A small strip of stores at the end of Bridgehampton’s Main Street houses some impressive shops in the high season, anchored by year-round fixture Almond restaurant. Unfortunately, the winter months usually find certain retailers at this end of the block hanging a “See you in the summer!” sign in their window.
There is a light at the end of this tunnel, or block: Hoare & Hoare Antiques (2487 Main St., Bridgehampton), a winter pop-up located in Malia Mills corner boutique through May.
The shop is imbued with a Paris flea market vibe, complete with a dress form on the sidewalk adorning textural vintage woolens next to wire baskets filled with Damask linen napkins. “I went on a buying trip to France with my mother recently, and you can’t go to France and not buy when you’re a dealer,” says Zöe Hoare, renowned curator and owner of Hoare & Hoare Antiques.
Born in England, Hoare’s flare for collecting came naturally (her mother is a London-based antique dealer), honing her inherent skills of what she describes as her ‘true calling and my passion.” Zoe launched her business at the East Hampton Antique Fair at Mulford Farm. “I started selling my collections there a couple of years ago,” she says, “I also worked from home and on Charish [the insider source for home furnishings and art online], built my website and then started doing the Hampton Flea pop-ups in Bridgehampton and Amagansett.”
Hoare first noticed the “see you next summer” sign at Malia Mills in October and approached the owners about “taking it off your hands for six months, which they thought was a great idea,” she recounts. “I’ve lived in Bridgehampton for years and always loved this building. It’s on a corner, with great light and lots of parking. I just love having lots of space, especially for my larger pieces of antique furniture.”
Hoare also embraced the dress forms on loan from the shop, enabling her to showcase her vintage clothing and mannequin dressing skills that evoke a bygone era. “Workman’s clothes are having a bit of a moment right now,” she says.
Blue and white pieces are also prevalent in Hoare’s “well-loved” kitchen collections of enamelware, ceramics, and indigo-dyed fabrics. “That’s what people gravitate towards as soon as they come in,” says Hoare. “It’s hard to find vintage kitchen items that are great for decoration, especially for a big Hamptons kitchen with a lot of white space.”
While distressed and patina surfaces might not be for everyone, Hoare knows her “chipped paint” aesthetic and insists on “buying things in pretty good condition.”
Art collectors may want to peruse Hoare’s remarkable cache of small still-life paintings of fish and fruit, hanging and leaning throughout the shop. Look above and see a whimsical installation of Pollack-esque wooden painter palettes. “They just tell such a story to me,” says the collector. “You can just look at them and imagine the artist who worked with them.”
Hoare & Hoare Antiques Winter pop-up runs through May, Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment.
