Pay attention to the “beyond.”

If Bryan Craig has one word of advice about how to approach Antiques & Beyond, the Cheshire Bridge Road antiques institution he’s owned since 2018, it’s this: The “Beyond” in the name means just as much as the “Antiques.” Actually, let’s go ahead and say more.

“We’re definitely way more into ‘beyond’ than ‘antiques,’” he says. “The cherished thing doesn’t have to be 100 years old; it just has to be the first of something.”

That’s not to say that what you might consider more traditional antiques aren’t available in the shop’s sprawling rooms as well. It’s more that Craig takes a broad view of what belongs under his roof, and he’s created a space where anything from 1880s antiques to 1980s repeat has a place.

It’s a style and philosophy a couple decades in the making. Craig moved to Atlanta in 2003, the same year a fire at Antiques & Beyond meant a reorganization of the business from a kind of co-op with different dealers in different rooms to the more unified shop that still exists today—albeit with many dealers still involved and the multi-room labyrinth feel of a treasure hunt. After getting into the industry, learning its ins and outs and developing industry contacts and relationships, Craig felt comfortable taking over the business six years ago.

In the years since, he’s built relationships with a number of top interior designers who work in diverse styles. He describes his ethos and philosophy as professional—the shop’s a fun place to visit, but for the people he works with it’s a career, not a hobby. People need to bring their A game in Atlanta; design culture here is huge, meaning that customers are well qualified and knowledgeable. Top designers walk through the doors all the time.

Over the last six years, Craig has worked hard not to let the shop be any one thing, instead allowing for creativity and an eclectic aesthetic to shine through. That’s made Antiques & Beyond a popular stop for a diverse community, including one industry that’s become a highly reliable buyer.

“The movie industry’s been amazing for us,” he says. “Set designers come in looking for specifics. And because we’re not one thing—we’re everything—we can help.”

Craig’s background is far away from the world of antiques, or for that matter film and television sets. A builder by trade, he discovered antiques buying and selling in the early 2000s, around the time of that move to Atlanta. That soon morphed into buying trips, showing at Scott Antique Markets and finding, almost by accident, that he could turn this into a business.

The world of building and architecture gave him an approach and an aesthetic.

“There’s a certain discipline you learn from architecture itself,” he says. “I’ve always been a little more Wrightian, a little more Asian-inspired, and the same thing goes with a look.”

He likes the simple and clean. That said, he also believes in trying new things. With the shop, it all goes back to that name.

“The ‘Beyond’ gives you a big license to be creative,” Craig says. “People will say, ‘I’ve never seen this before,’ and for me that’s going to be a home run.”

The world of antiques has changed in recent years and continues to change, he notes.

“Like anything, it’s cyclical,” he says. “You have better years, you have better dealers, you have time when it slows down a little bit.”

Craig has never been afraid to take risks. “You make it not so automatic; you shake it up and change it,” he says.

Whether it’s someone with a design degree and a prestigious firm or just a first-time treasure hunter, Craig tries to give everybody the same experience. Staff smile, remember first names and make people feel welcome.

“And then we leave them alone,” he says. “We just check in on them periodically. It’s known as a really friendly place. We’re definitely more mom-and-pop than anything else. I want everyone to feel comfortable. It’s not big business. There’s not a bar code; it’s handwritten tickets and the personal touch. It works.”

Or more specifically, people make it work.

“You’re only as good as the people in the store, the people who feel the pulse of the industry,” he says. “Everybody is trying really hard to up their game every year.”

It all comes together to create a memorable experience that he believes changes every time.

“You truly do not know what you’re going to see,” he says. “It’s all about traditional and transitional.”

For newbies, his advice is: If you find something you love, pull the trigger now.

“There’s not 100, there’s one, so take it now,” he says. “If it feels right, drag it off.”

Often, that’s enough to get people hooked.

“It’s an obsession—you love to shop, and you love the hunt,” he says. “People want to be here; they want to do the hunting and discovering.” *

Erik Petersen was formerly editor of Fort Lauderdale Magazine, columnist for the Nottingham Post (U.K) and reporter for The Kansas City Star. He likes his homes how he likes his bourbon: neat, Southern and significantly more than 10 years old.