As a boy, Joe Ley would peek through the tents at Louisville’s Fontaine Ferry Park to watch families enjoying the amusement park rides there. The brightly painted carousel horses, in particular, caught his eye.

“I couldn’t afford to get in, but I always thought that if I ever had any money, I’d buy those horses,” he recalls.

Joe was an orphan, raised to fend for himself. He was passed from home to home throughout his childhood.

“It wasn’t the brightest light in my life,” Joe says of his youth, “but it opened my eyes to doing better. I had to make it on my own – or not make it.”

Joe is recalling his childhood from his office inside Joe Ley Antiques – the antique store he owns and which is named for him, located just down the street from where Fontaine Ferry Park once stood. Inside the store, among countless other unusual pieces of memorabilia, are brightly painted carousel horses from the amusement park which closed in 1969.

For an antique lover, a visit to Joe Ley Antiques is a bit like a trip to an amusement park. The shop has been described as “an experience,” and patrons have come from near and far – even as far as Asia and New Zealand – to savor it.

“People say, ‘I’ve never been to a place like this,’” Joe says. “That’s a good compliment. It‘s not your normal antique shop.”

The structure which houses Joe Ley Antiques is an antique itself. The main building is a schoolhouse, built in the 1890s. That building is joined to another structure by a walkway. In between, shoppers can stroll past gardens speckled with antique urns, streetlamps, and sculptures.

“It’s an enormous building,” Joe says. “Two acres under one roof. … Thirteen-foot ceilings on all three levels. … The building occupies half of a city block.”

Visitors quickly realize they’ve discovered a gem. Where else are shoppers greeted by two towering toy soldiers and then dazzled by hundreds of chandeliers dangling from above?

“When you see it from the outside, you have to want to come in and see what’s inside,” Joe says.

Joe can’t quite put his finger on the most unique item in his store – but he is quick to point out what might be the largest: A 40-foot cupola he rescued from the top of a building slated for demolition. No doubt coveted by many, the cupola, Joe says, is not for sale.

How does an antique store become stocked with so many unique pieces? With persistence and plenty of elbow grease.

Joe Ley has been in business for 48 years – dating back to his humble beginnings, when he drove a shoddy truck from town to town, pilfering through barns and sheds in search of old items he could buy and resell. (Yes, this type of antiquing began way before ‘American Pickers’.)

“I couldn’t afford a motel room … so I’d pull out a quilt and sleep in the back of the truck,” he recalls. Knowing that he was rising above the hardships of his childhood made all the hard work worthwhile.

“My work ethic might have gotten a little carried away,” he laughs, “but when you’re doing it for yourself, it feels a lot better.”

Joe’s original clients mainly consisted of restaurateurs who wanted unique themes in their places of business, but his business has evolved as trends have changed. He was rehabilitating old shutters and doors long before architectural salvage became a popular theme.

“I went several years without selling any of it,” Joe says. “Nobody wanted it. But when they did want it, I had it. … I try to stay with what’s in vogue.”

Don’t be fooled by the elaborate items in Joe Ley’s store. The business owner ensures that even the thrifty can enjoy finding bargains there.

“We have anything from $1 up,” Joe says. “If you want one plate, we’ve got 2,000 of them. You can buy one piece of tile, glasses, a bowl. … It’s not all museum stuff.”

Joe Ley Antiques is located at 615 East Market Street in Louisville. Store hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. In spite of its size, the business is maintained primarily by Joe and his daughter – so if you’re making a special trip, it’s best to call first (502-583-4014) and make sure the store will be open. When it is, you’re certainly in for an unusual treat!

Tricia Neal is an award-winning journalist/photographer based in Somerset, KY.

Copyright 2010 – Kimberly Clay

When a lover of antiques finds a special piece, a place for it in the home just seems to appear, no matter how many other pieces are already there.

The same seems to apply to Ann Greely’s shop on Lexington’s Main Street. The old Victorian house which serves as the headquarters for Ann Greely Interiors and Antiques is filled with antiques from far-away locales – yet Ann has found that there’s always room for one more special piece.

“If it is something I love, I can always find a place for it in one of our settings,” she says. “And, hopefully, someone else will walk in and fall in love with it too.”

