The Harp Gallery – Where history is restored, displayed, cherished

Judith Munson

Contributor

February 9, 2026

KAUKAUNA – With a showroom overflowing with restored antiques and vintage furniture – from Art Nouveau to Victorian, and mid-century modern to federal – Kaukauna’s Harp Gallery has long been celebrated as a hidden gem, offering visitors a journey through centuries of design.

Over the last four-plus decades, Kenneth and Rebecca Melchert have earned a nationwide following for their skill in restoring rare pieces to their original glory, even attracting TV and film producers seeking authentic furnishings for shows like “Mad Men” and “The Gilded Age.”

But long before all the notoriety, the gallery was simply a dream for the Melcherts, who said they were looking for a fresh start and a way to pursue a new passion. 

“We had owned a couple of restaurants, and I had a store, but we wanted to change careers,” Kenneth said. “We both had a lot of experience in antiques. My mother was head of the biggest antique show in Appleton, and she had collected her whole life along with her family. My wife’s father was president of Illinois Wesleyan University, and she and her mother would sort out the estates that people had left to the college. I was also a college art history teacher.”

So, in 1985, the Melcherts said they decided to open an antique store on College Avenue in downtown Appleton, across from the original Paper Valley Hotel, which was brand new at the time.

The shop’s name, Kenneth said, was inspired by Rebecca’s role as a harpist.

“She often played at the hotel for events, so that was a nice connection,” he said. 

Kenneth said they sought to differentiate the store by offering restoration services, which were uncommon in the area.

“Most antique stores get pieces, dust them off and sell them,” he said. “We wanted to focus on professionally restoring really good pieces.”

Kenneth said this appeals to buyers who value the “better construction, better quality and better wood” found in antique furniture. 

“We immediately employed artisans for the restoration work – people who know how to operate a wood chisel, how to carve,” he said. “They can shape, smooth and reproduce pieces. We started with one or two people, and today, we have 19, turning thousands of pieces a year.”

John Melchert – who recently became co-owner of Harp’s with his parents – said they scour the antique world to discover the very best finds.

“There is a lot of great stuff that comes out of good homes right here in the Fox Cities, whether it’s from estate sales or people just dropping in,” he said. “But to get a good variety, we buy from antique auctions, pickers and estates from a much wider area. We have a buyer who travels Europe for us.”

‘A diamond in the rough’

Every day at the Harp Gallery, John said, is like living in an episode of “Antiques Roadshow.” 

“We get dozens of sellers every day, mostly online, reaching out to us,” he said. “Unfortunately, we turn down about 80-90% of what people send us or offer us.”

John said the challenge isn’t finding new pieces, but rather uncovering that true “diamond in the rough.” 

“And, that’s what Ken does with his wealth of knowledge,” he said. “We have to be mindful of our time and space. Is it worth this process? Will somebody appreciate it enough to pay a premium for it?”

Kenneth said among his prized finds is an English gypsy wagon, a valuable rarity with an intriguing backstory. 

“It was a one-horse wagon and inside were images like playing cards that were hand-painted with gold,” he said. “It had cut-glass windows [and] a little fireplace with a chimney you could remove… It was just a marvelous piece.”

Kenneth said it was originally purchased in England by a wealthy Midwestern couple on their honeymoon.

“But by the time the wagon made it here to the U.S., the marriage was over, and eventually, it found its way to us,” he said.

Kenneth said the gallery recently acquired another of his favorite pieces: a bar salvaged from an old building in Oshkosh that was slated for demolition.

“We grabbed it, put in 200 hours and fixed it up,” he said. “Mice were living in it and [it had] water damage, but now it’s sold, going up to Door County to start a life with a new business. It’s a beautiful piece as well.”

History, Kenneth said, has a way of leaving its mark on the gallery.

Its collection, he said, has included pieces once owned by Illinois governors who went to prison and a dining table from Mafia figure Tony “Big Tuna” Accardo with a massive lazy Susan for privacy.

Even more eccentric finds, Kenneth said, include a church confessional turned into a liquor cabinet and little treasure chests assembled with silver bullets and other items that were believed to ward off any vampires nearby. 

A mixed bunch

Kenneth said the gallery has drawn several high-profile collectors over the years, including Mikhail Baryshnikov.

