The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

antiques

Finding Hidden TREASURES in Armonk

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Treasures volunteers, from left to right: Chum Bogart, Nan Bircham and Amy Knoll Lashmet
Treasures volunteers, from left to right: Chum Bogart, Nan Bircham and Amy Knoll Lashmet

By Heather Skolnick • Photos by Beth Besen

Who doesn’t love a good bargain? The saying goes that it’s the thrill of the hunt, and that certainly rings true for those who love shopping at the Treasures Thrift Shop in Armonk. With an assortment as wide and varied as theirs, you never know what you might find on any given visit to the shop. From antiques to vintage to even brand new, the Treasures Thrift Shop has something on their shelves for everyone. They even have their own Facebook page!

Established in 1968, Treasures has now been a part of the Armonk community for 47 years. The shop satisfies many needs within Armonk, first and foremost of which is to direct 50% of the money raised to the charitable outreach organizations the Church supports. Mostly local organizations, these include the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Friends of Karen, and the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry among others. Secondly, the shop provides a shopping venue affordable to most within a community where many boutiques cater to the more affluent. Thirdly, the Treasures website points out that the store also fosters comradery among the volunteers while working to support a common cause. And lastly, the Treasures Thrift Shop provides a local option for residents who wish to charitably donate some of their belongings with the hope that they find a new and loving home. Tax receipts are provided for all donations.

008Treasures dedicated “employees” are volunteers from the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. There are 12-15 people on staff to support the store’s hours from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., three days a week. The thrift shop is managed by Linda Ranieris. She joined the church about 30 years ago and shortly thereafter became involved in the shop precisely because it supports such meaningful causes. She compliments all her co-workers, saying that the store truly “has a terrific staff who all truly love working there.” After 30 years, it’s understandable that Linda would feel so strongly about Treasures and its people!

Amy Knoll Lashmet started as a customer and recently became one of the newer volunteers to join the thrift shop staff. She maintains the newly created Facebook page in addition to working in the shop. The page gets updated about once a week with images of current donated merchandise. 
Follow them on Facebook to stay abreast of their latest donated items!

Amy shared several wonderful anecdotes about the thrift shop. She says that Treasures is particularly special because of their customer base, saying “Treasures customers are crazy loyal!” She elaborates, “It’s amazing, the ladies who work there really have relationships with their customers that go back for years!” She also talks about the quality of the donations, citing several very high end donations recently made. Not surprisingly, one of said items was gone in under eight minutes! Amy recommends that if you see something you like, don’t wait–it may not be there on your next visit.
A recent customer was reduced to tears when she returned to buy an item, only to find that it had already sold.

012Shoppers have very positive feedback about the store. The merchandise is wonderful and eclectic, and the staff is welcoming and accommodating. Merchandise in the store ranges from housewares to clothing to tchotchkes and all donations must be in good, clean, saleable condition. Manager Linda says that while they are open three days a week, if someone would like to donate and those days don’t work, she will work to find an alternative time. Linda also accommodates merchandise requests! She gets phone calls looking for specific products and will follow up with customers if a desired item comes in.

Armonk resident Ann Pircio-Pardes saw their sign one day while driving. She decided to stop by to make a donation. She made a donation, and said of her visit, “Since I was there, I decided to poke around a bit. Much to my surprise, I found a few things at terrific prices!” Among the “treasures” she found that day were a pair of shoes, a skirt and a blouse. The experience of coming in to donate and walking out with a purchase is part of the magic of the Treasures Thrift Shop.

Manager Linda Ranieri (L) with volunteer Linda Catlin
Manager Linda Ranieri (L) with volunteer Linda Catlin

Another Treasures shopper is Maria Perpepaj who also lives in Armonk. Maria discovered the shop a few years after moving into the area. She has been a regular shopper there for approximately 5 years now and goes about twice a month. She says, “You can really find nice things at a bargain! The people who work there are lovely and the money I spend goes to a good cause.”

Maria has found several items to purchase there. Among her favorite purchases were a green St. John suit and a sterling silver spoon.

Lastly, completing the circle, anything that doesn’t sell in the Treasures Thrift Shop will get re-donated to another organization. Treasures Thrift Shop is located at 50 Bedford Road in Armonk. Stop by to make a donation, look for your very own pre-loved Treasure–or both!

Heather Skolnick, her husband and three children live in New Castle. Heather works for a major retailer where she designs systems and processes to support Omnichannel shopping. In her spare time, she loves to look for pre-loved treasures, and has begun imparting that love on her young children too!

A Closing, Antiques & Sauerkraut

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By Dan Levitz

Dan-Levitz-tableMy family and I moved to Chappaqua 10 years ago last month. Leaving Manhattan was a difficult decision and it was a somewhat chaotic time for all of us. We weren’t able to close on our house until early October which meant driving our son from lower Manhattan to Roaring Brook Elementary every morning and back to the city every afternoon. As disruptive as the move would be, we wanted him to start first grade at the same time as his classmates. This strange and long commute wasn’t unpleasant at all and, ultimately, got our son, and us, off to 
a nice start in New Castle as we got into a kind of rhythm with our new community.

When we finally reached the closing, the room was filled with a strange tension that seemed to come from the elderly couple that had lived in our, soon to be, house for at least 25 years. My wife and I were excited to finally be concluding this transaction and beginning the next chapter of our family’s story. I understood that leaving the home one has raised their children in could be bittersweet, however, I felt the extremely large check they would be receiving that day would certainly dull the sting to some degree. Apparently not.

