Business Expansion in Norfolk

By Francesca Turchiano

Carnegie Hill Antiques owners Erzsebet and Donald Black hosted a festive champagne reception on June 9 to launch officially the doubling of  their retail presence in Norfolk.  Friends, neighbors, and clients seemed like well-chosen accessories to the well-edited antique furniture and home furnishings collection.

Sales were brisk and included a, now rare, green glazed coal stove, a lamp with a tea caddy base and several decorative objects.   Given the extensive work completed both on the exterior and interior of the building, it is difficult to conjure the hardware store it once was. Despite years of vacancy, the building held its own, thanks to the standards of its local architect, Ernie Sinclair.

The Blacks’ “massive commitment” to Norfolk is evident in their economic investment in the business, the caliber of the 18^th and 19^th century European antiques now available for sale in Norfolk, and their status as long time residents of the town.

Carnegie Hill Antiques, headquartered in Manhattan, is full-time work for Erzsebet, a former banker. The well-educated immigrant from Hungary is experienced, expert, and contagiously enthusiastic about the venture, which is part-time work for Donald, the senior marketing executive with a unit of The Dow Jones News Corporation

There are no diversionary consignments at Carnegie Hill Antiques. The focused inventory is purchased by the Blacks, and their knowledge of the provenance, value, care, and historic context of each piece is priceless to buyers, collectors, or those simply investigating the universe of “old world” antiques.

The traditionally clad Blacks can be found at their Norfolk location on weekends amid choice antique tables, chairs, settees and cabinets, as well as complementary accents such as mirrors, porcelain, decorative objects, paintings and lighting. Each piece is ready and able to quickly enrich a home, having been superbly restored and cleaned as needed.

If there is not an adage confirming that  “tradition attracts tradition,” Carnegie Hill Antiques is sufficient reason to coin one. In the 1990’s, the Blacks opened their business at 92^nd Street and Madison Avenue.  This Upper East Side neighborhood is also known as the Carnegie Hill district, so named because it was the long-term home to Andrew Carnegie, as well as other shapers of American tradition.  Carnegie, himself, described his 64-room manse at 91^st and 5^th Avenue as “simple, modest and traditional.”  It now houses the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

The Black’s business success in Manhattan underlies their decision to expand significantly in tradition-steeped Norfolk.

While the town is not a destination for the region’s countless antiques aficionados, it is notable  that Norfolk is now home to four quality dealers: Carnegie Hill Antiques  and Joseph Stannard Antiques in Station Place and, around the corner on Route 44, Sigma Designs and Morrison & Coker Antiques.  Perhaps the “ladies and gents who lunch,” will be frequenting town more often.

Carnegie Hill Antiques is located at 6 Station Place in Norfolk and is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.  For more information, call 860-542-     or 212-987-6819, or e-mail chantiques@verizon.net.

Photo, top, of Erzebet and Donald Black, by Bob Bumcrot.