(Photo: Hannah Whitaker)

Your store is pretty eclectic. What would you say you sell?
Mark: We sell antiques spanning the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to its decline.

Why that particular period?
It was a great time—a time of big hopes, hucksters, fakers, heroes, villains, get-rich-quick schemes, dreamers, and doers.

Where does your stock come from?
We take road trips all over America. Places like Detroit and Buffalo still have industrial antiques and home furnishings for pretty cheap.

What are you looking for on your road trips?
I like anything dead or rusty. The more stained or full of holes the better: old denim, military uniforms, workwear, and anything handmade.

What kind of person shops here?
Mary: We’re pretty guy-friendly. Women usually bring men into the store, but once guys get in here they start freaking out over stuff.

Do you always dress like you’re from the nineteenth century, suspenders and all?
Mark: You mean do I always dress like a crazy person? Yes, this is me all the time.

What’s your favorite cheap thing in the store?
Mary: The handmade soap from Waikola Bob [$5] is made by my dad.
Mark: Mine’s probably the antlers by the pound [$20]. And the candy: Neighborhood kids will run in, grab a handful of 10-cent Fireballs, slap down a dollar, and run out.

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Shop Clerk”
• Articles by Lauren Murrow
• Table of Contents: Sep 15, 2008 issue of New York | Subscribe!