A trip to Rockin' Retro Antiques and Collectibles in Olds is like visiting a museum. Sculptures from Japan prior to the U.S. occupation are on display. There's a whole room dedicated to Second World War memorabilia and a Wayne Gretzky rookie card quietly sits inside a glass case. The shop's diverse and eclectic inventory covers several decades and countries.But the thing is, it's not a museum and storeowner Ken Kaehn wants all that stuff sold, making a point to price his stock below market value.“We're not a museum so I tell all my vendors, price it to sell. If it sits here for a length of time, it's going to be removed. Vendors will have to pick it up,” Kaehn said. “I want to move stuff through here. I don't want it sitting. If you have stuff sitting in a building in this type of business for a long length of time, customers quit coming because they've been through twice, three times, nothing's changed.”Antiques have always fascinated Kaehn. His grandfather started him on a coin collection when he was five years old and he's been amassing vintage goods ever since.Kaehn was born in Olds and moved around Central Alberta. He lived in Didsbury and worked at Fountain Tire in Sundre for more than 35 years. After retiring, he moved back to Olds and along with his wife Elizabeth, decided to start an antique collectible shop, with Rockin' Retro opening its doors in June 2013.He signed the lease for his current building on 50 Avenue without knowing what poor shape it was in.Sprinkler heads were blown out, ceiling tiles were collapsed and the lights had to be rewired, Kaehn recalled.“I spent five months renovating. Prior to me being in here, the tanning salon, they had done some of the renovations. Not that well, I may add,” he said.Rockin' Retro's floor layout is not like a typical retail space. There are aisles and shelves but also multiple rooms, inhabited by merchandise arranged thematically.“Because there was a tanning salon, they built several rooms and had tanning beds in them,” Kaehn said. “When I arrived, there was no tanning beds but I decided to use those rooms … paint them and I added several more rooms and that's how we got all these little rooms.”Those units are rented out to about 14 vendors. Kaehn said there are close to 70 others who bring items in for him to sell on their behalf for a commission.Some of his inventory comes from people who've passed away. Their children don't want it and can't get rid of it so they call Kaehn.“I had a lady walk in yesterday. She's got a whole house full of stuff and she doesn't know what to do with it and she's moving into a smaller apartment,” he said. “People are downsizing drastically. They're in their 50s and 60s, some in their 70s.”At times, it can be hard parting with stuff brought into his store, Kaehn admits, adding that he tries not to get attached to it.“I've had a coin collection that's been quite valuable over the years and there's some of that coin collection that I will never let go,” he said with a laugh.Kaehn said he likes collectibles of all types but feels the most attached to old antique furniture for its quality: Handcrafted and built with solid wood versus mass-produced with cheap materials today.Unlike his previous job, running Rockin' Retro doesn't feel like work, Kaehn said, describing it like “Christmas every day.”“It's a whole new outlook on life compared to my old job. I burnt out at my other job. It was about a year-and-a-half that I was just really tired and didn't want to go to work,” he said about his time as owner and manager of Fountain Tire. “Now, I really enjoy coming to work again.”The 58-year-old shopkeeper spoke with a calm and relaxed demeanor that conveyed an inner peace obtained through 25 years as a martial arts instructor and plans to keep his store open for as long as he enjoys running it.“And when I'm done I hope somebody takes and carries on with it. I think it's a great thing for Olds. It draws a lot of people into the area,” Kaehn said. “They've supported the business and we hope to see a lot more of them in the future.”[email protected]
