and marketing firm that focuses on architecture and interior design.

Bee is an artist, also from New York, who has held galleries in Stockbridge and, currently, Holyoke. He has also worked in retail and the fashion industry. It is that mixture of art and business savvy that the owners believe is a winning combination.

Once Bee and Hunter knew that they wanted to own a shop, finding the location wasn’t so hard. A friend in Great Barrington had lived in Millerton, and as they were walking through the village last summer, they saw the for-lease sign. They met with the owner the very next day.

"We love it," Hunter said. "People go through Millerton to get to so many places. If you’re coming up from the city you pass through it. If you’re going to the train station to head into the city you pass through it. And we love that it’s a village you can stroll in."

Hunter has already become very involved with the community and has joined the Millerton Merchants Association, which he called a supportive group working together and sending each other business.

Hunter Bee is open Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or by appointment. The store can be reached at 518-789-2127.

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