Aria Antiques

This store is a hidden gem! Lots of antique oddities and artwork. I found some old antique syringes and apothecary bottles — he has a bit of every thing for the collector! Highly recommend this shop as opposed to the newer shops around San Francisco that are going for the «oddities» vibe. This is the real deal — everything genuine! Bill was very helpful — not too into the modern technology thing but I think that is what keeps his shop such a gem of a place.

Always worth a stop when you’re in the area. Expensive but high quality fun interesting stuff!

Interesting & unique merchandise. Pricey. I wish I could afford this stuff. Nice to dream.

there was this song playing in the store that both disturbed me and intrigued me. i WANT TO KNOW WHAT ITS CALLED. its a very creepy, mesmerizing, and repetitive song and i love it and hate it idk

Bill is a quirky fellow with a quirky shop. He has items here that you will simply not find anywhere else, at least not all in one place.
Everything here is actually an antique, you can be sure of that.
I really like the lack of clutter– I dislike antique stores that cram as many items as possible into a space. Here, everything has space. Even when he is running low on stock, there are plenty of interesting choices.
His prices are very reasonable and sometimes he charges too little.
The one downside is that because he runs the shop himself and does not hire people, when he is away on shopping trips to Europe the store can be closed for weeks or months.
Bill is a great guy and the music he plays is more interesting than you will find at any antique shop!

if you want cheesy ‘oddities’ or reproduction medical antiques, go to haight. if you want the real deal, go here. aria is for the discerning collector, and it’s reflected in their prices.
i’ve been buying from bill for many years, and the quality of his antiques are second to none. he’s always been extremely helpful and polite, and i would like nothing more than to accompany him on one of his european buying trips one day. but, until then, i’ll keep visiting and buying.

This place was, as other reviews have stated, weird and creepy. It didn’t have as many items as other antique shops might have. Then again, most antique shops are packed to the brim. The shop’s prices were definitely based on quantity. There was an old phonograph, however it was not for sale due to the fact that it was broken. There were about four or five lamps, two of which were green writer’s lamps. There were also about seven or eight antique globes. They were, in fact, so old that Houston was not even on the map, as it would be on a modern globe. They had a lot of art and scientific animal anatomical pictures. The items that I found most interesting, however, were the eighteenth-​to-​nineteenth century skeleton keys. He had about forty of them, and most of them were in great shape. I bought one from the 1800’s for five dollars. I didn’t find much of what I was looking for, but I’m certainly glad that I went. I’ve always secretly wanted an antique key. Honestly, one of the coolest things about the shop was that it was authentic, so to speak. One man ran the whole shop, and he knew exactly what you needed to know about whatever you were interested in. He was smart, kind, and polite. I found it quite humorous that he didn’t have a cash register; I bought a five dollar key and payed with a ten, and he simply reached into his pocket and pulled out a five. It was something that you can only find at unique local businesses. I highly recommend.

Possibly the weirdest shop I had ever been in. I’ve never before walked into another shop that actually seemed like a creepy and intriguing shop in a movie… until Aria.
We were whispering to each other «Is any of this stuff for sale… or is it a museum of curiosities?» I think we established that it was actually a store. But like I said, a very weird one. Check it out!

When a person thinks about wandering through that perfect antique store and closes their eyes to dream… Aria is what should come to mind. The experience of searching through jewels of Paris past is unparalleled. Prices are reasonable and information plentiful. I do all of my gift shopping here and am never disappointed. I have also taken home a number of treasures for myself. The only problem is that it’s not open every time I have a need to search for treasures. But sometimes if you ring the bell Bill will come down and let you in to browse.

Bill knows the design in the ordinary… but beautiful objects, sometimes elegant and weathered… all things have character in their simplistic nature and original use… like an eye cup or a wide silk plaid ribbon in original wrap.
Recently I asked about his bucket of old artist’s paint brushes. He said «the bucket and brushes aren’t for sale.» Then I asked about one brush, and he said he stopped selling them a while ago and we both smiled. He knew and I did too, how beautiful they are and how rare. It’s with great admiration for what resides in his collection, that to me, is more important than acquiring or not… I must see what he has.
…although, I have a good collection of his pieces:)
Of course most things he does sell, and you couldn’t meet a nicer person telling you about each object and making the experience of seeing it, richer. He’s got the rare fashion of good salesmanship and lots of style.
Carolyn Robbins

Beautiful. Expensive.

I have been going to Aria since 2001. It has always been my favorite place in the world! It’s all things ambient experience, shabby elegance and an otherworldly eccentric delight. Bill himself is part of the experience. He is friendly and full of back stories on any of the pieces you ask him about.
There are many one-​of-​a-​kind items here and usually for very reasonable prices. Bring either cash or check. Plastic is not accepted.
Sometimes your item will be carefully wrapped, or sometimes Bill will have to run in the back to scavenge wrapping, string or a bag. As in other reviews, Aria has an erratic schedule. Bill goes to France on buys and no longer employs anyone else to run the shop in his absence that I’ve noticed. If closed, it’s still fun to gawk through the window and take it all in.

