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A familiar face and his fantastic finds

Nick Koomen does not like to throw anything away.

He stocks all kinds of items in his shop which is hidden away in the back yard of the Ipswich Antique Centre.

There are many varied old things that have passed though Ipswich Pickers and Recyclers at some point – furniture, olden day toys, radios, old tins, vases, records, tools, signs, kettles, clocks, to name a few.

These days garden pots and tools are his biggest sellers.

Mr Koomen describes himself as a dinosaur, he does not have a website or engages with social media.

Most of his customers know of him through word of mouth or from customers posting on social media about their finds.

Mr Koomen enjoys antiques, collectables and furniture saying his shop is more of a hobby than a business at this point.

He is only open on Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 3pm.

“When I started in 1984, I knew exactly what people wanted,” he said.

In the early 2000s Mr Koomen noticed a change.

A younger generation collided with cheaper and cheaper imports and people started to actively seek out fakes rather than wanting the real thing.

“There is only a small amount of people who have their house decorated as it was, in original style, with genuine antique furniture and things,” he said.

“Most people buy fakes made in China.

“But real antiques are usually cheaper than the fakes and the quality of the cheaper fakes is terrible.

“The new antique furniture will fall apart well before a real antique because of the craftsmanship and the fact that real timber was used.”

Apart from his love of all things built to last, it is the hunt that gets Mr Koomen’s blood pumping.

“I love finding things,” he said.

“I am not a collector, I am just a dealer, but if I find something I really like I will put it somewhere in the shop where I can see it.

“Once I have looked at it enough and start to get sick of it, I will agree to sell it.”

Mr Koomen is from Holland originally but has called Ipswich home for nearly 40 years.

He has loyal customers and making them feel at home in his store is very important to him.

“I always say g’day, how are you? I am always happy and that is a very important thing,” Mr Koomen said.

“Which other shop owner in the whole of Australia has customers coming in with coffee and pie to share?

“I see my customers as good mates, they are all fantastic.”

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