Great Stuff by Paul: Decades of Discovery – WorthPoint

WorthPoint’s “Real People, Real Places, Real Fun!” series spotlights fascinating collectors, resellers, dealers, and more in the antiques and collectibles world. Read their stories to discover the who, what, when, where, and why behind what they do!

As the summer ends, hopefully taking record-high temperatures with it, many antique fans are planning fall trips. Whether heading to shows like Brimfield or small roadside shops, resellers, pickers, and vintage enthusiasts will be on the hunt. Lucky for you, we have a must-see destination to add to your itinerary—in Frederick, Maryland—but you don’t have much time left to visit! Read on to find out who, where, when, and why the rush.

WorthPoint® spoke to antique dealer Paul Berkowitz of Great Stuff by Paul as part of our “Real People, Real Places, Real Fun!” series and learned about his decades of discovering treasures from all over the globe. Berkowitz has made it his life’s work to scout out quality items, buy them in quantity, and provide his customers with the best the world can offer at a fair price. You won’t believe who some of his customers are!

Paul shared some of his stories with WorthPoint about how he got started, where he’s been (pretty much everywhere), and his plans for the future. Check out our interview with Paul below to learn more about his “great stuff.”

WorthPoint: How did you get started in the business of buying and selling antiques?

Great Stuff by Paul: Well, I started out as a hairdresser. Then I met my wife. She worked in the salons with me, but she loved antiques. I would go with her to buy a few items, but I didn’t know anything then. The first pieces that caught my eye were trunks. I had three that I had picked up at sales, and I refinished them, sort of as a hobby; what did I know?

At my first show in Georgetown, I had three trunks, and they sold immediately. That was the beginning; that was when I knew I liked working with my hands, refinishing items, and making them useful again. I was so into trunks of all kinds; I first called my business “Great Trunks By Paul,” but now it’s much more. When I see something I like, I go all in. My wife and I have been married for forty-seven years; I know quality.

WP: How did you find merchandise and customers when you began the business?

GSBP: I went to shows, any show I could get to; I loaded up a truck full of whatever I had and went to the show. I’ve always bought in quantity; in a regular shop, they might have two or three of an item, but I have a hundred. I can sell for less because I buy big. I’m more like a wholesaler; many of my customers have their own shops, and they have to make a living, so they buy from me at a fair price, and they make a little, and so do I. From buying truckloads, I moved on to shipping containers. I knew I could find customers who would want what I purchased.

Sometimes my customers find me. I remember one time, one of my sales guys was outside; he saw a car pull up, and he almost fell over—it was the Clinton family. Hillary, Bill, and their daughter Chelsea were moving to a new house in Georgetown, and they bought a whole bunch of things from me. Another time a line of SUVs and police vehicles pulled up, and it was First Lady Laura Bush, right there in my barn!

WP: What do your customers generally want? What do you have that they are looking for?

GSBP: Well, I have a lot, but mostly, I have an eye for repurposing just about anything. Right now, I have a lot of industrial fixtures. Factories that close sell long wooden work tables, factory carts, and tables with iron legs. Most of this would be just junk for a company, they write it off as a loss, and it goes to the dump.

I can tell someone how to use a cart or a table in their home. Everything can have a new life. Someone might see just an old cart or a junky table. I don’t sell junk; I sell genuine items that give any home the right look.

WP: How did you figure out where to get the best items and the best prices?

GSBP: Mostly, I would meet people, get talking, and then network to find stuff. I met someone at a show from the United Kingdom, and we got to talking; the next thing I was on a plane to London to look for anything I could find. I looked at laundry dollies, baskets, and even flower pots. My wife asked me for flower pots; she said she liked them and could I bring some. I found some, but not three or four. Thousands of them; I called her up and said, “I found your flower pots, but there’s a lot of them.” Her answer? “Buy them all!” Whenever I would meet people, I’d find out where they were from and learn about different places to buy merchandise.

WP: When did you know you wanted to sell antiques full-time?

I was so busy traveling around to find items and going to shows I knew I had to have an actual location. I rented a barn and started going on buying trips; anywhere I heard of that had things I might want, I found a way to get there. Eventually, I printed flyers with the address of my barn and my plans to open a store.

I came back, my store hadn’t even opened yet, and there were stickers all over my door about mail left; my phone message machine was full of messages, and everyone wanted to come to my store to see what I had. That’s when I knew I had a good thing going.

Around the same time, the magazine Country Living found me at a show; they took a few pictures. A few months later, the magazine came in the mail with a three-page spread.

From then, it just took off. I was flying all over the world to find items. One of my favorite places to go was China. I would go into small villages with an interpreter and buy these unique rice baskets. They would know I was coming and knew I would buy in bulk. I connected with people worldwide, and it’s been the key to finding the best items; first, you have to find the best people.

WP: What do you want our readers to know about your business?

GSPB: Get here soon. After so many years doing this, I’m closing my store. I won’t be here after the end of October, so plan a fall trip. I’ve sold the building, and everything has to go. Whatever I don’t sell, I’m going to donate to Habitat For Humanity, and I’m hoping to train their people on what I have, so they can raise the money they need.

I want to work with organizations that rescue animals—any animals, from elephants to horses or dogs, whatever. I was in India when I saw elephants chained up, and it got me; it was so sad. I knew I had to help them. So wherever there are endangered animals, I will go; I want to work with organizations that can find them homes and save them from abuse.

To check out what Paul has, go to his website for hours and directions.

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Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.

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