A Sneak Peek at the Beak

 
In an effort to show you just who and what you’ve been dealing with all these years, months (or even days) I thought it high time to introduce myself and the flock and give you a little background on all that is Antique Beak. 

                                  Team Beak consists of myself, Jennifer, my Rosebreasted Cockatoo of 11 years, Mardi Gras (Mardi for short)                                      

 Antique Beak actually began long before we opened in 2000. We purchased items for about a year in advance of opening the shop, hoping to make a squawk rather than a peep upon our debut. We began with over 100 items and, adding steadily to the shop ever since, we now have over 700 bird themed items for sale including lamps, postcards, figurines, textiles,bronzes and even a piece of furniture or two. We acquire things from all over the country and all over the world, looking for those birdie special pieces that are of high quality, unique, or just so darn ugly they are cute (you know the ones!) We also have a friend  in Germany who assists us with procuring European treasures and get shipments from her every 2 or three months. When on "Bird Patrol" (our way of looking at a shopping trip) we only purchase items that WE like, hoping in turn that YOU'LL like.

 Since opening we have sold thousands of bird themed collectibles and antiques to people all over the world, from Italy to England, Lebanon to Dubai, Australia to Japan (and quite a few places in between). 

 Besides the Web, we carry items in a local antique mall, 

The Antique Gallery 

21127 Spring Town Drive 

Spring, Texas  77388

281 353-4557

where we have a showcase filled with incredible creatures.

We also set up once a year at the Houston Parrot Festival, typically held the last weekend in January, also filled with incredible creatures......

But more on that subject later.........

In order to get the word out about the Beak (you ARE telling your friends about us, right?) we advertise in a variety of bird related magazines including Bird Talk, Companion Parrot Quarterly, Wild Birds, Birds USA, The Incredible Flying Machine (now out of print), AFA Watchbird, and bird club show & seminar programs. We also share links with other bird related websites (got one? want to share a link?) and advertise on some as well including Birds ‘n Ways (http://birdsnways.com ) and Up at Six (http://upatsix.com) .

We were flattered to be asked to write an article for the December 2005 issue of Bird Talk on Avian Antiques (what else?) and have been featured year after year in their November Gift Buying Guide. Coming up in the August issue we’ll have some items in their “Avian Flair” section, which is focusing on bird themed antiques and antique inspired items. We also hope to publish a book in the future on Avian antiques and collectibles and are contacting publishers now.

I am often asked just HOW I got into this business and I had to wonder, how could I not? I have been keeping birds all of my life, which began with my first Budgie and included my Duck, Daisy and my first pet Chicken, Mae (my grandmother was oh-so-flattered to have a chicken named after her!) Since then I have had a variety of birds and Chickens and remained eccentric by never having owned a dog or cat (hubby had a cat in the past but that doesn’t count) just turtles. But back to the Beak……

I began dealing in antiques in 1993, having collected for several years and enjoying the research that helped me to fully appreciate my finds. I owned my own shop for five years, and then started selling antiques and collectibles on the internet in 1996. The internet began to take over quite a bit of my time, so after a couple of years I decided to close my shop and rent booth space. The idea for Antique Beak was born when I decided that I wanted my own shop again, but in Cyberspace this time. Knowing that I should specialize in one area, I thought hard (but not too long) on what I knew and what I enjoyed, and so arrived at the perfect joining of my two passions – antiques and birds! The name Antique Beak was just there and so a shop was born.

The rest, as they say, is history........ :-)