Travel along the highway between Bathurst and Orange and there's a shop that's so familiar to many people that it seems like it's been there forever.

The tiny village of Lucknow may have a population of just 297, but Darcy's Old Wares is massive on the scale of hunting for antiques, curios and everything retro.

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It's been owned and run by Kerry Condon for the past 26 years, but next month he'll close the doors for good.

In good health and ready to spend more time with family and to go travelling, he said decision to retire "came quite easily".

"Given the economy, drought, the fires, the smoke, the dust storms and dwindling tourism because of all the terrible things happening, I've made a positive decision to retire," Mr Condon said.

And, rather than sell his beloved shop and have someone else use his nickname 'Darcy' he decided to close.

In 1981 when Mr Condon first came to Lucknow he was employed as a youth worker across the road from where Darcy's would later be located.

"I went to an auction probably 40 years ago and bought a couple of things and did them up and sold them at a garage sale and made a profit," he said.

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This act set in motion the rest of his working life.

"There was this shop in Summer Street in Orange and she asked me if I wanted to put stuff in there on consignment and work there one day a week. It was called Milroy Antiques," Mr Condon said.

Soon he had so many old wares, antiques and curios that he was keen to open up his own shop and recalled the large, vacant shop across the road from where he worked as a youth worker.

"I thought I'd give it a go and packed up a few items here and there and it's just got bigger and bigger," Mr Condon said.

"I only had 45 or 50 items, I had a couple of tables and a couple of china cabinets, two or three wardrobes and a couple of beds.

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"I didn't even have enough to fill the front room in the store."

Fast forward 26 years and when he decided to close the business to retire, Mr Condon estimated he had around 25,000 items.

The store is a treasure trove of items of all shapes and sizes and almost every time a customer comes in asking for something in particular, Mr Condon knows exactly where it's located.

During the years he has acquired items in a range of ways - through deceased estates, garages sales and he said "I've always got my eyes open looking".

When reflecting on what sells, and what doesn't, Mr Condon said there are definite trends.

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"At the moment people are looking for petrol bowsers, enamel signs, cast iron ware, classic retro, rustic charm and farm equipment and implements," he said.

"Antique furniture has gone by the wayside ... antique furniture is yesterday's hero."

And the mannequins, yep Mr Condon swears he's sold at least 500 of them and when Myers closed down in Orange in January 2017, he bought every single mannequin from the retailer.

"I sell heaps of strange and unusual things," he said.

As he looks towards his final day in his beloved shop on March 30, Mr Condon said there's a lot he'll miss.

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"It's been a beauty being my own boss, I've completely enjoyed my time here and it's laid a foundation for me in life," he said.

"I'll really miss it and it'll probably take me a while to get used to not coming into work."

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