I have been going to Aria since 2001. It has always been my favorite place in the world! It’s all things ambient experience, shabby elegance and an otherworldly eccentric delight. Bill himself is part of the experience. At times he is friendly and full of back stories on any of the pieces you ask him about. Other times he can also be aloof. Don’t take it personally.
There are many one-​of-​a-​kind items here and usually for very reasonable prices. Bring either cash or check. Plastic is not accepted.
Sometimes your item will be carefully wrapped, or sometimes Bill will have to run in the back to scavenge wrapping, string or a bag. As in other reviews, Aria has an erratic schedule. Bill goes to France on buys and no longer employs anyone else to run the shop in his absence that I’ve noticed. If closed, it’s still fun to gawk through the window and take it all in.

Bill! Ciao Bello it is Tara from L’Osteria, I still cherish my Madonna and miss you and our Hood, Steven is in Sweden now and I think I am moving there too, Don’t stop EVER, doing what you do best recovering heartfelt messages from the past and bestoing them to the right new owner, I love all my teasures from you I miss walking past your store right before Halloween with your Nelsons casting a witchly glow MISS U! to all you out there to stumble upon Bill’s store is to stumble into an art historians lost world, stumble in it is worth it!

Such an amazing store. Vintage German botanical prints, bright-​colored Dutch metal breadboxes, and handpainted tiles are just a few things that caught my eye. At first glance I assumed the owner was somewhat of a curmudgeon, but then I got to talking with him and he was absolutely charming. Not the cheapest shop, but a wonderful one to linger in.

Aria is my heaven-​on-​earth. Bill is one of the kindest people you will even encounter with a spot-​on eye for all things beautiful. I have been visiting him for a couple years now and am consistently amazed by the things he drags back from his trips.
I’m pleased to see the excellent reviews written by others. Very much deserved indeed. For those very few commenting on the somewhat spottiness of when Aria is open vs. closed and the frustrations that come with it… deal with it. Bill just isn’t the sort of guy who really cares about that. But by all means, DO NOT interpret that as a lack of love for what he does or you, the customer. All the wonderful character you experience in Aria is 100% Bill. And I guarantee if you understand this and take the time to know and appreciate him, your life will be so much richer for it. I suppose his approach to running his gem of a shop leans more to the European ethic as opposed to our standard American open 10 – 6, snazzy website, cookie cutter product M.O. Just give the guy a call beforehand. If he’s there, he’ll answer. But, please, whatever you do, do not miss Aria.

Not a typical antique store. The huge biological diagrams for sale in the place really blew me away.

Bill is one of the kindest human beings you could hope to meet. Upon talking to him, you can tell he really cares for each object he’s collected. He has a story for everything in that store, and they’re all interesting. When I’m keeping a tight pocket (read: always; I’m a starving art student), I’m still able to walk out with a few sweet, inexpensive treasures (i.e. old letters, photographs, keys, watch faces). To those who’ve commented on the store hours: please realize that it takes a lot of work to be an active collector. He’s just doing his job.
Enjoy. It’s a really lovely little place!

The eye of owner, Bill Haskell, is unerring. If you like small French antiques with an emphasis on scientific oddities, this place is for you. Terrific selection of antique bioligical and zoological charts. Check before going as he is closed as often as he is open, but when he’s there, run over there and be
prepared to do some serious damage to your checkbook

i went here for the first time last night. this shop is enchanting, and actually, it doesn’t feel like you’re in a shop at all, but rather someone’s eccentric apartment.
there were amazing chandeliers, scrolls on the walls with nature drawings, dolls, assemblages, old photographs, etc. everything was out of my price range, but i was delighted just to see this place. i’ll definitely be back again… i wish my apartment looked like this!

Aria is one of the hidden gems of SF. Its antiques/​oddities are affordable (as affordable as those things go) and interesting. There is nothing extravagant or lavish about the store or its contents, but you’ll surely find something to treasure.
Make sure to call or ask around in advance. The owner can close the store for weeks and embark on buying trips around Europe. I think it’s the mark of a great antique shop.

I will start by saying that this is a truly unique and cool store. The stuff in there was exceptionally odd, and apparently from all over the world. So I would recommend stopping by just to see it.
However, my girlfriend and I felt completely unwelcome here. Sure we didn’t walk in wearing platinum bling or versace suits, but thats no reason to act like we are trespassers. Other people seem to have good relationships with the owner, but he shot down every one of our attempts to make any sort of small talk, and we were the only people in the shop.
The other thing that struck me as quite odd were the utterly exorbitant prices for some things. I’m guessing you other reviewers here fit into the «money is that green stuff that endlessly flows out of the atm or my credit card» category. I’m not hating, I’m just saying that for the rest of us who cannot justify spending $ 400 on a tea cup that was imported from Lithuania, there isn’t anything even close to being affordable.
So 5 stars for uniqueness and interesting stuff, but minus 1 for cold and another minus 1 for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.