This rings true for young Nowra man Brodie Allen, who is taking the reins of the much-loved Jindyandy Antiques store at Greenwell Point, after he lost his mechanic apprenticeship due to the recent lockdown.

Passionate about collecting old items and "quirky things", the 16-year-old is thrilled to be taking over under the new name of Junk and Disorderly Antiques.

"I was actively looking around for something else," said Brodie.

"This popped up and I thought, 'why not?'"

Former owners of Jindyandy Antiques, Lindsay and Jacqui Burke, are delighted to be passing on the baton to a young local who matches their love for retro items.

"We're just thrilled to see Brodie come in as a young guy wanting to make a go of it," said Jacqui.

"You don't see many young people as keen, as diligent, and as attached to doing something as he is."

A frequent visitor of the shop, Brodie's love for antiques was passed down from his parents, Grant and Leanne Allen.

"Mum and dad have been into antiques all my life and I kind of just got funnelled into it," he said.

He collects anything from "old signs, oil bottles, railway lanterns and anything quirky".

Grant and Leanne are filled with pride to see their son take on an antique shop in the area, especially after they experienced a tragedy and lost all of their beloved collected items in a shed fire three years ago.

"We had a big fire and lost all of our antiques," said Brodie. "So we started coming into the shop more frequently to find more stuff."

Included in their items lost were three antique cars and their great uncle's letters from World War Two.

"No one was hurt and we were insured. But you just can't replace items like that," said Leanne.

Brodie and his parents have been working hard to move all of the collected items into the shop and are preparing for its opening Wednesday, December 8.

The keen collector is most excited about connecting with others who share the same love for antiques.

"The most exciting part will be seeing someone else enjoy an item after me and see that spark in their eye when they find it," said Brodie.

"It's going to be really special."

As for the former owners, Lindsay and Jacqui had the shop for ten years and "loved every minute of it".

But sadly, they couldn't keep it going after two years of lockdowns.

"It's been a good business, although it was more of a hobby than a business," said Lindsay.

"In 2020, we closed it for 11 and a half weeks and this year, for eight and a half weeks," said Jacqui.

"It just made it hard. We tried to sell the business but nobody was buying. What we did in the end was just sold down everything.

"But now it means we can have our life back."

Brodie will open the doors to Junk and Disorderly Antiques on Wednesday, December 8.

At this stage, it will open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm. In the school holidays, it will be open seven days a week.

It is located at Shop 1/719 Greenwell Point Road, Pyree.

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