Joni Beveridge and Tom Emerick, owners of Black Squirrel Antiques, have put their beautiful building at 308 Main St. in Lakeville on the market. Does this mean they’re abandoning the antiques business?
“Not at all,” said Emerick. “This business is addictive, and it’s better to stay active than sitting on your front porch in a rocker. We’re just planning to move to a smaller venue — Ball & Claw Antiques in Port Ewen, a town just outside Kingston — a cozy shop with nine other vendors.”
Beveridge chimed in. “Ball & Claw is the perfect next step for us.When you have a booth in a group store, you don’t need to be there all the time. All the vendors help each other out.”
Emerick and Beveridge have been in the antiques business for many years. They moved north from Naples, Florida, in 2017, bringing their existing treasure trove and adding exponentially to it as they settled into their current location. Prior to their Florida stint, they were the proprietors of a shop in Saugerties, from 1994 to 2008.
Both brought strong prior experience to their business ventures. Ermerick, a former carpenter, specialized in fixing up old houses and refurbishing antiques. Beveridge worked in real estate for many years, helping them secure commercial and residential spaces with each move.
“The success of our whole operation is predicated on finding ‘diamonds on the rough’ — items that need restoration,” said Emerick. “There isn’t anything I can’t repair for resale, and I’m able to make each piece attractive and functional again.”
Joni Beveridge shows a customer a lamp. Bob Ellwood
How does one downsize a business that easily holds 10,000 antiques?
“We’ve done this twice before,” said Emerick.“You choose your most valuable, saleable pieces — like this drop-leaf cherry 19th-century table,” he said, gesturing.“If we can’t sell it at a decent price, we’ll just take it with us.”
Beveridge added, “Ditto on the ‘smalls’ — what dealers call little pieces like jewelry, diminutive statues, and glassware.Those will go with us unless we can sell them first.”
“Once we have a closing date on the building, we intend to have a huge sale, open to the public,” said Beveridge. “Anything that’s left over — well, there’s always the Lakeville Transfer Station. At the end, you can’t be sentimental. You sell what you can, take what you can, and move on.”
“Until this building is sold,” said Emerick, “we’re in business.”
Beveridge added, “Someone will fall in love with this big, lovely, multi-use building and buy it. The only question is when.”
For now, Black Squirrel Antiques is open Saturday and Sunday, or by appointment. Email Tom at temerick@outlook.com, or call 845-264-1090
