A. Pake Zane spent 10 years traveling the world beginning in the late 1960s, living and playing in such places as Africa, Denmark, India and England.

During part of his journey, his travel partner was future Congressman Neil Abercrombie. In Denmark, Zane met Julie Lauster, who would become his travel mate, wife and business partner.

Life on the road for the long-haired, bearded hippie was exciting and it fulfilled a childhood dream of traveling around the world.

Fast-forward 30 years and Zane is sitting in a crowded shop, surrounded by piles of collectible, antiques and what most people would call "junk." Customers trickle into his Kapi'olani Boulevard Antiques Alley shop, where sales are "enough to pay the rent."

Although the pace is nothing like it was when he was seeing the world, Zane said he has never been happier or more excited about life. An admitted pack rat, the 65-year-old Maui native said he just enjoys what he's doing — collecting and selling "stuff," which he calls "cultural artifacts."

"I get excited by stuff and knowing stuff and passing that knowledge to other people. That's important to me," Zane said. "I have fun with this. To me it's fascinating. I deal with people every day."

Antiques Alley is owned by a co-op of Zane, Lauster and six others and has been around for more than 20 years. There's no doubt the most visible owner is Zane, not just because of his long, white beard, but because of his enthusiasm for his work.

Most people wouldn't guess that Zane holds a master's degree in social work, which he said is why he likes being with people. After receiving his degree in 1966 from the University of Hawai'i, he decided to set off on his journey before settling down.

His stops included Canada, Uganda, India, Nepal, the Netherlands, Denmark, England, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea.

By the time Zane returned to Hawai'i in 1976, he said he was "pretty much unemployable," so he started his own business. He began to collect stuff off the streets, cleaning and repairing the items and selling them at swap meets.

While Zane was collecting his stuff, Lauster was sewing kimonos for sale to Hawai'i's top retail outlets.

When the old Honolulu Flea Market shut down, Zane and the group formed the co-op and opened Antiques Alley. It's difficult to tell the boundary lines for the owners in the store because one person's stuff flows into the others. Just about everything imaginable — "except anything that people need," Zane says — can be found there.

Although his background is in social work, Zane said he remembered a lot of business advice he got as a student in a Junior Achievement program at Roosevelt High School.

"It gave me a real basic foundation in the process of how a business evolves from nothing, all the way to stock selling, to production, to liquidation," he said. "That was one of the things that I could remember being taught along the way, but never used it until 20 years after that."

Still, Zane admits he leaves the bookkeeping to Lauster, and he confesses that he has no idea of the value of the "cultural artifacts" in the store.

His popularity and love for his work helped him land a spot on the PBS TV program "Antiques Road Show" when it stopped in Hawai'i last year. Although he didn't make it on camera, Zane made enough of an impression to be invited back.

Zane will travel to San Antonio, Louisville and Spokane this summer and serve as a collectibles expert on the show.

"He's very hard-working and he got along very well with our guests and our other appraisers," said Sam Farrell, supervising producer for the Boston-based show. "If you look at any of our collectible appraisers they all have something that stands out apart from the crowd. But obviously what we're fundamentally interested in is people who know their stuff and can tell it well on television."

Zane said he's not sure why the show's producers wanted him back. "I don't claim to know a lot about everything," he said.

But Zane and Lauster will pay their way to the three cities and will enjoy the experience. After that, he'll return to his life among his "stuff."

"I think of these things as spiritual, not in the religious sense, but it makes you feel good," Zane said. "We sell memories. A lot of people like to pick up things that remind them of their childhood. These are the things that are really fulfilling, when people get something because it really is heartfelt. It's a fun occupation."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.