By Alice Tessier
Hunter Bee, at 21 Main St., is an antiques store with, as they say, a ?unique perspective,? and its ever-renewed merchandise is displayed in a spacious, high-ceilinged, airy-in other words, non-fusty-environment with a lot of natural light. This enables them not only to showcase their wares, but to present them as well in a way one might use them at home.
?It?s not where you would go to furnish the house, but the type of place you go to get the accents to make your home special,? said Mr. Bee.
The duo, partners in life as well as business, opened their shop in 2008, after years of working in and around the design and art world as well as traveling and collecting interesting things, from flea markets to estate sales to antiques shows.
Mr. Bee?s family has had a home in Great Barrington, Mass., for decades, so they were familiar with the Dutchess County, N.Y., corridor on their travels from their home in New York City.
In recent years, Millerton, an old market town that ?had a lot of life back in the old days as a railroad junction,? as Mr. Hunter pointed out, has become reinvigorated by a new outlook by small businesses on the scene.
The small town became stamped with a new imprimatur-one of the 10 ?coolest? in the country-when Arthur Frommer?s Budget Travel compiled such a list.
For Mr. Hunter, who has long had an established career as creative director in several advertising graphic design firms in the city and continues as a consultant in this capacity, ?This was always Plan B, to open a shop.?
?We saw a sign ?for rent,? and the woman who had the Millerton Market was moving to Great Barrington,? said Mr. Bee, acknowledging the serendipitous occasion when the space became available.
The partners relished the opportunity.
?People think about it as a funky, edgy, artsy town-definitely not a Connecticut town, but a nice mix of merchants and businesses,? said Mr. Hunter. ?The Millerton Antiques Center,? a large cooperative venture, ?is what I knew about the town, and if I did, others did, so it seemed like a good bet.?
?We opened Thanksgiving 2008-saw the space, signed the lease and then the economy tanked,? he added with a light laugh. ?By then we were fully committed,? added Mr. Bee.
?We chose to be optimistic and are very proud we have survived,? Mr. Hunter said. ?After two-and-a-half years, we?ve got a great customer base, and people have become friends.?
?Decorators love us for special things,? Mr. Bee, a multimedia installation artist with a proven entrepreneurial streak, said. ?It?s not your serious, scholarly antiques shop,? said Mr. Hunter, ?but, for want of a better description, we call it an ?eclectic? antiques store.?
Visitors to their store can expect to find early American, mid-century, contemporary, industrial and repurposed industrial pieces.
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?It?s not committed to one period. We mix it up,? said Mr. Bee.
Mr. Hunter said, ?We love things with plenty of character.?
Earlier, he had pointed out a large honey safe nestled in a corner of the dining area in their home, which illustrates his point perfectly. There?s nothing kitschy about the old utilitarian piece, not even a wink at the name of their business. ?It?s a big, solid, wood piece with great patina and a real history, which shows right on it. I love things that have a story,? Mr. Hunter said.
Both partners say they love to create the displays in their shop and their windows, which face out on Main Street as well as one side of the building, adjacent to Oakhurst Diner.
?I think I?m a frustrated interior designer. In my ideal world I would have been doing windows at Bergdorf?s!? Mr. Hunter said, referring to the New York retail landmark. ?I love the hunt for things and then assembling them to tell a story. We have found amazing things that have a history, and that excites both of us.?
Mr. Bee, with his strong background in art (at New York University, he did an independent major in artistic concerns and then graduated from the Graphic Artists Guild in the city), said he loves ?color and pattern, textiles and textures,? in both fabric art and other art forms.
?There?s excitement there, wit and humor, and you can always change up your environment by adding-or taking away-something,? he said.
?I?m more neutral,? said Mr. Hunter, referring to the range of tonalities that draw him, whether they are evidenced in metal, wood or in such items as furniture, birdcages, old cheese cages, hardware store tool and fitment cabinets and circular displays, lighting fixtures and professional or organizational signage.
