When I was in high school, I was once asked to leave study hall to visit an estate sale a few blocks from Proctor High School (where I later graduated in 2019) to purchase an item for one of my teachers. That small errand sparked something unexpected. I was immediately hooked. I had begun collecting vinyl records a few year prior, drawn to the music my parents grew up with. That interest soon expanded into pop culture, then fashion, art, and design.
Before I knew it, I was moving to Chicago to finish my education—packing my life into a box truck alongside a collection of rotary phones and Bakelite flatware. While in the Windy City, I worked for a large estate sale company in the northern suburbs, gaining hands-on experience in the business and deepening my appreciation for well-curated vintage goods.
After completing my education, I decided to return home to Utica and start my own business. I named it Handshake Antiques as both an homage to Utica’s rich history—a city I love deeply—and to the idea of doing business with honesty, integrity, and a handshake. Your word still means something here. After my first year in business, I noticed a storefront for lease in the Village of New Hartford. Whether it was the window frontage or the fact that my estate sale supplies had completely overtaken my father’s side of our family’s two-stall garage, I knew it was time to take the next step. So I ripped up rugs, rewired lamps and put more things in my parents garage.
Today, I’m proud to offer the Mohawk Valley a highly curated boutique vintage shop in the heart of the village. Handshake Antiques features vinyl records, artwork, vintage fashion, jewelry, barware, lighting, and more. My goal is to create a destination—not a junk shop—where vintage feels approachable, stylish, and relevant. Vintage is in… and really, it never left.
What makes Handshake Antiques special is how local it truly is. Everything in the shop is sourced locally, and I follow one simple rule: if I’m going to sell it, it has to be old. This is a place where someone can sell an item they forgot about in their attic and then see a neighbor using it as décor on their porch the very next week. This isn’t your grandmother’s antique shop. I invite you to stop in, see what we’re building, and help celebrate the grand opening of Handshake Antiques—a new small business rooted firmly in our community.
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