FOX CROSSING – A longtime Fox Cities business is moving across town later this year.
Harp Gallery Antiques & Vintage Furniture at 2495 Northern Road in Fox Crossing plans to move to a new showroom and warehouse in Kaukauna, owner Ken Melchert told The Post-Crescent on Tuesday. The antique store offers historic furniture, artwork, and other vintage finds, which are adapted to modern homes thanks to Harp Gallery’s expert restoration process.
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The new location is at 2101 Progress Way in Kaukauna, approximately 15 miles on Interstate 41 from Harp Gallery’s current store. There is no opening date for the new location yet, but Melchert hopes the move will be complete within the next five to six months.
“He’s got this showroom full of exceptional marble and stone,” John Melchert, Harp Gallery’s marketing manager, said of the property in Kaukauna, which was once home to Carved Stones Creations, Inc. “It’s going to be a great showcase for our company.”
Ken started looking to buy a bigger property about a year ago. Harp Gallery’s Fox Crossing store, which is on the east side of I-41 just south of the Prospect Avenue exit, is packed with inventory, including ready-to-sell items, as well as ongoing restoration projects. In progress. As a result, Harp Gallery employees – artisans, such as carpenters and artists, who specialize in many types of antique restoration – work under difficult conditions.
“All of our stores are bursting,” Ken said. “We have artisans, wonderful artisans at work, but they need space. You cannot give an office to a carpenter. He needs a large space to work and put furniture back together and repair it.
Locally, Harp Gallery gets about three houses of new antiques each day, according to Ken.
Harp Gallery’s increased business and inventory can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also emphasizes its online presence.
“Especially since COVID, we’ve seen a huge uptick in interest online. Not just on our website, but on our social media pages and stuff like that,” John said. “Furniture has been really good since COVID because of all the people buying houses, changing scenery and getting inspired.”
Wisconsin is Harp Gallery’s largest state in terms of clientele, but the next four — New York, California, Georgia, and Texas — are all outside of the Midwest. About 75% of Harp Gallery’s business takes place outside of Wisconsin, according to Ken.
“Our business is mostly online,” he said. “Even people from Wisconsin come to us because of our online presence.”
Ken and his wife Rebecca opened the Harp Gallery in 1985 in downtown Appleton, across from the Paper Valley Hotel. They added the second location to Fox Crossing in the late 1980s and briefly operated both stores before investing only in the latter location.
Harp Gallery Antiques & Vintage Furniture is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Harp Gallery publishes new releases – usually around 50-100 items – on its website every Monday morning. Call 920-733-7115 or visit harpgallery.com for more information.
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This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Harp Gallery Antique Furniture moves from Fox Crossing to Kaukauna