Destination Frederick County: Antiquing Adventures

I'm Jake Wynn from Visit Frederick and I'm on a mission to uncover the amazing antique finds that make Frederick County, Maryland a must-see for collectors and curious shoppers alike. Whether you're a seasoned treasure hunter, a weekend browser, or just hoping to stumble upon something unique, you'll find plenty of surprises around every corner at the antiques store across this region. First up, we're heading to Emporium Antiques in downtown Frederick. It's a sprawling one-stop shop brimming with vintage furniture, handmade jewelry, and countless other hidden gems. No two visits are ever the same. Would you mind taking me around showing me some of the booths? Yeah, let's do it. So this is booth PR and she deals in small furnishings. We have vintage clothing over here and some pretty handbags and things. We have vintage cameras. We also have Becky's booth here and she has a little bit of everything. She's got albums and flatware and glassware and books. It's a lot of variety. It is a lot of variety. Can you tell us a little bit about why people go antiquing? People go antiquing because it's just really fun to get away from the everyday thing, either going out to the restaurants or going to the movies. It's just a little bit something different that people can do. So this is one of our newest dealers. Her booth is Fly of L.Y. She does a lot of styling in her booth and she also hand paints pieces of furniture. She hand painted this whole chimney belt and over here she just brought in a pair French country chairs. Some of our dealers, they have a theme that they're going for. Not only do we have vintage and antiques, we also have some modern things that you can come in here and you can get a great deal on a sofa to work into your home and pick up some antiques on the way out too. So I see lots of different booths here with a whole variety of different things. Can you tell us a little bit about the different variety you'd see in an antique store? Sure. We have about 70 different dealers and they all do a little bit something different. There's definitely something for everybody in our store, whether it's mid-century modern, Chinese chip and dale, European, funky stuff, industrial, we have something for everybody. So this is one of my favorite paintings in the shop right now. It's done in a trompe l'oeil style, which is like a two, three dimensional kind of a thing where it feels like you're actually in the painting. It feels like some of the items are coming out at you. It's one of my favorite pieces. Out of curiosity, what makes Frederick a good place to go for antiquers? So Frederick is right in the center of the DMV area and of course it's in historic, beautiful downtown Frederick, Maryland. So many restaurants and shops. We are 55,000 square feet of vintage goodness and so why would you not want to go? So this is the consignment section of our store. You have a mix of vintage and antiques and modern things and it's just a section of our store where people like you and me can consign our items. Well thank you so much for showing us around the store today. Thanks for coming. We're making our way to northern Frederick County to the Emmitsburg Antique Mall, a huge space packed floor to ceiling with relics and collectibles that each tell their own story. This is where the thrill of the hunt really comes alive. Hey Mike, it's nice to meet you. Would you be willing to show me around the Emmitsburg Antique Mall? Absolutely, let's do it. The Emmitsburg Antique Mall, we have a lot of variety for the customers that come in here and I think that's really important because truthfully everybody usually collects something. So we have something for anybody really is what it comes down to. As we just passed, we passed a booth that had mid-century modern stuff. A lot of the booths here have a variety of things. So you'll see glassware or coins or primitive stuff. Like it's you know a well-encompassing antique mall. So we're pretty close to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania here, right? So you have some Civil War history items as well? Absolutely, yeah we do which is pretty neat. I mean we just passed the booth. They have some old rifles, Civil War bullets. It's fascinating to be so close to Gettysburg and see these items come through because it's such a unique part of American history. Do you have any kind of advice for someone who maybe is new to antiquing of things that they should be looking for when they when they come into an antique mall like this? Well I think if they're new to antiquing, really just kind of boils down to what you think is cool, what you think is gonna you know work for you. See over here we have old pictures, some glassware. A lot of the vendors have a variety of things. We have primitives, we have blow molds, we have license plates. Actually this guy's got a great collection of license plates. So it doesn't matter what you're into, we got it. Well thank you so much for taking us around on the tour today. We really appreciate it. Yeah not a problem. I appreciate your time today. Thank you very much. Thank you. Antiquing in Frederick County is a journey through time, a chance to connect with history and the excitement of discovering something truly special. Whether you've been collecting for years or you're brand new to the scene, there's always more to explore here. So next time you're in Frederick County, don't forget to take a trip to the past in the region's antique stores and businesses.