Photograph by Dai Sugano

Roxanne Furino fell in love with antiques when she was a child living in Iran.




Ju Ju's owner travels world to find things that she loves

By Amy Golod

Just as antiques reveal stories about history, a French screen in Saratoga's newly opened Ju Ju's Home Decor and Antiques illustrates one artist's perception of European beauty, showing the progression of styles from a natural Eve to a turn-of-the-century woman modeling a bustle and shaded by a parasol.

Store owner Roxanne Furino knows that while appearances of women may be masked by different fashions, bonds between women do not always change. Furino named the store thinking of her daughter Charlene, whose father nicknamed her Ju Ju, after the jujube candy. Furino now treasures a special bond with her year-old granddaughter.

Furino's love for antiques started when she was a young girl living in Iran, where she attended auctions and visited shops.

"I love antique shopping. I would go when I was feeling low because it was so interesting," says Furino, whose favorite historical periods are from the 1500s to the 1700s.

"I thought [antique shopping] was interesting and that I should introduce it to more people," she says.

Selling pieces such as furniture and wall hangings from around the world, Furino hopes to expand her cusomers' cultural appreciation. Her French art deco mirror may be the one that reflected the face of Brigitte Bardot. Her embroidered and handpainted wall hanging may have been on the wall in an American home in 1810.

Furino travels to Europe twice a year to pick out pieces for her shop. During her trips, she often visits Holland, England, Belgium and France. According to Furino, it takes three days just to look around, but two weeks to choose pieces from the hundreds of small stores run by dealers.

Furino also buys pieces on consignment and attends estate sales here in the United States, where she has lived for more than 30 years. "I buy a piece because it's beautiful, something I would like," she says.

The shop, at 18820 Cox Ave. in Quito Village, just opened at the end of June, but Furino is not new to the business--she also owns Ju Ju's Antiques at 2942 S. Bascom Ave. in San Jose. Unlike her Saratoga store, which also sells modern furniture, the San Jose shop only sells antiques. According to Furino, the Saratoga shop surpassed its San Jose counterpart in sales after the first week. She attributes this to its Saratoga location.

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