Amanda Michas is a natural-born antique collector. It’s actually in her blood—no lie. In fact, one could argue that if it weren’t for antiques, she wouldn’t be here.

“My mom was selling an antique, a Welsh dresser, and my dad saw it [the ad] in the paper, called her up, and that’s how they met,” says Michas, who sat down with the Straight at her Blue Owl Home Boutique (2308 West Broadway). “And growing up, my family always spent a lot of time at flea markets and garage sales—treasure-hunting, basically.”

As an adult, she carried on the tradition alongside her family, collecting little objects, furniture, and art.

“Then it just became obvious that I would probably have a lot of fun if I did it for a living,” says Michas, who was waiting for the right time to set up shop in her family-owned building. “I’ve always wanted to be in this space and it just all came together.”

And now she doesn’t have to worry about her apartment turning into a hoarder’s den.

“I constantly have a surplus growing in my house,” says Michas, who goes on shopping expeditions to the U.S. every six weeks or so. “But now that I have this as an outlet for all of that, it’s a little bit better—more controlled.”

Make no mistake, her quaint gem of a shop is anything but cluttered. It’s a carefully stocked, browser-friendly treasure trove of select quality pieces arranged in little vignettes—perfect for people who love rare vintage finds, but don’t have the time or inclination to sift through jam-packed thrift shops.

And these days, with more and more people living in stacked, blank-slate condos and lofts, there’s a greater demand than ever for her kind of character pieces. Even die-hard modernists are looking to shake up their clean lines with some retro and unexpected pieces.

“It’s just a trend in everything from music to fashion,” says Michas. “Everyone wants their own identity. Also, it’s eco-conscious. So to me, it just makes a lot of sense”¦and it’s beautiful.”

When it comes to refurbishing her finds, Michas doesn’t have any rules. Some things get a complete makeover, like the $3,200 settee that used to have a dark mahogany-coloured frame and orange velvet upholstery; it now boasts a light beech-wood frame with French blue woollen upholstery. And some things are left as is, like the weathered blue Van Gogh children’s chair ($145).

She also carries a few new pieces. The Utilitarian Franchise collection from San Francisco includes natural canvas throw pillows ($78) with ironic animal characters hand-printed on them. Check out the stately head-and-shoulders sketch of a goat in a vintage military uniform—hilarious. So is the double-sided, hand-printed “Hare and Hound” pub sign ($1,295), which features a rather stern-looking rabbit that seems to be staring right through the viewer.

As for trends, Michas doesn’t follow them. But even she can’t deny that mismatched teacups are hot right now.

“Yup, totally, and we’re right next to a bridal store and lots of brides are doing the super-eclectic thing,” says Michas, who has dozens of teacups in stock ($15 to $35) at any given time. “I can’t believe it—I thought I was kind of unusual for liking teacups at my age”¦but lots of young girls are collecting teacups.”

In terms of overcollecting teacups and the like, Michas has the following tip for dealing with smaller collectibles.

“What I do is contain the obsession or insanity in some sort of scene—little cages are great, or little wardrobes, or anything you can take a door off of,” says Michas, who’s learned through experience.