The BRIGHT STAR ANTIQUES CO. story started with a 10 year old boy collecting bottles in Como, Texas. Jay comes from a long line of antiquers. He spent his childhood at estate sales with his parents and grandparents to find the very best antiques. As time went on he decided he would go out on his own, at age 16.
Jay opened his first booth in the downtown antique mall of Sulphur Springs, Texas at 16. He would skip school every month to go to the world’s largest flea market, right down the road from his hometown. Along with the Canton Flea Market, he was infamously known for local door knocking. His quest was to find one-of-a-kind antiques for his customers.
At age 19, he made the decision to buy out the antique shop where he had his booth.
Jay Shearer officially was the owner of Bright Star Antiques Co.
After Jay and his wife, Stacie, welcomed their daughter, Sydney, into the world, Jay left a sign on the door of his downtown antique mall. The sign read, “ I am closed, just had a new baby girl. We will be open again soon.” However, he never opened the store front again. Through the years he acquired such a large clientele, his building was open for appointments only.
In 2006, Jay took a look at the ever growing inventory in his warehouse.
He decided he would start an auction house providing an eclectic mix of antiques that no one else offered.
From Europe to the East Coast–all the way to the South, you can find Jay searching the globe to find fresh-to-market items. There is no other auction house in the United States that offers a broad-ranging mixture of antiques such as Bright Star Antiques Co.
Today, Jay and his family happily reside in Sulphur Springs, Texas. When he is not antiquing you can find him cooking, fishing, spending time with his church family, or envisioning a new dream.
“Bright Star Antiques Co. is different because every item is picked fresh. For me, it’s about the thrill of the hunt. I like finding antiques no one else has found. I want my customers to walk into their home and see a one of a kind piece that they purchased from me, and always think of Bright Star. ”
