Climb a mountain for a good find? Sure. Travel to the countryside for another? Absolutely.
For the owner of a Connecticut importing company, it’s part of what brings specialty items to the state.
And to a vintage building on Church Street, in New Milford, where it is home to a purveyor of imported gifts, lighting and home décor, with a story as unique as its contents.
The company’s owner is Peter Kahane of Bridgewater and Switzerland. Items are sold in Ameico’s gift store on Church Street in New Milford. The company imports unique gift items from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, among other countries.
Peter Kahane, owner of the importing company Ameico, divides his time between New Milford and Bridgewater, and travels the globe in search of makers of gifts and other wares.
In the showroom at 29 Church St., Kahane’s discoveries are on display. There are handcrafted wooden toys and hand-folded paper lampshades and desk lamps. Stick matches in decorative boxes, long-lasting taper candles and scented matchsticks intended to be burned as incense, writing materials and books, and a collection of comfy slippers are all available for purchase, in person or online.
There are handmade knives by a blacksmith in Japan, which are one-of-a-kind pieces with engraved wooden handles, and handmade recycled paper notebooks that are water- and tear-proof. There are purses, hand-woven bags and artwork.
But the company imports these gifts mainly for its wholesale customers, including gift shops and boutiques that specialize in imported gifts from around the world. Ameico’s customers include the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s gift shop and other retailers in the U.S.
The company
Ameico, which stands for American Export Import Company, was founded by Kahane in 1995. He and his family had relocated from New York City to Bridgewater in the 1990s and chose New Milford as a logical place to set up shop.
“Slowly but consistently, the company grew until the time and opportunity came to purchase a building in New Milford. The town was happy to sell the boarded up old telephone switching station and I was happy to purchase, remediate and renovate this 1917 brick building worthy of being given a new incarnation,” Kahane said.
“I love old spaces and this one is on the national register of historic buildings.”
Ameico has operated out of Church Street since 2011. “It’s a great headquarters to have; a good working environment for my team and a place to receive our vendors from all over the world.”
The company purchased a second space in 2017, the Flat Iron building on Wellsville Avenue, which serves as a warehouse. “Given our close association with the town, and me personally in Bridgewater … we are very happily ensconced at 29 Church Street in New Milford,” Kahane said.
His daughter, Lea, joined Ameico a few years ago, he said, and is building a similar operation in London, finding gifts to import from European countries.
This CT antique store owner knows ‘old is the new cool.’ So no stuffiness but an emphasis on style.
Tess O’Reilly, Ameico’s product and marketing manager, oversees operations at the New Milford store, and is joined by a staff in charge of the company’s customer service, inventory and shipping departments.
“We’re primarily a wholesale multiline distributor for retailers around the U.S.,” she said, while leading a tour of the Ameico building. “We ship from here. Our goods come from all over the world. Peter finds amazing brands and we’re able to bring them here.”
The types of makers vary, she said. “We sell a line of custom toolboxes that are made in a factory in Japan, and then we sell sculpture that are made by a husband-and-wife team, also from Japan.
“We look for authentic design, but we also focus on the quality of the products and the stories of the people behind them,” she said.
In Japan, she said, Kahane might travel to a small town in the countryside and hike to a craftsman’s home “on top of a mountain” to discover his next find.
“Often, the things we sell are only made by one person, or a small company,” O’Reilly said. “There’s that search to find the things that are different, unique, special. There’s a story behind everything.”
Japanese connection
Kahane travels to Japan four times a year and has a small office in Tokyo.
“It’s a beautiful country, and I’ve been able to learn the language and become quite fluent in it,” he said. “I’ve been able to establish relationships with people there, over time.”
Kahane’s experience in global wholesaling has brought him back to Japan for many years, as a teacher and consultant.
“In April, I’m attending a government conference to teach a class on how to build export markets,” he said. “Many enterprises and small craftspeople don’t know how to do it, and I have intimate knowledge on how to do that marketing. Last fall, I was there for a conference sponsored by Japan’s Ministry of External Trade, which is about the sourcing of products in Japan.
