MIKE WOLFE

 Mike Wolfe, a lifelong American picker , has been looking for hidden treasures since he was four years old. Over time, he's gained a reputation as one of the nation's most renowned foragers, traveling coast to coast to search for rusty gold. Wolfe is a picker who sees dilapidated barns, overgrown yards and other things. He also appreciates the beauty and stories behind long-lost objects and his friend Frank Fritz. "A picker's kind of like a nomad," he explains. And for Wolfe and the people he encounters and the stories they share are an essential aspect of the journey. They are just as valuable as the unique objects he finds within their attics, barns, and sheds.What do Wolfe seek out? He says, "Anything that I can make money off of." He's always looking for items that tell stories. Items that fill in America's gaps. Antique Archaeology is his specialty shop, which sells antiques, old-fashioned products, and folk art. The locations are well-known tourist destinations located in Le Claire, Iowa, and Nashville, Tennessee. After his children the main thing he enjoys is preserving as much of small-town America as he can, discovering old structures throughout the Midwest and the mid-South region that can be reclaimed, restored and reinvigorated, breathing new life into the streets where he was raised.