ELKTON, Va. — Michael Melnyk, a “picking” enthusiast and antiques trader, got his start around 20 years ago at the vast Bellwood Flea Market near his hometown of Chesterfield.
“People would come from Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania to come to that flea market,” Melnyk said. “It was really big. It used to be like 200 people having a yard sale. Now, it’s more vendors selling mass-produced stuff.”
Over the past two decades, picking has mostly been a hobby, but has now turned into much more. Melnyk worked as a mason for 25 years and a commercial truck driver for five years before opening a new shop for antiques, collectibles and unique items in downtown Elkton, graced with a rustic wooden sign with hand-painted letters.
Opening July 1, Steam Hollow Trading Post is located at 306 W. Spotswood Trail. The 1,200-square-foot retail space was once home to another antique store, Melnyk said. His store joins another new business in downtown Elkton, Chateau Virginia, a winery that opened in mid-June.
The trading post’s inventory includes a rotating selection of large and small furniture, Pyrex and Corelle dishes, a sprinkling of collectible Fiesta ware and much more.
The store’s eclectic but polished inventory is a mix of Melnyk’s pieces — which he constantly acquires at auctions, yard sales, flea markets, estate sales and more — and booths that are stocked by other antique and collectibles vendors.
Melnyk said he is not afraid to pick a diamond in the rough, hauling truckloads of forgotten items from storage unit closeouts and sifting through some rubbish to find hidden treasures.
“There’s something from probably every decade. There are some books from the 1800s, and we probably have something from every decade up until today,” Melnyk said, wiping dust from a delicate glass lamp with floral embellishments to add to the shop’s displays.
More than an antique store, Steam Hollow Trading Post features collectibles and unique items as well, like one of Melnyk’s first loves — Hot Wheels toy cars — and sturdy, “flipped” furniture.
Melnyk’s twin sister, Michele Melnyk, “flips” furniture, making forgotten tables and dressers look new and adding design touches that result in some unique pieces, such as an old dresser she neatly refinished in a dusty blue, with floral decoupage touches and a buffet she redid with a farmhouse aesthetic.
Michele Melnyk also sells architectural pieces, like salvage wooden doors, old fence gates, stair spindles and more, for others to buy and repurpose from her section of the store.
Michael Melnyk said he’s sold online and at flea markets for years but wanted to create a space where he could curate the items for sale and present a cohesive selection of housewares, decorations, furniture, toys and books.
Michael Melnyk, who lives in Shenandoah, named the store after Steam Hollow in Page County, a place name for a geographic feature slightly north of Shenandoah along a curve of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.
Happy to be in downtown Elkton, Melnyk said he found the perfect spot for his business, which is near some longstanding businesses. He said he hopes customers will spend more time in the area, going between the trading post and the Elkton Creamery and Tea Room, which has been open two doors down for around four years, and the nearby Blue Elk Coffee Shop and Roastery, which has been open for five years, according to the owners and staff.
Recently expanding the store’s hours to be open on Sundays, Melnyk said weekend business has been good. One recent Sunday, Michael Melnyk said, was the best individual sales day yet.
“We’re not focusing on anything in particular. We want a wide variety that will appeal to just about anybody,” he said.
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