It’s all about the hunt at Diamond Antiques and Gifts in Tarentum.
The vintage goods shop along East Sixth Avenue has two floors chock-full of treasures new and old.
Where else might shoppers find a 1920s wooden-handled cookie cutter sitting near a white Melamine bowl decorated with Snap, Crackle and Pop — the Rice Krispies cereal elves.
“People sometimes think of vintage as smelly, old, grandma stuff,” owner Dianna Roney said. “We have gems. Customers come in and are thrilled with what they find.”
The lure is that you never know what might be there.
Regular shopper Christine Spece of Harrison called the shop “a true diamond.” She loves browsing the aisles for hidden finds.
“You can come in again tomorrow, and it might be all different,” said Spece, who unearthed two vintage porcelain Christmas trees on her last visit.
Roney, an Oakmont native, said she first started “picking” and showing collectibles at Miller’s Antique Mall in Verona.
“I met some folks who liked the same stuff, and we started our own space,” she said. “I’ve always loved decorating spaces, even from the days when I was a little girl. I’d always be rearranging my bedroom.”
Roney opened her store 16 years ago, first along Fourth Avenue and then in the current location, which formerly housed Van Sciver’s Wallpaper and Paint store.
She rents space to about 20 vendors with widely varied styles.
Rehabbed furniture is the most sought after item, followed by mid-century modern home goods and primitives.
“Everyone has their own thing,” Roney said, showing off an old dresser that was transformed into a jelly cupboard.
Showroom space is coveted; there is rarely a shelf available to rent.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, resale shops have catapulted into popularity in recent years. Goodwill Industries in 2017 reported having generated $5.9 billion in retail sales.
Online second-hand resale shop ThredUP predicts the market for used clothing will double in the next five years to reach $77 billion.
The pandemic has sent even more shoppers in search of reused and repurposed furniture, housewares and clothes.
“When we started, there was no one else doing it,” Roney said. “Today, we see repeat customers who want to visit as many places that they can.”
Kathy Anderson of Plum is a vendor at Diamond Antiques. The retired teacher’s aide said she most enjoys meeting shoppers and listening to their stories.
“It’s so relaxing because everyone loves to tell you the backstory of what they’re looking for,” she said.
Anderson’s space is full of items that are repurposed or were well-cared for through the years.
“I like side tables or old mirrors that look like they were treasured,” she said. “Things that you can tell someone loved.”
Cheryl Kopaczynski of Monroeville also runs a space with her daughter.
“I came shopping one time with my family, and I said, ‘We have to do this.’ Our space is a little bit of everything,” she said.
Vendors find their items by turning into shoppers themselves. They scour estate sales, other thrift shops and flea markets. Some, like Michael Parobek of Plum, have the talent to create their wares.
Parobek is one of the few men to have a space in the second-hand store. He has a knack for reusing common household items — he turns oil cans into Christmas trees and stacks wine corks into decorative pieces.
Parobek called the items he creates “mantiques.”
Other knickknacks that fill every inch of the store include cookbooks, homemade honey, old barware, holiday decor, handmade Victorian greeting cards, wooden ladders and Redcat T-shirts from the Tarentum Historical Society.
Roney said the items she fills her specific area with are modern and “Pottery Barn-ish.”
“What’s nice is that you can shop around and see a wide variety,” Roney said. “It’s a nice place to be. People come in and say that they love it. And that makes me feel good.”
