AFTER 36 years of successful trading, Annie’s Antiques is set to close its door for a final time in just over two weeks.

The shop will shut on Saturday, November 3, and will be replaced by Pear Tree Interiors, an interior designers currently situated a few doors down.

The owner of Annie’s Antiques is 74-year-old Annie Clerey, who will be retiring after almost 40 years in charge.

She became interested in antiques after taking part in an event held in Farnham Maltings in 1971 and since then has built up quite the collection.

Annie said: “Everybody just kept bringing things in, I’ve never been to an auction.”

Since putting the closure notices and “everything must go” signs up in the shop’s window earlier this month, Annie said it has been “non-stop”.

When asked how it feels to be shutting up shop, she said she felt “sad”, before adding: “I don’t think I’ve had one person come in that hasn’t said ‘why are you retiring?’, or ‘you’re not allowed to go’.

“I’ve loved every minute, I’d like to go on but enough is enough.

“It’s just been wonderful, I’ve made lots of nice friends as well, it’s been wonderful.

“The moment you wake up and don’t want to go to work that’s the time you retire and I don’t feel that! I enjoy what I do.”

Annie does not currently have any plans for her retirement, except to “enjoy it”.

Pear Tree Interiors will reopen in its new premises in early-mid January following a renovation. But, according to the owner, 44 year-old Suze Watling, “nothing massively drastic” will be done during these works.

The interior designers has been located in the Ridgway Parade for around five years, with Suze confirming the business will continue to be run “very similarly to how I do down there”, but will have “a bit more room, which will be lovely”.

Suze told the Herald she would like to keep the address as ‘Pear Tree Interiors, Annie’s Antiques’ as she “hasn’t got the heart to change it”.

She said: “All the kids bus routes say drop off at Annie’s Antiques, so I won’t be changing the address.

“It seems, it’s not the right thing to do is it?”

Suze explained that she had decided to move into the premises as she had always thought it was in a “really lovely location” and is a “lovely shop”.

She added that she believed Annie would be “properly missed”, and that November 3 would be a “very, very sad day”.

Suze continued: “I’ll be very, very sad to see her go but hopefully I’ll be able to be as successful as she has been.”

In the 20 years that Suze has lived in Farnham, she has “brought lots of stuff” from the shop, adding that her house is “full of stuff from Annie’s”.

Annie then replied: “Long before you came here, you were always in and out!”

The pair agreed that they had become friends and would “always have a chat” in the shop. Both Annie and Suze said they will be staying in contact with each other after Annie’s Antiques closes.