Shinola

Ever since Youngest Son and I declared ourselves to be "pickers" (of sorts), we have begun to find little "holes-in-the-wall," pockets of picking goodness that we never before knew existed.

Such a place is Shinola.

Shinola?  What a unique name.  I asked the dapper owner where "Shinola" came from.  He glanced nervously at the 8 year-old and 12 year-old standing by my side and muttered a jumble of words that included things like "shoe shine," "the war" and "sticky brown."  From his discomfort, I could see that this conversation might be heading in a direction I didn't want to go, so I quickly laughed and acted like I knew just what he meant and we moved on.

Feel free to google "What is Shinola" if you must know the origin of this quirky store's quirky name.

And quirky it is, beginning with the front windows which have been turned into small chicken/bird coops.

The place is mounded, stacked and piled with stuff, stuff and more stuff.  Overwhelming at first to go through all the rooms, the piles, the layers.

Each room leads to another; each doorway to another, until finally you've arrived at the outside courtyard, where things are left out in the elements to continue working on their rusty "patina."

There was a back section to the courtyard, which housed bed frames and other miscellaneous junk.

However, it was guarded by a watch-goose, and I wasn't willing to get my legs pecked to risk exploring.

I took home some rusty iron goodness that I will show you shortly.

I wanted this desk.  Really, really wanted this desk, but it said $250 on it, and I didn't think the nice owner would come down to $20.

It was overwhelming, frustrating, and intriguing.  I find myself being drawn back for another peek at what might be there "this time."