Professionals Serendipity 
To trade in antiques is not just to deal in old and eclectic items, in pre-loved furniture and peculiarities, but to care for stories, and shepherd them into their next chapters. Desley Bird, owner of KD’s Antiques and Collectibles, understands the importance of these items and their eventful pasts, and today she takes a moment with us to share her own stories of her time in her iconic Canungra store.
by Kyle Hitchmough
Have you always had an interest in antiques? What made you want to go into the business?
I think it’s from way back when I was a little girl, visiting my grandparents’ house and seeing their big pieces of furniture that seemed to go forever, to the ceiling. I absolutely loved them, because they were so different to my parents’ more modern style from the 50s. I think that’s what drew me to it, and I’ve had a love of antiques ever since.
Where did the name come from?
The K is for my husband Ken, and the D is for Desley. It’s very original!
Do you have a particular specialty within the antique field?
Probably what we call ‘smalls’, small pieces. Silver, crystal, those sorts of things. But we love our furniture as well. We just got a beautiful piece in, cedar from the 1850s.
Where do you source your antiques from?
We say they find us. We buy privately, not from auctions, so it’s just people coming to us saying they have antiques or collectibles to sell. We’ve just been out to Warwick looking at a deceased estate, I bought a heap of stuff from an estate up on the Sunshine Coast. It depends on where it is.
What’s the most unique item you’ve ever stocked?
I’ve just bought some Rosenstengel furniture, which is Brisbane-made from back in the 20s and 30s, highly collectible furniture. We picked up about four or five pieces from the one estate. Highly exciting for us. Even picking up a wheelbarrow, as long as it’s a bit different, can be exciting as well. You go from one extreme to the other.
Are there any particular trends in your customer base?
We have clients from 10 years of age to 90 years of age, and they all have different wants. You’ve just got to keep your fingers crossed that you have something that they want.
Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the Canungra area and community?
I’m local in that I’ve been here 11 years. To be a local you’ve probably got to be here 50 years! It’s a lovely community to live in, absolutely delightful. So pleased we made the decision 11 years ago to move out here. Where we live, on three acres, the ambience is lovely and quiet. The town is just so vibrant, you never know who’s going to come in and who you’re going to meet. It could be overseas travellers, interstate travellers, you just never know. It’s amazing.
What do you think KD’s Antiques and Collectibles really provides to the area?
We classify ourselves as a tourist business. A lot of collectors know I’ve moved from Brisbane to here, and so they come out here to look at our shop. So we do bring tourists into the town, quite a few will come out knowing I’m here.
Does a business like yours mainly cater to collectors, then? Do you get a large amount of less experienced buyers as well?
Collectors are so diverse in what they collect, anything from fishing reels to sterling silver to Stuart crystal. There can be a huge range. I mentioned Rosenstengel furniture before, there are collectors that just collect that brand of furniture. It’s a huge range, you just hope that when that collector comes in, you’ve got something that’ll attract them. But there’s also the buyer who comes in who just likes antiques, and will come in and buy because they’ve found something they like, that will fit in with their décor at home.
What do you enjoy most about doing this?
Making that amazing find, satisfying a collector that I’ve got something to add to their collection. I just love doing what I do. You must love it, to be doing it for so long.
What’s been your most memorable moment from your time here?
We bought some furniture from an elderly gentleman who migrated to Australia after World War 2. A lot of the furniture had been his parents’ that they moved from Germany to Austria just before the war. There was one massive piece, art deco, but it was like the first of the German flat pack furniture. It all came apart into about 10 pieces. Amazing piece of furniture. To hear his story of bringing it out and moving from Germany to Austria and then out to Australia, that was really interesting.
It sounds like you’ve heard a lot of fascinating stories. How important is the history behind an object to antiquing?
If they could only talk! Some stories aren’t nice. It can be a really sad time in a person’s life, that they’re having to sell their parents’ or their grandparents’ precious belongings. Another story that was interesting, we were called to a deceased estate in Brisbane, and the man had five picture frames hanging on the wall, all with convex glass. I asked him if the five pictures were for sale, and he said “No, not these four, but he is. We don’t know who he is!” Grandma and Grandad obviously thought he was important to be hanging on the wall, but nobody else knew who he was! So we got him, poor man. He’s by himself now.
Is there anything else you’d like to go on the record?
Everyone’s welcome to come into our shop, whether they collect antiques or collectibles or not, from the veteran collectors to the first timers, regardless of age or what they want to collect, we’d love to have you here. Come in and talk to us!
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, email your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