Customers who step into the 19th century structure might feel as if they’ve entered Ann’s home. Ann uses her talents in interior design to create a realistic environment in her store.

“With the combination of interior design and antiques, people can come in and get ideas for their own homes,” Ann says. “We don’t have antiques stacked up or placed randomly in a room, but it is like a home setting. You could actually live here.”

Ann Greely has been in the interior design business for nearly 40 years – yet, surprisingly, she never obtained a degree in the field.

“When I was a student at the University of Kentucky, the design department was in the School of Home Economics, and you had to study things like cooking, which did not interest me in the least,” she explains. “So I opted for journalism and French.”

In the early 1970s, Ann was teaching French at Midway College – but her heart wasn’t in it.

“I had always loved everything to do with houses, from the design phase to the furnishing,” she says.

When an offer came to open a design studio with a partner in Midway, she knew it was time to follow her heart. Within a year, Ann was able to quit her teaching job and become a full time designer.

The move into the antique business came naturally, Ann says.

“We were often asked to find pieces for our clients,” she says. “So we eventually began to stock a few antiques as space allowed.”

Ann and her business partner quickly outgrew their tiny, second-floor business, so they purchased a distillery’s grain storage warehouse – complete with a hand-operated elevator, metal shutters, a sliding barn door … and no plumbing – and converted it into a design studio and antique shop.

“Grain sifted down from the second floor for years whenever we moved heavy furniture,” Ann recalls.

The business continued to grow.

“We purchased the building next door, and cut an opening between the two buildings,” she says. “The new building, which housed most of the antiques, was called ‘The Bird Cage.’”

In 1980, Ann received an offer which would ultimately expand the realm of her business. She was hired to complete a design project in Ireland – and there, she was exposed to a new market of antiques, not only in Ireland, but also in England and France.

Ann was originally browsing the European shops for items for her clients in Ireland, but soon she began importing the antiques to her shop in Midway. The designer herself also began to fall in love with country French antiques.

“Country French has so much variety,” she says. “For me, the fun of buying antiques is the search for the unique. … I think that the uniqueness of the pieces that I have brought back from my travels, not only to Europe, but around the United States and to Bali, have distinguished us from some other dealers over the years. I always search for things that will give an individual look to the homes of my clients.”

Ann remained in business with her partner until the 1990s until her daughter, Shannon Totty, also a designer, left her career in Washington, D.C., to work with her.

“In 1996, we jumped at the opportunity to move the business to a historic Queen Anne Victorian house built about 1890 on Main Street in Lexington,” Ann says.

“With the addition of a new area in the back, we have ten rooms to display our ever-changing collection of French, English and American antiques in room settings. Our room settings are constantly changing, and that keeps people interested in coming in to see what we have found.”

While Ann’s antique business has been a great success, she hasn’t forgotten her interior design roots. Ann and Shannon have designed and decorated homes in several states in the U.S., as well as in Europe and the Bahamas. Ann says her goal as an interior designer is to create an environment which reflects the personality of her client.

Ann Greely Interiors and Antiques is located at 497 East Main Street in Lexington. Store hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays by appointment. For more information, visit www.anngreelyinteriors.com.

(Tricia Neal is an award-winning journalist/photographer based in Somerset, Ky.)

The enormous success that began with Antiques Roadshow, and was followed by the likes of History Detectives and most recently, American Pickers is about to be attempted again. The Discovery Channel is reportedly entering the fray with a new offering, ‘Auction King’, to be broadcast beginning in late Spring or early Summer of this year.

As evidenced by the phenomenal popularity of Antiques Roadshow, there seems to be a huge amount of public interest in the subjects of history, antiquing and collecting, both from the perspectives of those who are collectors and from those who are curious about collecting. Shedding light on the world of dim and dusty shops and snobbish high-end boutiques about what makes antiques valuable, how to search for and discover rare or unusual antiques, or the sometimes overzealous and obsessed behaviors of collectors appears to be attractive subject matter for television viewers.

