By Leslie Kelly
lkelly@soundpublishing.com

BREMERTON — After moving twice in the last couple of years, Susanna’s Antiques is finally home.

And with 5,500 square feet of space in the store at 312 N. Callow Ave.in Bremerton, owner Susie Waldbillig is delighted she can finally show her full inventory.

“This is the location for us,” she said of the business she runs with her husband Bernie. “We love the Charleston area, and there’s lots of new businesses coming in on Callow.”

Waldbillig has had an antique store in Bremerton for the past year and a half. She started out downtown with just 200 square feet of space. After eight months, she moved to a store on Callow Avenue, expanding to 1,500 square feet. About six months later, the place next door came open and she moved to her current location.

Her love for vintage and antique things started young.

“My grandmother always had collections of knick knacks,” she said. “I loved all of them.”

Some time later, her father began working at a Good Will store repairing electronics.

“It was across the street from where we lived and I use to go to work with him,” she said. “I loved looking at all the stuff in the store.”

By age 12, she was painting an old set of bedroom furniture she got at the store. She also remembered a special ballerina music box.

“From that point on, I just never stopped collecting and selling,” Waldbillig said.

Her first adventures in antiquing were in Oregon and included having a booth at an antique mall and going from antique show to antique show, unpacking her wares and setting them up to sell. It was time consuming.

“I’d pack up and go three of four days and only make $600 to $800 after all the expenses,” she said.

And then, there was “that one time,” when she had an outdoor booth. She set up tables of her collection of Depression Glass, only to have a huge gust of wind come up and knock down her tent, breaking almost all of it.

“I probably lost $10,000 in one gust,” she said.

She and her husband, Berniwe, who met in 2000, traveled via RV from show to show for a while. Then they decided to try a stationary location. They settled on Bremerton, where Bernie retired from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

“Having a store is great,” said Susie. “We have our steady customers and we get tourists in, too.”

About 85 percent of her inventory is items she’s collected. There are some items in the store on consignment, and she has a couple of other dealers who have space in the place.

She specializes in furniture, collectibles, vintage jewelry, military items, primitives, yard and garden tools and art, books and locally made decor.

Bernie has his own space, which he calls the “Man Cave,” including antique tools and a knife collection.

He also repairs items to sell.

“My wife is famous for bringing home three legged chairs and tables,” he joked.

Susie’s sister, Linda, has a boutique on the second floor with name brand clothing, purses and shoes.

And, the store has its own mascot, a big dog named Rocky, who is in training to be her sister’s service dog.

Among the things Susie collects herself are reverse paintings, where the picture is painted on the back side of glass, and biscuit jars — at least 600 of them.

She takes great pride in the way she decorates the store.

“Display is all a part of it,” she said. “People come in all the time and say they love the colors I put together and how things look in here. They say it looks classy.”

As a new business on Callow Avenue, Susie and Bernie have become active in the work to renovate the historic Charleston neighborhood. Bernie is president of the group.

“This is a great area,” he said. “We have customers come in and tell us that they grew up around here. They say as kids they’d walk to the matinee at the cinema and then go down to the drugstore and get ice cream cones.

“We want that spirit to come back to the area. We envision bringing the kind of stores that were once here back to Charleston.”

The location where the antique store is, was once the hardware and furniture store.

With many pieces of antique furniture in the store, it’s almost like they’ve come full circle, Susie said.

“And it’s all very reasonably priced,” she said. “Lots of the young kids come here and buy things and say they’re gonna get rid of their IKEA stuff.”

In fact, Susie sold a cabinet for $200 and later saw it in an antique store in Seattle with a $595 price tag.

Susanna’s Antiques is open Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Checkout its Facebook page for current sales. Call 360-265-7300 for more.