BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

Many antique dealers — and antique buyers — view their collectibles as museum pieces, worthy of display but not suitable for everyday use.

Shane Brown, the owner of Big Daddy’s Antiques, begs to differ. The veteran dealer, who has operated a warehouse in Los Angeles for 15 years and opened a boutique shop in Corona del Mar this month, offers a number of classic pieces in their original form, but just as often, he takes vintage materials and crafts them into something new.

Peruse his shop on East Coast Highway and you’ll find an old European children’s game where players attempt to toss coins into a frog’s mouth, 19th-century Greek olive jars, religious statues and other eye-catching antiques. In addition, you’ll find new concoctions that Brown and his staff put together at the warehouse: shelving units pieced together out of old radiators, tabletops made of old flooring and bowling alley surfaces.

“Most antique stores just buy and sell it how it is,” Brown said. “They don’t change it much. I think that’s one of the reasons we’re so successful, that we try to keep with the times and the trends.”

Brown, whose Corona del Mar store is his first retail venture, fell into the antique business almost by accident. Nearly two decades ago, he decorated an apartment for his then-girlfriend, then sold a number of the items he had purchased after the relationship ended.

“I sold some of the stuff and made a little money,” Brown said. “So I thought, ‘I’ll do this part-time for a while.’”

During the next few years, Brown began frequenting estate and garage sales and traveling to antique shows around the world before he finally ditched his day job and went into the field full-time. Today, he makes regular stops in Europe and Asia to expand his collection, and he keeps an eye out for materials — mostly industrial ones from the early- to mid-20th century — that he can work with in the shop.

Brown said he intends the boutique, which covers less than a tenth the area of his warehouse, to be more customer-friendly than the Los Angeles location. When he debuts new pieces at the warehouse, he said, they often disappear amid the clutter, but the shop provides a better avenue for display.

“We want to keep it fresh and new so if people come back even once a week, there’ll be something new they didn’t see before,” he said.

LOCATION: 2515 E. Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar

OWNER: Shane Brown

SPECIALTY: Antiques and new items made from vintage materials

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

CONTACT: (949) 675-0700

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.