?You buy what you love, and someone else will probably love it, too,? he remarked.
?You fall in love with something, like that metal industrial table I envisioned for an art studio a couple of years ago ? ,? Mr. Bee recalled, a lingering memory.
On the day this writer browsed, some interesting items among the larger pieces ranged from a circa late 16th-, early 17th-century French cupboard to a Victorian-era, pre-Modernist rocker in painted wood with leather strips applied to metal to emulate ?caning,? to a matched pair of rectangular Norwegian J?tul cast-iron stoves the owners just acquired for their shop and whose age they were researching.
Yes, there are a few items with a bee motif, as one might expect-hard to pass up if they were choice- but the business owners have studiously avoided the clich?, instead opting for practicality, wit and soul.
?You can talk about good design, but what makes it good?? Mr. Bee reflected. ?It was an idea-an idea that worked.?
Mr. Hunter nodded, acknowledging that marriage of inspiration and execution that delights them.
The shop used to feature a boutique-like vintage corner that showcased ?fine, fabulous and fun? fashion, said Mr. Bee. ?Growing up in the city and going to the clubs when I was younger, I enjoyed seeing that, but my focus is different now.?
They will be utilizing the space to kick up their online presence after the fall season winds down.
?It?s still a weekend business here. There?s not really enough traffic for us to be open the whole week,? Mr. Bee said, adding that they need time to replenish their stock. A lot of decorators contact us, and they want their clients to come in during the week to see things. So we?re always looking for things, the next big thing.?
?Our radar is always up, and there?s always the thrill in our next big find,? Mr. Hunter said, adding that they have netted such scoops from near and far, including, for example, places such as Texas, his home state, to Tennessee to the Greater Boston area and Canada, and even on travels abroad.
?I love the non-linearity of the Web,? he added, ?being able to click and follow. I can explore and research a broader world.
?And the way of increasing sales for us may be through the Web,? Mr. Hunter said, pointing to a poster by artist A.M. Cassandre (1901-68) that, he mused, would probably draw more interest online than from people who walk into the shop.
?You get stimulation through interacting with people, but from the Web you have the world come through your door,? Mr. Bee said. ?It?s the engine you want to be on.?
Hunter Bee has a continuing commitment to participating in the arts community.
?We like representing artists in our shop,? said Mr. Hunter. ?Jonathan helped start Fall For Art, a seasonal event where all shops will become a gallery for a night, in Millerton.?
?It?s always the week before Halloween,? noted Mr. Bee, who pointed out that ?there are over 100 artists in town.
?I did a lot of different kinds of program management in the city with social concerns, and it was the most life-affirming time of my life,? said Mr. Bee. ?I?m lucky to have art in my life and know what it can do for others. It can help people connect and, especially with kids, it can help them learn.?
They have also been active with Trade Secrets, an annual event that focuses on gardens and gardening in Northwestern Connecticut, where they reside, Mr. Hunter said, referring to ?a prestigious event that benefits a great organization, Women?s Support Services,? a domestic violence awareness and intervention initiative.
For a while after they opened their store, the duo had commuted from the city, where Mr. Hunter owns a residence, and then rented in Millerton for about a year. Then they found a house about 10 miles away in Connecticut that gave them just what they need-?a place to make our own-and with lots of storage,? said Mr. Hunter.
For Mr. Bee, it?s a particularly welcome refuge. ?It?s very, very peaceful here,? he said of their ?80s home in the rural countryside, perched on a slope above treetops, rolling hills and calming waters. ?My life was so overly stimulated for so long, I?m lucky to have this here.?
He added, ?People are kinder here. I grew up in Manhattan but love living in a community where everybody knows you. It changes the whole dynamics of how people behave, which is nice.?
For more information about Hunter Bee, which is open Friday through Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment, call 518-789-2127 or visit its Web site at www.hunterbee.com . n
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