Because maybe rules were meant to be broken…
Here’s a lesson on antiques our grandmothers never taught us.
Vietnam-era rubber military targets, bear claw lamps, a wooden canoe bookshelf, and an 1800s shock treatment machine. What do all these things have in common? On this breezy autumn afternoon, we happen to stumble upon them all under one roof.
Located in Bordentown, New Jersey, a town rich in its history of trade, travel, and distinct architecture, New Jersey Antiques & Consignment sits on a busy portion of U.S. Route 206. With tons of cars driving by daily, a large window display, and a sign that stretches across half of the strip mall, this shop is sure to catch your attention, particularly late at night when its windows are lit up like a carnival.
On a breezy September afternoon, we pull up to the large parking lot and find the door to the shop wide open. As we walk in we are greeted by a grinning Jigsaw puppet mask whose wind-blown hair makes him seem eerily cool and welcoming.
A quick glance around and it becomes evident that this isn’t an ordinary antique shop. In fact, there is nothing ordinary about what you’ll find here.
You’ll stare at an item for a few seconds and blink your eyes a bit unsure about you’re seeing. Before long, a friendly face pops out from behind the counter, “Hello!”
Ever so busy polishing, fixing, or tweaking new items behind his desk, owner Jim is never bothered when a guest enters his shop.
We introduce ourselves and chat about the vintage car show currently going on in downtown Bordentown. He gushes, “That’s what I love about this town. There is always something going on. There is such a great downtown area. Bordentown is really diversified and made up of real people with really different backgrounds who moved in and did such a nice job. I like the direction things are moving in.”
A New Jersey resident all of his life, Jim has injected a bit of his “Jersey attitude” into his shop. Defying antique shop etiquette, music speakers blare a different kind of playlist: Yesterday by John Lennon, Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar, Jack & Diane by John Mellencamp, Bad Case Of Loving You by Robert Palmer, and Only The Good Die Young by Billy Joel.
Jim tells us he opened up shop after being inspired by antique and flea market television shows. “I’ve always gone to flea markets and antique stores with my grandparents and parents. My house was so packed with things that I couldn’t buy anything else. I have a good eye for all this stuff and I can repair almost anything, so when I saw what they were doing on those shows and how it was catching on in popularity, I decided to give it a shot.” But Jim said he didn’t want to open just any ordinary shop of “old stuff.”
“I wanted something a bit different.” And different it is…
Jim walks us through his shop giving us the grand tour, but we don’t get very far before we have to ask, What is it? Where did it come from? Why do you have it? Who would want to buy this? Jim throws his head back and chuckles – his contagious booming laughter filling the room.
“The oddest stuff comes in here. Either I happen to come across it or people just bring it to me.”
His list of oddities include nightmare-inducing and faceless Vietnam-era target practice figures and an 1800s shock treatment machine designed to cure our “nervous diseases” and other ailments. Declining his jestful offer for a demonstration, Jim walks over to his desk and asks if we have weak stomachs. Before we could respond, he uncovers a series of black and white crime scene photos of a bullet-riddled man lying on the ground. The photos were casually brought in by a customer who simply thought his hoarding father needed to clean house. Our blank stare and gaping mouths prompt Jim’s response. He shrugs, closes the file, and says “People like morbid.”
To prove his point, he takes down several large photo frames from the wall. He points to a very old-looking man with a long beard and begins his story “James Tyrrell was one of the first ones in his family to come over from Europe. This is his daughter. In the other room is a photo of her husband. This is their child who died as an infant.” Jim whispers as if he might offend someone. He quietly takes out a photo album containing several photographs taken from various angles of a baby in a casket.
Jim also operates a professional cleaning business and says he comes across many strange things while on the job. “One day, I was walking through a run down house that was set to be destroyed. We were cleaning it out and I found this album. I’d never seen anything like it before so I did some research and found the other family photos. Even stranger, a customer walked in one day, saw the photos, and recognized it was his family!”
If stories like that won’t give you the chills, then the live-looking taxidermy animals peeking out of every corner, are sure to give you a jolt. “I’m not a hunter. I couldn’t kill anything even if I tried, but they are fun to look at.” One rule he made clear: They are not for sale – New Jersey Law prohibits it.
And while you will find a great selection of traditional antique items: jewelry, china & kitchenware, women’s fashion, and furniture, Jim wants to attract a different kind of customer – one that we find roaming about during our visit.
The lone male customer.
“I like catering to the ladies. We have a lot of stuff for them like most antique shops, but we also have a lot of manly stuff in here.”
