Fan Man: The story behind Twice as Nice in Bellevue

“One man’s trash or another man’s treasure” is a common phrase associated with antiques.

For Twice As Nice Antiques & More owner Michael Hoffmann, it is the learning process and history behind picking up the 20th century 1934 kids’ pop gun or the early 40’s porcelain Good Year Tires sign that makes the business treasurable.

Hoffmann’s fascination with learning about antiques started around age five during a trip to Europe to visit family. Hoffmann is a first-generation American. His mother is from Austria and his father from Czech, Slovakia.

He said his mom would allow him to go to the city while in Austria and explore an antique shop there. Hoffmann said he loved going there as a kid because the owner would teach him things about the items in the store and let him interact with them.

“I always enjoyed going to this place because it was hands-on,” Hoffmann said. “I was in awe, and I loved going there.”

When kids trickle into his shop on Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, they tell him it’s their favorite spot to visit because of all the trinkets he lets them play with.

“I always tell parents, if you can’t touch it, you’re not going to learn anything,” Hoffmann said. “If they break something, it’s an accident. I’m not going to charge you for it, but you’re going to learn, and then when you come in, you’ll always enjoy this place. So, I try to do the same thing the old man did for me. Teach me things.”

Hoffmann said he tries to collect things from “his time”: aka from the 1960s and earlier.

One of those items includes the Buck Rogers 20th century 1934 Kids’ pop gun. An item he lets people test out and currently has listed at $450, which he refers to as an “I don’t really want to sell it price.”

“How often are you ever going to find another one like this and shoot it?” Hoffmann said. “Never in your lifetime.”

After being in business going on 13 years, the walls of Hoffmann’s store have many stories to tell, from the rarest items that come and go to the most popular things that people come looking for.

He said the most sought-after items change over time, but many customers come in at the moment asking for mid-century modern things. He said he only deals with the style sometimes.

“I had an Eames chair signed, and everything was legit,” Hoffmann said. “They sell for maybe $2,200. I had it in my store for eight years. I finally sold it for $350 because I wanted to get it out of the store.”

Other things he said he couldn’t keep in the store when it arrived were art deco pieces, anything bourbon, and vintage holiday decorations.

While some items Hoffmann repeatedly sees, the rarest that came through the door was an art deco style peacock fan in the hands of a woman who had held on to it for around 50 years. 

“So, this lady walks in. She said that when she was a little kid, these fans were on her dad’s desk on either side. He was a big wig down in Central Park,” Hoffmann said. “They had been sitting in her basement for 50-some-odd years, and she’s like, ‘This is just going to go rot.'”

Hoffmann said the fan was in bad shape then, but he decided to buy and fix it. He ended up holding on to it because he knew he would never find anything like it again.

“This young lady comes in. She works for the History Museum, and she knew more about this fan than I knew,” Hoffmann said. “And I thought to myself, ‘This is the lady that needs to own this fan.’ I decided to let go of it and sold it to her because that person really cherishes an old item.”

While Hoffman spoke about one of his most memorable items, he yelled, “If you need anything, just holler” to customers walking through the door looking for their new treasures.

“Too much talking kind of turns people off sometimes,” he said. 

Though Hoffmann tries to leave his inventory at his shop, he does have a small personal collection.

One sentimental item to him is a hinge lock from his dad’s family dated 1513 AD.

“It’s a really crazy-looking medieval lock,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable piece of art because it was right after the bronze era. It’s made of steel.”

Hoffmann said he acquired many of his father’s belongings after he passed away, another factor that prompted him to open his antique store.

An object somewhat less of a rarity than the lock is an ashtray that a customer found in the haystack of Hoffmann’s collection. However, she tells Hoffmann she hasn’t seen an ashtray for sale in years.

“That’s a whopping $5.30,” Hoffman said.

“If somebody brought something in, would you look at it?” The customer asked him.” I have some weird old dolls from Germany.”

Though he does review items customers bring in, he told her he didn’t do good with dolls.

One hot commodity for Hoffmann, however, is signage. He said he focuses on them less because it is a different kind of negotiation with people. He said people often question if they are reproductions.

“If it’s a repo, I will tell you,” He said. “If it’s not, it is a sign I’m selling.”

Though Hoffmann tries to steer clear of signs these days, a customer walked in to look at the 1940s Good Year Tires sign he got in the store the day prior. 

The sign is for sale for $300, but the customer counters him at $250.

Hoffmann does some quick math.

“$265 cash, that’s the tax on $250, and you got a deal,” he said.

“He loves to haggle more than he loves to sell,” the repeat customer joked and pulled out his cash.

Hoffmann said he acquired the sign by trading a World War I dog tag to a man that found the old porcelain sign in a creek. 

As he moved on from collecting many signs at the store, it became fuller and fuller of fans. So much so that he said everyone calls him “the fan man.”

Hoffmann said this is just a fad. Like the signs, he will eventually move on to something new. Though for now, the blades buzz in the background of Twice As Nice Antiques & More.

He said the last fan he sold was to someone from Texas who saw him advertising on his Facebook page and made a note to stop the next time he was in town. Hoffmann said he had sold items across the country and even to Canada.

One group he said that tracks him down for his fans is the movie industry. He said that generally, when people come into the store looking for props, they are shooting the movie in Cincinnati and want to find locally themed items.

“I think one coming up is in a 1950s run-down redneck bar—bikers bar. They needed a really nasty rusty crusty fan,” Hoffmann said. “Something in that period, so they would buy a fan working or not working if they needed it working, then I make sure it works. Just little stuff, like a wallet, something that you might see on a nightstand, a light, the stand itself, and it’s funny because when I watch these movies, I’m like, ‘that’s mine!'”

Hoffmann didn’t get interested in fans because they made good movie props; he liked the different styles and the vast options to discover. One of his favorite brands of fans that he has in his shop is the Cincinnati brand “Victor.”

One of his Victor model fans, he chose to leave in its original state instead of getting it redone so that the buyer could decide for themselves what to do. The listing price on it is $350.

“There’s a theme with this blade for Victor; it is called a breeze spreader,” Hoffmann said. “These are one of my favorites because they’re so hard to find.”

Hoffmann said he likes operating his business in Bellevue, and the city helps attract new patrons to the area, not just residents. As more customers come and go throughout his shift, Hoffman asks how often they come down to Bellevue.

“Every other month, maybe?” one customer said.

Hoffman hands them a Bellevue events card “to give you more of a reason to come visit me,” he said. “Thank you very much for coming in.”