This quaint little shop on Parnassus is easily missed by Cole Valley visitors, but Cole Valley Antiques is a true gem of the neighborhood. The shop is full of antique Victorian furniture, funky hats, and vintage jewelry. The shop took shape in 2008 when avid antique collectors, Jerry Emerson and Angie Petitt-Taylor met at a Antique Collective in West Portal. The collective brought together many different collectors under one roof. Jerry and Angie decided to combine their very different specialities and took up the vacant space at 90 Parnassus Street; the previous business was also an antique store. Jerry has a passion for 'finer smalls', classic and traditional antique items while Angie's love for eclectic jewelry and accessories. Combining their, "different personalities and spirits" have lead to a create business partnership.

So what brings someone into the antique world? Angie has a long history of antique devotion because she grew up in the business. Her father, now a dealer in Mexico, collected antiques throughout her childhood and from then on Angie was fascinated in antique pieces, always asking, "how old it was and where it came from." Collections take years to collect and many trip to other countries and different antique stores. Angie's favorite pieces are, "antique glass bottles from the ocean," that she found on a trip to Belize. Jerry, on the other hand, took up collecting as a hobby during his work years and then became more invested when he retired because it just felt like, "a fun direction to take." Jerry gets his collection by making 'antique house calls' where homeowners personally invite him into their houses to look at their antique pieces; seems like a great gig to us!

Cole Valley Antiques is a wonder of exploration! Just walking by the shop does not express the eclectic variety of pieces that are in the small space. There's just, "an array of treasures" you can find if you just come inside and start exploring. "Classic to eclectic," as Angie calls it. You can find a Dick Tracy decoder, vintage doorknobs, sterling silver jewelry, and so much more! Since the shop is such a small space, Angie and Jerry have had to be a bit create in terms of maximizing the space and choosing items to have in the shop.  One walk around the small space and you will begin to see antique pieces pretty much everywhere: on walls, in drawers, on tables, and on shelves. And that's not even all of it, "there's always more" pieces in the back and in Angie's and Jerry's homes. Angie says she can never get the tags on the jewelry fast enough because there is just always so much and they are always in such demand.


Buying from antique shops is a unique and wonderful experience. Most people don't realize that purchasing antiques and vintage items is also a way of recycling, recycling old items and using them in our modern lives. Also, the craftsmanship from decades prior is far more superior than to what is made today: plastic items that are expensive and extremely flimsy. Not what we're looking for! Each piece is also a mystery, Angie stated, that carries both history and emotion. It connects the new owner to a past life and culture and might even remind us of something from our grandmother's house or imagine that maybe it belonged to a wealthy professional in the 1950s. Antiques and vintage pieces are always a mystery that current products today are devoid of. Wouldn't you rather wonder where the vintage earrings you bought came from, who wore it, and for what occasion? We definitely would!

Cole Valley Antiques is a charming shop in our Cole Valley neighborhood and the only antique shop to boot. So, what makes Cole Valley great, we asked Angie? "The people," there's always a variety of different characters in this neighborhood. "It's like a little town all to its' self," a little town where you are always greeted and told 'good mornings' and 'good afternoons' to. Anyone who stops by Cole Valley Antiques will definitely get a cheerful hello and great customer service from either Angie or Jerry. Definitely stop by on your next Cole Valley outing. Great unique gifts for the holiday season!

Be sure to come to Cole Valley Antiques' holiday event. It's on Sunday, December 11th 2011 from 3-7pm. There will be wine and yummy appetizers. Come mingle with antiques. We'll be there!!

Cole Valley Antiques is located at 90 Parnassus Street
Near the corner of Cole/Parnassus

ColeValleySF.com will begin featuring  local Cole Valley businesses, every few months! The Spotlight of the Month will be a great way to showcase the Cole Valley neighborhood and allow residents to learn more about the businesses and people around them. The Spotlight will feature interviews, photos and videos, ultimately giving ColeValleySF readers the inside 
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