From corporate America to old America

By Farnoosh Torabi, Special to amNewYork | AMPersonalFinance@yahoo.com

June 25, 2007

From power-generating plants in India to Broadway stylists and fashion guru Isaac Mizrahi, Patsy Lake's clientele has gone through a dramatic shift over the years.

For nearly three decades, Lake was a Wall Street fixture, an agent in the corporate insurance industry. "I have a closet full of blue suits if you want some," she said with a laugh.

But in 2000, she put that all that aside to open her own antiques shop, Late Bloomers, a small business that not only allows for a more casual dress code but lets Lake fulfill her passion for antiques.

"This is a big stretchI love corporate America, but, I always had an interest in the antique business," she said.

Lake said she was inspired to open her own shop after the death of a close friend and antiques' lover. This friend introduced Lake to antiques a few years before her passing, inspiring Lake and her husband to buy a home in New Jersey that was built in 1909.

"Within a year (of her death), I put in my two weeks notice and opened the store," says Lake.

Originally Late Bloomers launched on 38th Street and Sixth Avenue, but over the course of seven years the store outgrew its 400-square-foot space and a couple years ago, Lake moved west and a block south to a space triple its size at 205 W. 37th St.

The new location now nestled in the heart of the fashion district -- offered more space and new, more style-conscious customers.

Late Bloomers' offerings went from primarily cottage and mid-century antique home furniture and glassware to include antique clothes, accessories and stage props. "Over here my customer is the stylist who is wardrobing Broadway and those in the movie business. They're designers looking for inspiration," Lake said.

Her walk-in customers have included stylists for "Jersey Boys" and "The Color Purple." Designer Isaac Mizrahi stopped by for help styling "Barefoot in the Park."

"I turned it around to be more indicative of what this neighborhood is," Lake said.

To fill the store, Lake goes on road trips twice a month and visits primarily two vendors in Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. She says her keen ability to run the store stems from 30 years in the financial industry. "When you understand the bottom line you understand how much you can buy, how much you can pay for. I don't overbuy. I don't overspend," she says.

As for who might take over the business when Lake decides to retire, she shrugs. Her two grown children have not expressed interest, she confesses. They are frequent customers, however. "When they want a new dining room table they call mom because they want it in oak and from 1920," she said. "They're customers with a big discount."

Contact Farnoosh at amSmallBusiness@gmail.com.