“Combined with a relatively weak yen, Japan realizes it’s good to export products,” he said. “I go there because it’s a beautiful country, and because of their sense of aesthetics; their buildings, their concept of design, their focus on details. It’s quite mind-boggling … their culture is always an inspiration. We could all learn a lot from them.”
Authentic, good design
When Ameico chooses a product to sell to its wholesalers, Kahane looks for good design, functionality and craftsmanship.
“Is a product authentic, or a ‘me too?’” he said. “Will it stand up over time, or is it just a fad? Personal interest also drives my decisions, as well as connecting on a human level with the people behind the products. And last but not least, do we have a market for this product or not, and do the margins work for us as an importer/distributor, versus direct from the manufacturer to the consumer?”
Ameico’s wholesalers also hail from Germany, Switzerland, England and other European countries. The store’s display of wooden German pieces, for example, are reproductions of a line of German ornaments from the late 1920s.
“(Ameico saw the designs in a book) at an auction in Munich, and the designer had long since passed away,” Kahane said. “We tried to research them but without success, which tells me they were older than 70 years. So we were able to reproduce them.”
-
Ameico, which has been in business for more than 30 years, imports gifts, lighting and other products from around the world and distributes to shops and gift stores in the U.S.
The company’s owner is Peter Kahane of Bridgewater and Switzerland. Items are sold in Ameico’s gift store on Church Street in New Milford. The company imports unique gift items from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, among other countries.
1 of 11
Ameico, which has been in business for more than 30 years, imports gifts, lighting and other products from around the world and distributes to shops and gift stores in the U.S.
The company’s owner is Peter Kahane of Bridgewater and Switzerland. Items are sold in Ameico’s gift store on Church Street in New Milford. The company imports unique gift items from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, among other countries.
The line of slippers, with thick soles, furry linings and bright colors, are made in Japan. In that country, Kahane said, people wear different footwear “for every room in the house.”
“Japanese have slippers for this and that, it’s very common in Japan,” he said. “There’s a level of comfort to these slippers, they keep you warm, for homes that aren’t that well insulated. You can wear them in or outside. They’re very popular.”
O’Reilly came to Ameico with a background in lighting and interior design, and said she is continually impressed by the gifts Kahare finds to sell at Ameico.
A chess set with modern red and green pieces, displayed in the company’s design library, was made by Neguchi in Japan, along with a more authentic wooden chess set and board made in Germany.
The company’s owner is Peter Kahane of Bridgewater and Switzerland. Items are sold in Ameico’s gift store on Church Street in New Milford. The company imports unique gift items from Germany, Switzerland and Japan, among other countries.
O’Reilly said, “Lighting is a good portion of our business, and something we’ve done for about 25 years. We sell to showrooms, retailers and private customers.”
She pointed to a line of folded paper lampshades from Denmark, all made by hand. “These are hand-folded by dozens of women in a big workroom,” she said. “That company recently celebrated one of their employees who had been folding paper for 40 years. That’s pretty amazing.”
Kahane continues his search for new inventory for his customers during his travels, and worries for the future of some of his discoveries. “I am unfortunately often seeing craftspeople retiring or passing away, without the next generation of apprentices taking over. Some of our truly unique, hand-crafted items are becoming harder and harder to source,” he said.
But he intends for Ameico to continue its mission, to bring makers and customers together.
“Our company is growing, knock on wood, as we fill a true need and bring value between foreign smaller manufacturers and craftspeople on the one side and U.S. retailers nationwide on the other,” Kahane said. “This, despite tendencies of ‘just in time’ production, the transparency of the internet and direct to consumer sales. In that sense, our business is anachronistic, but fortunately remains very viable. We are very happy in New Milford and have no plans of moving anywhere.”
To reach Ameico, visit ameico.com.
