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24-A Maine Antique Digest, December 2016
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FEATURE -
24-A
We might be painting with too broad a
brush here, but you could probably say that
a Manhattan hedge-fund manager might be
more comfortable east of the Hudson, while
a Brooklyn hipster might find a place like
Andes more congenial. And now the region
draws its own group of celebrities. People
such as Kelsey Grammer, Amy Sedaris,
and
New Yorker
art critic Peter Schjeldahl
are regulars in the area. Sedaris has been a
Scherer houseguest.
This is quite a change from earlier when
Andes’s main claim to fame was the part it
played in the Anti-Rent wars of the 1830s
and ’40s. Violence erupted when vast tracts
of Delaware and Albany counties were still
owned in feudal fashion by the old “patroon”
oligarchy, and tenant farmers rebelled at
paying rapacious rents. In 1845 locals of
Andes dressed as Indians (why did white
rebels always try to blame everything on
Native Americans?) and shot dead the local
undersheriff who was trying to collect a $64
rent.
So there are now people who appreciate
what Scherer is trying to do. He said, “Most
of my clients are second homeowners from
the city—artists, writers, models, people in
the creative fields. Often buying from my
shop is their first antiques purchase.”
As if on cue, as we interviewed Scherer on
a quiet Thursday afternoon, a couple—she
with the tall good looks of a former model,
dressed in a 1970s denim jacket with patches,
and he looking equally urbane, bought an
old leather-bound tape measure. It’s the type
of item that a local farmer or carpenter might
value at $4 or $5. These folks were delighted
to pay $45.
Scherer, a highly trained painter who has
shown in New York City, said, “I decided to
make this the most interesting shop—like it
was in Paris or anywhere else. I do not dumb
it down. People underestimate people’s
desire to learn and enjoy beautiful things.”
He added, “Bricks and mortar [as opposed
to online business] is getting harder and
harder. You have to make it an experience
for people. There has to be a reason for them
to come in.” He completely “reinstalls” his
inventory every season so that it always
appears fresh.
Scherer doesn’t paint as much as he used
to. Instead, “I think of everything as my
artwork. My shop is all vignettes. It’s about
creating an atmosphere, not just throwing
stuff in and letting people rummage through.
There are lots of things I don’t buy that I
know there’s money in, but I know they
won’t fit. For me, it’s about the display.
That’s what you have to do today to keep an
audience.”
When it comes to antiques, Scherer said, “I
love the nineteenth century.” He especially
likes “things that are primitive and show their
use and wear.” He also feels these pieces can
fit well into modern interiors. “People don’t
think of the nineteenth century as modern,
but pieces with no extra frills [he pointed to
a simple country cupboard at this juncture]
could go perfectly well in a Tribeca loft.”
In fact, although he doesn’t carry much
mid-century modern, Scherer is not averse
to buying it. “If I see a 1950s driftwood
lamp that fits with my aesthetic, I’ll get it,
or a beautiful Danish modern credenza.”
His job “is to bridge the gap” for clients
who are not necessarily conversant with
antiques. “People up here are not looking for
pedigree.”
Neither is he. Scherer said, “I go into a
shop with all period stuff, and the pieces
kind of negate each other. It robs them of
energy.” This attitude may explain why, as
he said, “When old-timers come in, they say,
‘So, you really aren’t an antiques shop.’”
He tries to create an air of authenticity in
the shop, where new and oldmix comfortably
but retain their identities. In a world where
everything is knocked off—Scherer calls it
the “Restoration Hardware syndrome”—he
feels he gives customers an experience that
they might not easily find elsewhere.
A 19th-century cupboard in old white, $850. “It’s
looking very modern,” Scherer said. The white milk-
glass apothecary bottles are vintage, $18 each. Above
them are copper luster pitchers in the $40 to $50
range. “They used to be for little old ladies, but now
people say, ‘What are those?’” Scherer said. Of the
ironstone above the copper luster, Scherer noted, “I
always have a good selection of ironstone platters,
usually in the sixty-dollar range.”
Vintage papier-mâché guest trays. If you grew up in the 1950s or ’60s, your
mother probably had some. They’re $12 each.
Three Queen Anne chairs in red and gold chinoiserie.
The chairs are all different but appear to have
substantial age, and the decoration on each is also
subtly but distinctly different. Other dealers might pass
on these because they don’t match, but that’s exactly
what Scherer likes about them. “They’re sculptures
found together,” he said, and he is asking $1800 for the
three.
For a couple of years Scherer also operated a
smaller version of Kabinett & Kammer in New York
City’s East Village. “I called it a pop-up shop. It was
small, and the lease was only for two years.” But
operating two places was a chore, and he shut the
city store when the lease was up. The best thing about
the city shop was “more access to more money.” He
pointed out that he was able to sell a taxidermy zebra
there for $7000. When he sold another one in Andes,
he got $4000. (Don’t worry, “Both died of natural
causes at a zoo,” he said.)
He said selling taxidermy accounts for “maybe ten
percent” of his business. “It ebbs and flows.”
Scherer supplements his shop income by teaching art history and
design two days a week at the SUNY Oneonta campus about 35 miles to
the northwest of Andes. He also does occasional design work and would
like to do more of it.
He said, “I spent three years doing Anderson Cooper’s firehouse
downtown [Manhattan], and I’m working on a bar here in Andes, right
across the street. We’re designing a tap room to be like an English
gentleman’s place.” He has also restored three 19th-century homes in the
area for clients. On those projects, “I’m like an art director.”
Scherer grew up in Miami. “My mother always used to go to flea
markets, Salvation Army, and antiques shops. I bought my first antique
when I was sixteen. It was a brass Art Deco clock,” he said, noting that
this was a relatively early piece for that area. “Remember, this was in
A paint-brush rack with brushes, $275.
Antlers. Scherer said they are natural sheds and that the “skulls” are actually
white-painted iron. The larger pair (on the left) is $395. The ones on the right
are $350.
Taxidermy duck, pheasant, and grouse in the $145 to $165 range.