MOB ELEMENT

Ad Lib Antiques Heads to Market With a Killer Offering 

 

Libby Wojcik, the creative force behind AdLib Antiques, a charming retail shop in the historic Five Points district of Raleigh, N.C., is not shy about letting you know she has links to the Mob.

At least this Market. 

Specifically, Wojcik is heading to High Point armed with a set of four Mid-Century modern barstools once owned by notorious Joseph “Hoboken Joe” Stassi, a gravelly-voiced Mafioso who figured big in the numbers racket back in the day. Stassi also claimed to be the mastermind behind the 1935 slaying of New York gangster Dutch Shultz.

The bar stools, covered in bright orange no less, came from the mobster’s home. “I got them from the person that literally took them out of the house,” says Wojcik, the frisson of excitement clearly evident.

As fabulous as the bar stools are, it’s the story behind them that really turns Wojcik on, as it does for most every unique piece she scores. “The business to me is about the history of a piece, where it came from, the story behind the story,” she says. “It’s about the people and the hunt. I don’t want to import containers. I want to find it in somebody’s house. I want to talk to them about it. That’s what makes our business so vibrant and interesting and that’s what I like to pass along to my customers.”

Wojcik, who has long specialized in Americana and folk art in original surface and paint, has been noting a growing interest in antiques, particularly among younger designers and collectors. “I have more and more young people coming into the shop. They may not know exactly what they want, but they know they want something different. They are tired of the disposable and the made-in-China mindset. They are yearning for quality. I tell them, ‘Buy one great piece, something you love, something that enthralls you and build on that. You don’t have to have it all now. The real fun is in the pursuit and the collection.”

Along with the aforementioned barstools, cool hunters this Market should be on the lookout for the outsize copper-encased window that was taken from an insane asylum (“Can’t you just see it over a mantle?” she gushes); the great black Eames chair with swivel stool; the signed Paris baker’s rack outfitted with a new granite slab, the rare 19^th century jockey’s scale (talk about a conversation starter!), or the enormous brewery sign with all of the original letters in tact that will welcome buyers into Ad Lib’s space. And that’s just for starters.  

Oh, and did we mention the fabulous collection of authentic Native American silver and turquoise jewelry?

“The fresh mix, and finding things I’ve never seen before is what makes it fun for me,” Wojcik says. “Ten years ago, I could not have imagined showing Mid-Century Modern in my booth. But we all have to shake it up a bit. And that’s what is so exciting about the Antique & Design Center as a new venue in High Point. People are tired of seeing the same thing. They are looking for that one-of-a-kind piece that livens up a room, the eye-catcher that’s fun to look at, fun to show and fun to talk about.”

By Kimberley Wray. Photo by J.P. Mitchell