Every piece has a story

Lolita Harper

She runs her fingers across the surface of a desk. It is the type of

desk that would sit in the office of a high-powered executive, with a

solid wood frame and deep shade of mahogany. The drawers open and

close with the slight pull of brass handles, making you wonder what

heads of industry stored belongings in their hollows.

“This is a desk that commands attention,” Dottie Quiroz said.

“Solid mahogany. Not a piece of particleboard in the entire thing.

Look at the sculpted angles of the legs. This was made in the 1930s,

back when furniture was considered art.”

The desk is just one of the many items piled high at Reggie’s

Estate Sales on Superior Avenue in Costa Mesa. Above it is a beveled

mirror. Next to it is a wooden file cabinet that stands next to a

bakers’ rack with dozens of figurines on its shelves. It is a

variable treasure trove -- hidden away in an industrial building, on

a deteriorating street that leads to the beach.

Quiroz and her sister, Doris William, scour estate sales all over

the area, looking for items worthy of display at their family

business. The sisters, 84 and 82-years-old respectively, are antique

experts and can spot a deserving piece from a distance. On the

weekends, the doors of the hangar-like building open and the wares

are put on display.

Well, those that made it to the warehouse, anyway.

“There are so many beautiful things we find -- like this one

here,” Quiroz said, pointing to a charming bureau, “but my house is

already full, so I brought it here.”

Reggie’s Estate Sales started about 10 years ago and was named

after Quiroz’s late husband, who had owned Reggie’s Diesel Engine Co.

years ago and catered to wealthy and famous yacht owners. At that

time, Dottie Quiroz and William each worked in real estate.

As the years passed, and retirement came, the sisters craved

something else to occupy their time and started the estate sale

business. The sisters have an affinity for quality furniture and

wanted to make it available to others who don’t have the time to

check out various estate sales on their own.

“It gives us a reason to get up and go out -- looking for things

and all,” Quiroz said.

They tend to stay away from the really high-end pieces, Quiroz

said, and get many calls from old friends and relatives to come pick

up various old items. It is more about finding hidden treasures and

meeting new customers than money.

“We do this more out of love than anything else,” William said.

“We are only out here eight hours a week so we are not going to

get too rich,” Quiroz added.

The items are more than just merchandise, the women say. They

represent stories of the people who have sat around them, or on them.

There is a tale behind the ballerina figurine that could have been

given as a fifth birthday present. The painting of a sailing ship may

have hung over the mantel, while a man proposed to his future wife.

The elegant furniture celebrates the precision of their craftsmen and

memorialize an endangered trade.

“We grew up when good furniture was premium,” Quiroz said. “We

like the older items more than the new. They just don’t make

furniture like this anymore.”

Housefuls of items are squeezed into the five-room warehouse, with

kitchen-themed goods in the working kitchen, larger pieces in the

garage and office-type wares in the front room, which serves as the

business headquarters. Even the bedroom holds luxurious furs and

vintage gowns, donned by former socialites and gala hostesses.

As each piece in their inventory is exceptional, so are the

sisters, who both stand at about 5 feet and wear bright red hair.

Quiroz and William are welcoming and usher in their customers with

big smiles. They are ready to help but also patient to let patrons

wander through their array, without being bothered.

Ask them for help and they are at the ready. Dottie will take a

customer by the hand and lead her to that perfect piece. Her tiny

frame moves in and about the aisle of furniture with ease, as she

points out their latest finds and suggests alternative uses for

others.

Raman Saggar, who was on a rare solo trip to Reggie’s, was

checking on the mahogany desk, which his girlfriend had her eye on.

Saggar said he has spent more than a few weekend afternoons at

Reggie’s with his girlfriend, who “is obsessed” with older furniture

drags him there every time they are in the area.

“Her whole house is furnished with this kind of stuff -- all real

wood furniture from estate sales or yard sales,” Saggar said. “And

even though she has no more room, she still likes to come here and

look at what the ladies have found.”

While their dealings won’t make them wealthy, the sisters still

practice acute business savvy. They drive hard bargains, utilize

their space and formulate community connections. Each sister can tell

you 10 reasons why you simply shouldn’t live without that desk,

mirror, chair, table, wall hanging or gun rack. They have regular

customers, whom they treat with care and set aside special items,

with them specifically in mind.

“I thought of you when I saw this,” they say.

It is those relationships, and an admiration for finely crafted

wares, that keep Reggie’s Estate Sales open for business.

“This is the way we meet old friends,” Quiroz said. “If we didn’t

come to work, we would be bored.”