Local Store Owner Brings Unique Antiques to Port

The last Sunday of each month from April through October marks Port Washington's Antique and Collectible Street Fair. It is an all day event that seems to have always been a part of the Port Washington culture. One store that seems to fit in that mold and is always represented there, rain or shine, heat or cold, is Angels on the Shore filled with distinctive and eclectic furnishings, antiques, crystal chandeliers, artwork and home décor items, many of which are one-of-a-kind.

Unlike many of the booths at the Antiques Fair, which travel from town to town and fair to fair, Angels on the Shore owner, Joanna Lombardi, only sells her antiques in Port Washington. She sells everything from $500 paintings to $5 jewelry pieces, and everything in between, from chandeliers to mirrors to fashion bracelets.

"I get some of my pieces from dealers from all over the world," Lombardi said. "Mainly though, I get them myself. Most people happen to end up antiquing while on vacation. I am the opposite. I travel to Europe and all over the world to antique. I only happen to vacation along the way."

Lombardi said she fell in love with antiques when she was 18 while living in Pennsylvania. "I love what I do," she said. "Antiquing is what I have been doing my entire life. I have never done anything else."

But Lombardi said she does have other interests, and it shows in her store. "I also have always been interested in designing, and have designed jewelry throughout my career in addition to interior decorating," she explained. "I also still design all my own frames for the paintings I sell."

And Lombardi certainly seems to enjoy what she does.

"I'm here every day, seven days a week," she said. "I run the store alone with a little help from my friends who come in to visit from time to time. It never feels like work though. If you like what you do for a living, you never work a day in your life."