Just as the name implies, Auction King reportedly will focus on auctions – more specifically about how auctions are organized, what goes on behind the scenes, how an auction house operates and more. The show will feature Paul Brown, son of the owner of the renowned Red Baron’s Antiques, and the activities of his very successful Gallery 63 in Atlanta, Georgia. Even though his gallery is a mere 3 years old, Brown has quickly built a reputation for acquiring one-of-a-kind collections including the acquisition several years ago of a substantial collection of tapes of Dr. Martin Luther King from the 1960’s.

While nearly a half-dozen major TV shows about antiques and collectibles may make you wonder about whether the television market in this genre is becoming saturated, so far it seems that viewers haven’t yet had enough. There seems to be a heightened interest these days, probably due at least in part to our country’s current economic climate, where people want to know the value of old things they may have laying around the house, tucked away in an attic or stored in the basement. Many are interested in their items as possible sources for extra cash or they’re interested in acquiring otherwise unaffordable furnishings and objects on the secondary market where they’re likely much less expensive, and possibly have a great story behind them to boot. Stay tuned!

In a sale reported earlier today by the Washington Post, an Action Comics No. 1, which debuted in 1938 and is considered “rare air” in comics collectible circles, recently sold for a whopping $1 million, making it the highest priced sale of a comic book ever.

The sale, between private parties, was conducted by ComicConnect.com, and is reported as having been orchestrated by Stephen Fishler, owner of the website.

Fishler reportedly sold the same copy of the comic book, the first to feature Superman, 15 years ago for $150,000. The comic originally sold for 10 cents, and there are approximately 100 copies of the Action Comics No. 1 known to exist. This particular copy was graded 8.0 in very fine condition, one of only two copies graded so, and is unrestored, making it extremely rare and valuable to collectors.

The $1 million price tag is triple the previous record set for a comic book sale.

The sale took place in New York around 10:30 AM on Monday, both buyer and seller have remained anonymous.

The History Channel offers a look into intense picking on American Pickers, a new show dedicated to those who aren’t afraid of a little dust. Pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz set out in search of history tucked away in attics and old barns, and often the stories they hear are better than any antiques they might find.

Meet the Pickers

Mike Wolfe has been an antique picker for over two decades. He has a good reputation as a picker with an eye for hidden treasure. Frank Fritz is the “bearded charmer” of the duo, a former fire and safety inspector with a passion for anything with an engine. Both men love picking but also love to make a bit of cash for their trouble, which often leads to heated but friendly competition.

Pickers serve as the crucial link between those who have the antiques and those collectors and dealers who want them. The pickers find the prize, negotiate the sale, and pocket a profit, while the dealers get the glory of selling the antique treasures to discerning clientele.

Picking Up Controversy

For all the interesting antiques picked up along the way — and yes, there are several “jackpot” finds — American Pickers has garnered its share of controversy. Message boards across the web are lit up with concern about the picking tactics displayed on the show, with many sounding a chorus of “Rip-off!” Many viewers feel that Wolfe and Fritz are taking advantage of the elderly, many of whom don’t realize what treasures they actually have.

In one case, a dusty old saddle was purchased by the pickers for $75. The elderly war veteran who sold it appears to have no idea that it was actually worth around $5,000; but in all fairness, neither did the Pickers until they consulted with an expert. In another instance, a frail man with a Phillip Morris sign was talked down from $900 to $750, only to find that the pickers made a tidy profit from the deal — that sign was actually worth $2,500.

While some supporters claim that finding treasures on the cheap is what a good antiquing trip is all about, and point out that the “profit” quoted on the show doesn’t take into account the costs involved in traveling to find pieces, or other associated costs like cleanup and restoration, detractors point out that many of the people approached by American Pickers in the episodes aired so far are elderly. They assume that in many cases, the people approached have no idea what their treasures might be worth. However some responders to the debate ,that have been involved with the American Pickers show, have come forward to dispute that they were in any way taken advantage of.

Picks for the Future

American Pickers debuted on Monday, January 18, and is scheduled for 10 initial episodes. The level of interest in the picking antics will determine whether additional episodes are ordered. Though some have called for boycotts of the show, the intense debate surrounding American Pickers is sure to have more viewers tuning in, if only to judge the picking for themselves.

American Pickers can currently be seen every Monday on The History Channel.

Looking to do a little “picking” of your own? Shop for antiques in Central Kentucky!