The large, white & chrome, 1967 Honda Dream motorcycle that takes up most of the window display is a smoke signal for men everywhere. Jim reminds us of the nostalgic slogan “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” and gives us a bit of history on the bike. “This particular bike filled the gap between biker and cop. When guys saw that I put that out there, they really started coming in. That’s when I brought in the hunting gear, the military memorabilia, and the trains. There’s a lot here for them to check out.”
Jim takes special care in selecting each piece and making sure it is something his customers would like. “I’m big on customer 
service. I want to talk to my customers and give them what they want. Even simple things like making sure we have a clean bathroom here they could use while they shop.” He laughs, “Maybe that’s a bit of the cleaning business creeping in here, but I like quality. I do all the cleaning, repairing, and polishing here. I don’t sell anything broken or chipped. Everything here works the way its supposed to. I’ve been there…when you’re all excited about having bought something, then you get home and it’s broken. I hate that. You won’t find stuff like that here.”
He whips out a few fur coats from an imposing wooden wardrobe. “Smell these.” Again, we look at him with a bit of trepidation. We reluctantly sniff, but don’t smell anything unusual. Now what?
“See you didn’t smell anything, right? People have to be careful when they buy furs. It drives me nuts when they smell musty or like moth balls.”
Agreed. We sigh with relief, a bit cautious about Jim’s next dare.
We walk over to a fatigue-green cabinet which he reverently unlocks to reveal a whole host of U.S., German, and Japanese military memorabilia.
“This cabinet holds some of my most favorite things in the shop. So many stories in here. Like this one. See this young boy? This is also him on the far right with his fellow comrades. This is an article about him. These letters belonged to him. He wrote them. Even this one.” Jim pauses and points to an envelope with the words “To Mommie” written on it. Almost as if to stress the weight and significance behind those two little words, he held the envelope and the photo of the young Navy soldier side by side. “Phew…he was a little boy,” Jim whispers matter-of-factly. No matter how many times he repeats the story, the reality behind it never becomes commonplace for him. “I might not sell a lot of the stuff in this cabinet, but it has more of a sentimental value and it’s important to share these soldier’s stories.”
When asked if there were any items in the shop he would never sell, he didn’t even have to think about it. “Yoda. I would never sell Yoda,” he says, referring to the stoutly Star Wars figure that sits atop a massive safe.
Also on the list: a 1950s All-American Soap Box Derby car that he proudly displays at the window. “Check out the steering wheel. It’s from a Model T. It’s such a cool piece!”
New to the antique business, we asked what he thinks of it so far. “Some things I bring in here thinking they will be a hit, but nobody wants them. Then there are things that I bring in here on a whim just because I like them and those are the things people want. It’s a surprising business.”
He looks around the room, silent for a moment. He seems almost honored to have acquired such a unique collection. “I’m always looking around. I can’t stay focused. That’s what I want this store to be. I want people to look everywhere and find something that interests them.”
A friendly customer interrupts for a lively and laughter-filled chat with Jim. “I’ll definitely be back,” the woman shouts as she walks out. She shakes her head incredulously, “I’m old and I’ve seen it all, but you’ve definitely got a lot of interesting things in here!”
Just what Jim wants to hear – a job well done.
We ask what the future holds for New Jersey Antiques & Consignment. “I’d like to draw more of an artsy crowd. There are a lot of things here for them. But for now, as you can see we’re staying put and are all set up for Halloween.” A holiday, he claims, that the city of Bordentown seems to revel in.
It seems Jim is not just ready for Halloween…he has Christmas lined up too.
“I always have the Christmas stuff out,” he explains almost defensively. “That’s my thing. I like Christmas. It’s always so cheerful and brings back good memories. People ask me why I have it out all the time. I just say, ‘It looks nice, so shut up.‘” His bellowing laughter once again fills the room just as the instrumental intro to Jon Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead Or Alive begins to play over the speakers. We muse at the irony of its timing…
The shop seems to have taken on Jim’s entire persona. We can only describe it as a place that oozes with everything Jim-like. A “cowboy” at his approach to antiquing, a rule-breaker, a bit curious, quirky & playful, jovial almost, and always a bit “Jersey” – that is Jim – and that’s what you’ll find at his shop.
We say our goodbyes and watch as he returns to doing what he does so well. A skill he inherited from his father who once worked as an electrician at the World’s Fair. He puts on a pair of gloves and gingerly holds a microscope close to an item that requires fixing. His focus, only broken by the next inquisitive visitor that peers in the doorway.
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