“We’ve had many wonderful, really fascinating customers,” he said. “These people are fun to work with, and we’ve developed relationships that have lasted several years. We’re working with third generations of families we started with back in the ’80s.”

Some customers, Kenneth said, come from as far away as Montana and Florida, sometimes hauling their own trailers, drawn by their trust in the gallery.

John said a common misconception about the vintage furniture and antique market is that it mainly attracts an older demographic.

However, in reality, he said the gallery is seeing strong interest from younger buyers, particularly those relocating from the East and West coasts. 

“They may be young professionals who don’t want the lousy furniture they had in their apartments anymore now that they’re buying their first homes,” he said. “Maybe they [have] a taste for a certain style on their travels or saw something in a museum and want to bring that look into their homes. A long time ago, people used to spend a large portion of their yearly salary on furnishing their house, as they intended to keep it for a long time.”

So, though much of today’s furniture is mass-produced from particle board, John said interest in solid-wood pieces is on the rise.

Even if buyers can’t furnish an entire home with them, Kenneth said they often invest in one or two signature pieces to display and cherish for generations.

“Just the construction alone is not what you run into with modern department store furniture,” he said. “If that breaks, it sort of shatters. [Antique] pieces were meant to be fixable. Even middle-of-the-road stuff 100 years ago was so much better than furniture is now. The older furniture was never meant to go to a landfill. So, I tell people, if you buy from us, you need to love it, because it’s going to last.”

The late 1990s into the early 2000s, John said, was a golden era for antiques, as some buyers wanted their homes completely adorned with vintage treasures.

“Now, I think a lot of people are using our pieces as a statement piece in a room,” he said. “They will place one beautiful antique that really draws the eye.”

Rather than pursuing passing trends, John said the gallery focuses on timeless, well-crafted items that endure, because when it comes to restoration work, “we’d end up five years behind every trend.” 

Architects and interior designers, John said, are giving older pieces a new spotlight by integrating them into modern designs.

‘A fabulous space’

Restoration work at the Harp Gallery, Kenneth said, started in the basement of its original Appleton store.

A second location on Highway 41, he said, allowed for more room to restore, display and store pieces.

In August 2022, Kenneth said the gallery relocated to Kaukauna (2101 Progress Way), moving into a building that formerly housed Carved Stone Creations.

“This is just a fabulous space for our pieces,” he said. “It has a stone showroom, curved marble staircases and fountains. With three-quarters of our business taking place online, photography is very important to our sales, so it’s really been a wonderful setting for us.”

Kenneth said the new building also features a large warehouse in the back, which was remodeled into a new restoration space.

“We were able to leverage the experience and knowledge of our artisans to custom-design the shop that they really needed,” he said. “Now, we have spray booths and a state-of-the-art woodworking shop that incorporates age-old tools like chisels and hand planers.”

John said the move has also allowed the business to expand into custom work.

“In the past, people would ask to have a family piece restored, but we only had enough time for our showroom pieces,” he said. “Now, because of the greater efficiency of our shop, we are taking bedroom sets, sofas, dining tables, paintings and other projects for people.” 

John said the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the shop to shift much of its business online, with as much as 80% of sales occurring through the internet.

“Luckily, we were able to find a lot of traction outside of Wisconsin in that period when more people were thinking about design and buying furniture to improve their living spaces,” he said.

National reach

Not only have some of the gallery’s pieces appeared on shows like “Mad Men,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Monsters,” “The Gilded Age” and others, Kenneth said his expertise has also earned him invitations to share his insights on “Pawn Stars” and “Antiques Roadshow.”

Furthermore, John said some of the gallery’s items are museum-quality, and they have partnered with museums across the country to showcase them.

“We’re in a different world than a lot of people who sell in big cities,” he said. “If you tried to buy some of the same pieces we have in our showroom in Chicago, New York, New Orleans or any of the other famous antiquing spots around the country, it would cost significantly more.”

For the business’s 40th year in operation in 2025, John said Harp Gallery hosted its own antique road show, inviting the public into the shop to have their items appraised.

“The local pieces were incredible,” he said. “People had valuable pieces from their grandparents. It’s amazing to think about all we have stored away without realizing it.”

Kenneth said these hidden treasures help maintain a family connection, the past and even to people long gone who may never have been known personally.

“These pieces reflect their tastes, their interests, their personalities,” he said. “At one time, someone fell in love with that piece – it was an expression of themselves.”