(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.)
Inside the two-story Eastern Bay Trading Company, antique enthusiasts will not be disappointed. There is a blend of unique antiques, such as nautical antiques, clocks, tools and signs, mixed with the Bighams unique furniture designs, farm tables, home décor items and more. (Photo by DeeDee Wood)
Eastern Bay Trading Company is situated on Main Street in Grasonville, off of Route 50, very near the Queenstown outlet malls. Owned and operated since 1991 by Brian and Linda Bigham, the business offers a blend of antiques, home décor and a custom-built furniture business that offers many unique items designed on the premises.
The business has a farm-like, rural feel, with an owner-built red barn housing the antiques and home décor business, and to the rear of the property, a large barn with a custom woodworking/furniture making business. Brian Bigham, a skilled carpenter and furniture maker, beams with pride as he showed me around the facility. “One of the things we depend upon a lot is making farm tables,” he explained. “We use some reclaimed barn wood, and some lumber out of Pennsylvania.”
Inside the two-story shop, antique enthusiasts will not be disappointed.
There is a blend of unique antiques, such as nautical antiques, clocks, tools and signs, mixed with the Bighams unique furniture designs, farm tables, home décor items and more.
Beautiful shelves are filled with unique treasures and home décor needs, such as handmade soaps, candles, dish towels, and more.
Great care has gone into selecting items that blend together for a very home-friendly vibe that mixes with delights in the antiques realm, in a setting that showcases the couple’s talent for furniture and barn door sliders, among other creations.
Walking around the shop, one can find decoys, antique outboard motors, old locks and other unique antique items, and Linda states the items are always changing and rotating in and out of the shop.
“We shop for unique antiques to sell,” she pointed out, “and we also mix the items in with our custom farm tables and barn doors, as well as our home goods and soaps and products that are for the bed and bath, such as the candles and dishtowels.”
Upstairs, there is a continued variety of items for purchase, such as old and reproduction signage, taxidermy, more unique antiques, and many more choices in custom tables, some with benches.
An example of barn doors as part of the building, and showcasing how they can be used, they are set on a slider that open and close around the main window upstairs.
The Bighams took me back to their woodworking shop barn on the back of their property and showed an impressive display of professional woodworking equipment and tools of the trade. Sawdust and the smell of creation awaited as more unique items were in view, in various stages of creation.
They offer custom products, designs and consultations to create a unique farm table, accompanying benches, barn doors that usually go on tracks as interior or exterior doors, and more.
The talent of these artisans is apparent as you view all of their endeavors, and the displays inside their shop, such as a gorgeous table in the store, made out of English Chestnut from a barn, among other woods, will delight and impress the seeker of such décor.
Unique shops such as Eastern Bay Trading Company offer the antique shopper that retail experience, as well as wonderful home décor and custom farm table and handmade furniture needs.
They are located at 4917 Main St. in Grasonville, and their hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
They can be reached at 410- 827-9286, or by emailing linda@easternbaytrading.com to join their mailing list or inquire about designing a custom barn table or other creation.
