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economist sun stdiiffville tribune 14 thursday march 8 2001 staff photomike barrett antique dealer sergio bernardi says scandinavian teak furniture from the 1970s is a hot collectible today v byroy green staff writer if youre fortunate enoughto uncover an antique treasure in an old barn or at a yard sale dont make the mistake of restoring it to its original state jt might cost you a for tune t maybe you- saw the woman whobr6ught a lamp to the tv show antiques road show- arid they told her the good hews and bad news antique dealer sergio bernardi said the good news was- it was orth 35000 the badnews was it would havelbeen worth 150000 if ske hadnt restored it- u v with really good antiques the finish has not been touched l if it has the value drops in half said bernardi from his aurora antique store dave beasley who conducts auction sales across york region and simcoe county compares it to destroying good art some people make the mis- take of stripping the original finish on an antique and refinishing it its the same as picking up a rembrandt and painting green over all the reds 1 its jiist one of the pitfalls in an increasingly difficult venture trying to determine whatsjuitique andwhatsjunk sometimes theres a very fine line between a priceless antique c andwhat is for valuation purpos es junk and sometimes ari item can be both a lot of times with furniture the growing popularity of antiques has made it harder to sort thejunk from the jewels you can get one piece put together with parts from another piece- beasley said italters the piece its not an original any more bernardi recalls a specific example- one of my customers paid 10000 for a table in yorkville after being told it was manufactured in 1815 as it turned out the top was 1815 but the bottom was brand new she complained and the dealer took it back it was eventu ally resold for about 1000 bernardi advises antiqueseek ers find a reputable dealer 1 the most common mistake people make is going to an antique mall and believing everything they tell you some of them will teu peo ple an item is 150 years old but its oniy 25 years old you should go to a reputable dealer who will stand behind his product it is certainly safer that way but if you seek the thrill of unearthing a priceless knickknack at an incredible price you wont be able to resist the lure of an auction thats where the bargains are beasley said youre going to get something a lot cheaper at an auc tion where do you think the deal ers get their stuff auctioneer rob sage is con cerned about some of the changes in the business has seen in recent years it was different 20 years ago said sage who had his own antique shop in bradford for many years most of the dealers were doing it for a living and they had to have good stuff now there are a lot of parttime dealers its changed the complexion of the business you dont need a shop now you just rent space in an antique mall and with an increasing number- of people seeking antiques its tougher to find bargains theres still lots of good stuff see few page 16 jamffv m8sf visit our showroom in h f flj 1 i fl i j vs 1 m i t s l vfl 1 m m 89 1 1 1 c v lsilj a jftsjj 2 easy moiuhly payments oac 0 imercst total payments svl9500 plus taxes vi anticlues refinished beyond compare 158 main street 9054749677 this double pedestal dining table with extension leaf and 6 shield back chairs with breakfronl china cabinet was 799500 sale 649500