Click to expand; Early California Antique’s storefront; Eric Berg pictured in back of the store
With a hefty resume, featuring years of wardrobe styling and costume-designing, Eric Berg has nurtured a passion for pre-WWII Early California, Monterey, Mexicana, Spanish Colonial, Western Americana, Will Rogers and Cowboy style furniture and art, transforming into a collector and dealer with such clients as Jerry and Linda Bruckheimer, Diane Keaton, Ben Stiller, Annie Dietz, and Annie Potts.
His latest venture is the two-level Early California Antiques boutique at 4302 Melrose Avenue (near Scoops Gelato!) chock full with everything from wrought iron tile-topped tables and solid credenzas to Catalina pottery and bars that intrigue with paintings hidden inside.
The tour of the store this way, plus pricing ranging from reasonable to Bruckheimer, and the deets on the opening party…
Click to expand; ECA’s interior and offerings
And though the “quintessential Monterey piece,” a prohibition bar, will run around $25,000-$30,000, there is glossy or matte pottery that starts at $55. My faves (above and below) are the wrought iron tables inlaid with ocean-hued tile, a set of dining chairs of woven leather, a chair covered in a New Mexican print, a recovered leather couch, lots and lots of pottery, paintings that look crafted by Disney animators, and a sailboat weather vane that had me dreaming of a home by the ocean and thinking of Virgina Woolf’s The Lighthouse.
The opening party is tomorrow Saturday, February 28 from 5pm-10pm, featuring Sam Hyde Harris from The Estate, and a special viewing and book signing with Maurine St. Gaudens. You never know, you might just bump into Annie Potts.
Click to expand; a bit of whimsy in a sailboat weathervane; gorgeous tile and wrought iron table; ECA’s pretty back
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