West Bottoms dealer opens shop on antiques row

Whether it’s his high-end interior design work or great eye for finding authentic vintage pieces, Mark Sudermann knows style. He recently joined his two ventures into one space at 1812 W. 45th St. Visit the new showroom Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m. or by appointment.

Q. Why did you move out of the West Bottoms?

A. It happened quite organically. We had been waiting for the right time and the right space to come along. Our business in the Bottoms Up building had been growing every year, and we kept hunting for more and more great finds and needed more space. The challenge was entering full-time retail rather than doing just two days a month.

Q. How did you come to find your new home in Antiques District?

A. My great friends in the Bottoms Up building mentioned that the space was available, and I drove by Monday morning, walked in and had a great conversation with the new owner, and the rest, as they say, is history. The space immediately felt great with the two levels. After an overall whitewash of the walls and refinishing all the hardwood floors, it took on the new life of SID & Company.

Q. How do you describe the style of your shop?

A. Very eclectic. We love bringing in the one-of-a-kind pieces, such as country English antiques, some French and Spanish as well as early American vintage finds. We also love mixing in modern accents, custom upholstery, wood pieces and great lighting.

Q. Would you say it’s your personal style?

A. Yes, I love mixing traditional heirloom pieces with 21st-century design. You could say my design philosophy is full of contradictions, which provokes a sense of energy and warmth in spaces.

Q. The shop feels masculine – do you have mostly men shoppers?

A. Our vintage definitely have a masculine bent — lots of warm wood, brass, crusty finishes and some rust. The cowhides also seem masculine, but the women love it, too, especially our cowhide handbags. The contrast comes in with our beautiful custom pillows, upholstery and area rugs. Probably more women come in dragging the guys, but once here, they both seem to have a good time.

Q. What is the meaning of the name?

A. SID is an acronym for Sudermann Interior Design, which is the retail/showroom side of the business. We wanted to create a separate entity from the interior design business — M. Sudermann Interior Design — which concentrates on new construction, renovation and furniture specification.

Q. What are some of your best-sellers?

A. Since we’ve only been open a few weeks, it is hard to say. Our vintage terra cotta vessels do well, but something different goes out the door every day.

Q. Do you have your own favorites?

A. I love the vintage English items such as the campaign boxes and biscuit bowls.

Q. Is everything old or is there some new mixed in?

A. We love finding the one-of-a-kind old pieces, but we have a lot of new items as well: blankets, pillows, candles, and our custom upholstery and case goods can be ordered any time.

Q. You have your own line of candles?

A. We selected five signature fragrances for our line of hand-poured soy candles that are made locally. We have two great sizes: a 60-hour burn and an 80-hour.

Q. What makes a well-appointed home?

A. A variety of accessories, old and new, different vintages all mixed together. Personal connection, whether an old family heirloom or new piece of art, is very important. You should always feel a sense of home, tradition and joyfulness with your surroundings.

Q. Is mixing old and new things together a trend?

A. I don’t know if it’s a trend because I’ve been doing it for 20 years.

Q. What’s your favorite part of what you do?

A. The thrill of the hunt and then finding the perfect home for it. We go all over the country to find our pieces. We also have buyers in Europe and South America that bring us great finds.

Q. What’s in the future for you?

A. Right now, it is hard to think beyond next week, but if all goes well with SID & Company, we may expand to e-commerce and perhaps add more locations, but that’s just dreaming, it’s not part of the business plan right now.

This story was originally published November 13, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "West Bottoms dealer opens shop on antiques row."