I love fall. It has the most fantastic weather, the start of “cozy” time, and the best treats (i.e., soup, pumpkin spice lattes, and baked goods). It’s so fleeting, so I cling to every first and last of the season. On the first Monday of November, the last first Monday of this year’s fall, I found myself sitting in “the husband chair” at Speakeasy Antiques, chatting with owner and curator Marilee Ward—a delightful way to spend a gorgeous, sunny fall morning.
Speakeasy Antiques is a charming new addition to Kamas Main Street, having opened just five months ago. Before launching the shop, Marilee had a small display tucked in the back of the same building, which previously housed the handicrafts and art shop Artique. When the building went up for sale at the end of 2024, she seized the opportunity to invest in the community and town she’s come to love since moving to Utah by opening her own antiques store. As she puts it, “How crazy of an old lady am I to have a little antique shop? […] But I love it. It’s how I meet my neighbors. For me, selling antiques is fun—but meeting people is the most fun.”
Seizing opportunities is nothing new for Marilee. She has lived a full life marked by profound seasons of change—some chosen, others unexpected—but Marilee’s navigated them all through adaptability and a steadfast drive to stay engaged and keep moving forward.
Marilee was raised in Pennsylvania, and as she describes her upbringing, her family sounds like the Irish Pennsylvanian version of The Waltons. Red hair, a love of family, community, and antiques all ran deep. She had wonderful parents and two incredible Nannas. One, she says, was an “earth mother” grandmother, and the other an “antiquing grandmother”—both traits she’s carried forward in her own life.
She recalls that her antiquing Nanna would often come home with a taxi load of antiques, as she didn’t drive. On one occasion, she had a wardrobe drawer stuffed in the taxi alongside her. It turned out she had purchased an antique wardrobe too beautiful to pass up, but didn’t want the retailer to sell it out from under her. So, she snagged the drawer to ensure the wardrobe would still be there when her husband returned to retrieve the rest of it. After all, no one was going to try to buy a wardrobe one drawer down!
In time, Marilee married and had three sons. When her marriage ended (her youngest was just five), she suddenly found herself needing to return to full-time work. At the time, she was working at a department store perfume counter, but the nights and weekends kept her away from her children more than she wanted. So, she switched gears—enrolling in a master’s program and taking a job as the librarian at her sons’ school.
The schedule matching her kids was ideal, but she also thrived in an environment focused on research and student interaction. To this day, she still keeps in touch with students she knew and loved, and who knew and loved her in turn. As I speak with her, she shows genuine pride and joy in their lives and accomplishments.
During this challenging time, Marilee and her youngest son spent weekends wandering through the local antique mall, hunting for treasures to buy with their $15 of mad money. Her son delighted in finding small metal figurines, eventually building quite a collection. Inspired by those outings, Marilee decided to try her hand at selling antiques herself and opened a stall at a local shop. Before long, she took the next leap—opening her own brick-and-mortar store in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, called Brandywine View Antiques.
For Marilee, having and appreciating antiques is about more than just collecting old stuff. She explains, “Antiques give you appreciation for our shared history and the land around us.” In Pennsylvania, she lived in a community steeped in antiques and history. Her home was a 200-year-old farmhouse filled with antiques, idyllically situated next to an original barn in a clearing surrounded by rock walls and dense woods. When she says she has an appreciation for old things, she really means it. She now loves being able to share that appreciation in Utah, where the culture and availability of antiques are quite different.
Throughout her career, Marilee has learned just how easy it is to be misled when it comes to antiques. There’s a fine line between genuine, high-quality pieces, simply old items, and clever reproductions, and it’s not always easy to tell them apart. Over time, she’s developed a keen eye for authenticity through experience and in-depth research—a skill she credits, in part, to her years as a librarian. As she puts it, “An old piece is like a work of art.”
At Speakeasy Antiques, you can be sure you’re finding the real thing as each piece is personally handpicked by Marilee. She chooses items simply because she finds them beautiful. Her advice for anyone looking to incorporate antiques into their home is, “If you love something, it will probably work.” And it’s easy to fall in love with her shop, which is filled with countless charming treasures. When I asked what she’s most drawn to, her answer came easily—lamps. One of her favorites resembles something you might see in a national park: a tall, rectangular lamp with intricate metalwork framing milky yellow glass panes. You can even spot it glowing in the windowsill.
Marilee has helped people from all walks of life find pieces they love. Some of those pieces have even made it into movies you’ve likely seen, including The Village, which was largely outfitted by her shop in Pennsylvania. Martha Stewart, Sigourney Weaver, and the artist Jamie Wyeth (think famous JFK and Jimmy Carter portraits) have all collected pieces from Marilee. So, come visit Speakeasy Antiques, enjoy getting to know one of your neighbors, and find something to love!
Come see all the wonderful antiques at Speakeasy Antiques at 283 N Main St in Kamas