When the time came for us to take the keys from the sellers, the older gentleman, tossed them across the table to me in a small, looping arc. They clanged before me and just missed sliding into my lap. This little abrupt gesture was so clearly fraught with sadness and, perhaps, disdain that whatever excited anticipation I felt about our new house was now eclipsed by surprise and a bit of anger. I wanted to say, “Are you kidding me? Look at the check we just gave you for your nice old house. If you can’t be even a little gracious how about some common courtesy?” I looked to his wife but her expression remained calm if a little bit somber.

The strained closing scene soon faded away as we moved into our house and began adjusting to suburban life in beautiful Chappaqua. The kids assimilated amazingly well and we were all busy getting into our new routines. Not long after we settled in, there was a block party on the cul-de-sac where we live. The beautiful fall colors created a stunning backdrop as we met many of our new neighbors. With kids jumping in piles of leaves, dogs barking and warm cider being served I thought of a Woody Allen line where he asked someone if they grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting.

What I remember the most from that afternoon was meeting some of the other Dad/Husbands. There was a group of them and after the handshakes and “how are you doings,” the small talk began with occupation inquiries. Turns out four out of five of my new acquaintances were lawyers with the fifth working on Wall Street. When I told them that I am an art & antique dealer with a specialty in Japanese pieces, there was more than a pregnant pause.

While they didn’t do the “see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil posturing,” I think I may have literally heard crickets in the silence. I quickly recovered and noted that my wife is a tax attorney at a big firm in Manhattan so, not to worry. We’re alright.

Cut to this previous weekend. I’m displaying (and hopefully selling) my wares at the Chappaqua Antiques Show at West Orchard Elementary. It’s another beautiful Westchester autumn weekend and I’m stuck inside drinking too much coffee and making chit-chat with browsers I’m trying to turn into customers. I take a well-needed break and buy a hot dog from the snack bar which is staffed by very friendly volunteers from the New Castle Historical Society. As the kind older woman slaps some sauerkraut on a frankfurter I realize that I know her. She is the previous owner of our home and the last time I had seen her was at the closing 10 years ago. I reminded her who I was and we had a nice conversation about the house and neighborhood and what a wonderful place it was to raise a family.

As I started to say goodbye and head towards the condiments she told me that selling their home was a painful decision and that she was happy that a nice family had moved into and thrived at the house that had once been their’s. She said they still drove by from time to time to look at an oak tree they had planted and see how it had grown.

The antique show is a nice community event. Not everyone is interested in old things but for those who are, it’s a great opportunity to hunt and gather, amongst neighbors, and search for whatever it is that may be enticing to an individual. There’s a feeling of like-minded good will between the vendors and shoppers because antique collecting is as much of a cult endeavor as is Grateful Dead music, bird-watching or NHL Hockey. I never really expected to have any contact with the previous owners of my house. It was such a pleasant two minute little exchange that it made me reevaluate the slightly unpleasant closing and realize that, of course, it’s a tiny footnote in our story and that perhaps their attitude was absolutely understandable.

Dan is an antique dealer and writer who has lived in Chappaqua for 10 years with his family. He has an ongoing blog on The Huffington Post.

 

Design and Style for the Home with International Flair:

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The 45th Chappaqua Antiques Show

By Ronni Diamondstein • Photo by Bill Bramswig

antiquesshowYou never know what you’re going to find when you go to an antique show, but one thing is certain, you are sure to have a great time at the 45th annual Chappaqua Antiques Show the first weekend in November.  Sponsored by the New Castle Historical Society, “There is something for everyone,” says Betsy Guardenier NCHS President. “It’s a wonderful community event that benefits the New Castle Historical Society.” This year’s Honorary Chair is Dr. Kenneth Jackson, longtime Chappaqua resident, historian, author and ultimate New York-ologist.

“No matter what kind of décor you have, you’ll find something,” says Guardenier who has chaired the show three times. With more than 50 quality dealers there is a wide variety of merchandise including decorative posters, home furnishings, fine jewelry, silver, maps and books, folk art and unique collectibles. Don’t miss “Gold in Your Attic” which started as a little table 20 years ago and has grown to a booth.  Filled with eclectic donations from members of the NCHS and others, it is chocked full of treasures. Items include George Jensen silver, Orrefors glassware and vintage handbags. “A big find this year was the donation of 3-foot Green Philadelphia glass vases,” says Fran Osborne who is coordinating the collection this year. Items have been donated to the NCHS or are there on consignment. “You just never know what you’ll discover,” says Osborne, “last year we sold a Louis Vuitton music box and a 35-carat aquamarine and diamond ring.”

You’ll find more much more than Americana.   “From tiny teaspoons and jewelry to large armoires and rugs there is quite a variety from around the world,” say Buffy Haas, who along with Tess Cerra chairs this year’s show. There are Asian Art imports, English Silver, Oriental rugs, French prints, and Japanese jade carvings. “ This fall, a new dealer from Chappaqua, Dan Levitz and his ‘Things Japanese’ will have a spot specializing in wood block prints and Japanese art and antiques,” says Haas.

A big draw is the gourmet café and homemade dessert table with delectable treats.  Other highlights are consultations with certified appraiser, Jon Felz and free advice from interior designer Cami Weinstein. There are door prizes and a raffle. “The Raffle has a wide array of fabulous donations from businesses, restaurants and groups in town,” says Guardenier.

The event is the NCHS’s biggest fundraiser and the proceeds support the society’s programs and outreach to the local schools. Guardenier offers this advice: “Go with an open mind and you’re going to have a fun day—and bring the kids!” The 45th Chappaqua Antique Show takes place on Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Westorchard School, 25 Granite Road, off Route 133 in Chappaqua.  For more information and for a discount admission coupon, go to www.newcastlehs.org/chappaqua-antique-show

Ronni Diamondstein, owner of Maggie Mae Pup Reporter is a Chappaqua based freelance writer, PR consultant, award-winning photographer and a School Library Media Specialist and teacher who has worked in the US and abroad.