Hometown Tourist: Antiques, Arts & Collectibles in Pellston

Visiting an antiques store can be a lot like treasure hunting.

At in Pellston, there are four floors of treasures to explore, but a visit also means a trip back into the past for many people.

Part of what makes a great place to visit is also the owners themselves and the experience of visiting.

Hometown Tourist takes us to Antiques, Arts & Collectibles in an old 1800s building where a visit in itself is a treasure.

You’ll feel like you stepped out of Pellston and into a vortex of treasures from different eras at Antiques, Arts & Collectibles. With four floors to hunt year round and two more in the summer, this place has everything. But the vintage doesn’t stop at what you can buy, from floor to ceiling, and the walls at this place is covered in antiques and reclaimed pieces.

“We actually have a lot of carpenter guys that come in here and go, who did the carpenter work, because it’s so unique. Every room has a different feeling. There’s also old doors. I probably collected old doors for 15 years before I could do the wall of doors which is downstairs, which is the boutique now, and there’s 29 vintage doors on the walls,” said Diane Kowalski-Smith, Owner.

Diane is here to lead you through, tell you stories about different pieces she found treasure hunting or the artistry and collaboration with local builders to put into the bones of the store. And she says shopping here is often a trip to the past for many people.

“As my mother and I who also worked this store for many years, and I’m sure anyone that works here will tell you, is that people tend to come in here and they reminisce about their past, about their parents, about people they love, about people they lost and things like that.

And they may not buy anything, but it just impacts you so much when they go you help them out, or they were inspired by this experience,” said Kowalski-Smith.

Collectibles for anyone at any age, a boutique for clothing, collectibles for guys, a section for kids and so much more await for you to explore for hours here.

Diane does most of her shopping locally and loves the stories behind pieces she sells.

“So if you can, when you’re out hunting, you always ask a store how did you get this, where did this come from,” said Kowalski-Smith.

Items large and small, ones you wear or keep on a shelf quietly, procuring something from here is an experience you’ll want to repeat.

Diane is a true treasure hunter and artist humble in knowing it took a large collaboration to put all of this together.

“That was really the most special thing that happened. We realized it wasn’t about making the money, it was really about the soul, about the love, and about the passion that brings out the personality of people and appreciation,” said Kowalski-Smith.