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Fornt Porch: Fulfilling a vintage dream

By ELIZABETH BETTENDORF
Published February 25, 2005

Probably one thing people don't know about Karen Comer when they wander into her antique store, Now and Again One in South Seminole Heights, is that she sells milk paint.

In fact, she's one of only three dealers in the state of Florida - and the only one in Tampa - to sell a version of the paint, known as Real Milk Paint, a nontoxic product that smells like milk when it's wet.

"It was invented by the Egyptians and is more durable than any modern paint," explains Comer, who came to Tampa by way of London on vacation in 1989.

Milk Paint is sold powdered in old-fashioned boxes smaller than Chinese takeout cartons. It's made in Quakertown, Pa., and was once used to paint designs on Pennsylvania Dutch furniture.

Comer uses it to paint some of the furniture she sells in her store. It comes in a palette of colors from moss green to nautical blues to creamy pumpkin and sells for $10.50 a pint in powder form. That's enough to paint a large dresser, "two coats, actually," she estimates.

Right now she's using it to paint an old chest with a tree of life and hearts pattern.

"I do so much rehabbing of furniture," she says, "and this is so nice to work with because it's safe and nontoxic, and you just mix it with water. You can even paint walls with it."

An expert on antique restoration, she also uses an English product called Briwax to refinish much of the furniture she sells. Because it requires no varnish, polyurethane or stain, it gives the wood a natural, unself-conscious look, almost as if it hasn't been refinished, she says.

Comer, a no-nonsense person who favors khakis and white sneakers, smokes Camels and drinks regular Pepsi, met her husband while vacationing in Tampa and never left.

A longtime antique and art dealer, she sold vintage jewelry from a tiny shop back in the 1970s along London's Regents Street.

Trained as a legal secretary, she has long entertained a passion for antiques.

"I was raised north of Liverpool, and when I was 13, I went to work at an antique shop - that started it all," she recalls. "There's so much old stuff in England - old stuff that's just fascinating to me."

In recent years, she worked as a customer service manager for a company that ran background checks on people. On the side, she sold antiques from a booth at area antique malls and on eBay.

A few years ago, she bought a real business and in June moved a few doors down to her current location, an airy space nestled in a handsome old green and terra-cotta building along Florida Avenue.

Her shop is in a row of burgeoning businesses, including a gym, a gift shop and other antique dealers as well as Miss Vivian's Whistlestop Cafe, a favorite of Comer's.

"You can get breakfast for $3, and the fried green tomatoes are great," she says.

Comer's store at 4707 N Florida Ave. aims to specialize in vintage furniture; rugs; lighting; restored, early to mid 20th century electric fans; pillows; art glass; and linens.

She carries a good selection of Persian area rugs, perfectly worn, slightly sun-faded and reasonable ($375 for an 8-foot by 5-foot rug in taupe, moss green and wine red).

She also re-canes chairs and rockers, and sells mid century modern pieces like a large, retro, toffee-colored Brazilian "Lafer" chair for $575.

And don't miss the bathroom, titled "The Loo-ouvre and more" filled floor to ceiling with artwork - all for sale.

More than anything, Comer says, she prides herself on being honest.

She'll tell you if the sofa pillow you bring in really doesn't match the Persian rug you've got your eye on or whether the Milk Paint you're buying really won't work on the exterior of your house.

Of course, her prices reflect her not-Hyde Park location.

Comer puts it this way: "People come in here and say, "Oh, do you know what this would cost in South Tampa?' and I have to say, "Yes, I do.' I thought about opening a shop there. But this location was much more reasonable."

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 09:34:05]