ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, the saying goes, and for Kevin McCandless, that is indeed sometimes the case.

Owner of antiques and collectibles store, A Fairhope Find, located at 23777 Hwy. 59 in Robertsdale, McCandless has spent the last five years benefitting from the goodies people have found in basements, attics and closets and has himself been a collector since boyhood.

“I started out collecting coins when I was a young boy and would go into various antique stores looking for coins and would look at all the other stuff too and all that looking eventually grew into a hobby and now a career.” McCandless said.

Originally from Urbana, Illinois, McCandless spent quite a few years putting together golf events for major touring pros and at one point was playing 180 holes a days for fundraising efforts and also coordinated marathons as well.

This interest led him to obtain a B.A. and Master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana in the 1990’s. And because his degree was classified as Leisure Studies, he had exposure to the tourism industry and that goes hand in hand with the antiques business.

The pairing of these two things led McCandless to Fairhope and he and his wife found themselves not only looking at antiques but buying the store they were located in at 52 S. Section Street. “The store already had the name ‘A Fairhope Find’ and I just kept it.”

Encountering many tourists and a few locals, McCandless started this new adventure in a slightly different climate than he was used to. “The business is different here-less formal -but the people are not that different. I come from the midwestern part of Illinois where we had corn and bean crops so I am familiar with the rural atmosphere and culture of Baldwin County. It’s really all in how you approach people and finding out what they want. Doing your research. I really like an educated buyer who has done their research too.”

Counting carnival glass, fountain pens and books (first editions) among his favorite collectibles, McCandless has seen his share of good and bad things people have brought to him. “I don’t consider anything an antique unless it is 100 years or older It’s really a matter of what’s going to sell and if I am going to make a profit off of it. I’m in business to earn a living and I have to make a choice of whether or not the item is going to be worth having.”

Doing a large amount of research, McCandless likes to brings items in from out of the area and find unique things he thinks people will like. “I go up north to find things but have never gone out of the country to get anything. I have never been to any of the New York City auction houses but I have been to the stores and seen some really nice items.”

After a few years in Fairhope, McCandless decided to change locations when his lease was up. “It was getting to be too expensive and I wanted something different. We found this building in Robertsdale and since we live in Silverhill, it is not any further to work here than to work in Fairhope.”

Open since March, McCandless has seen a pretty steady flow of tourist traffic and locals who have found him on the way to the beach or to work. “The main difference I have found between the customers here and in Fairhope are over there, ti is mostly tourist traffic and they just fall in the door and not looking for anything specific but here in Robertsdale, they want to come here and have to make a conscious effort to turn in the driveway.”

Carrying items from $1 postcards to a $6.500 painting, and everything in between including an 1840 first American edition of “Nicholas Nickleby” by Charles Dickens and a two book set of “The History of Scotland” by Sir Walter Scott written in 1830, McCandless said he will try to find whatever the customer is looking for. He also has in his possession, four books that were once owned by the actor Glenn Ford.

“I would be willing to sell anything I have in the store including some of my own collection for the right price. That’s the beauty of this business is I get to buy really neat things, look at them for a while and then sell them or change them out and get new things,” McCandless said.

Wanting to see how business goes for the summer season, McCandless may eventually expand the business by adding on to the back of the store.

Store hours are Monday-Saturday 10 a.m-5 p.m. and contact information is (251) 945-3200 or email: fairhopefind@yahoo.com. They also have a facebook page.