Curiosities Stores
A list of the coolest curiosities shops around.
Aria
North Beach - San Francisco, CA United StatesSure you can go ahead and call Aria an antique shop, but this isn't your grandmother's antique shop--where you need to dig through tons of junk to find treasure. The objects at Aria are all treasures in their own way. Beautiful maps and...
Blackman Cruz
West Hollywood - West Hollywood, CA United StatesAt Blackman Cruz the objects either came from dead people, are made from dead people or animals or could easily kill you. By objects that came from dead people we of course mean antiques, but Blackman Cruz' selections are decidedly dark or...
Blackman Cruz
Potrero Hill - San Francisco, CA United StatesAt Blackman Cruz the objects either came from dead people, are made from dead people or animals or could easily kill you. By objects that came from dead people we of course mean antiques, but Blackman Cruz' selections are decidedly dark or just pain odd--framed mug shots, any number of...
Darr
Boerum Hill - Brooklyn, NY United States"What is it?" and "I want it.", in that order, must be the two most common utterances at Darr. The vintage and antique home accessories and furniture store travels to multiple continents and dips back a few centuries for its...
Empiric
Culver City - Culver City, CA United StatesRarely does a shop come along that mixes several themes so flawlessly and naturally as Empiric. The shop's own line of 1940s style furniture forms the base of the store. The new sofas, tables, storage units and beds in the line are classic '40s with simple, sleek lines and an air of...
Empiric
Mid City/Beverly - Los Angeles, CA United StatesRarely does a shop come along that mixes several themes so flawlessly and naturally as Empiric. The shop's own line of 1940s style furniture forms the base of the store. The new sofas, tables, storage units and beds in the line are classic...
Evolution
SoHo - New York, NY United StatesNew Yorkers are used to rapid change like neighborhood property values, but Evolution catalogs change of a more gradual nature. The one-of-a-kind shop collects (animal and human) bones, bugs, anatomical models, medical texts and other...
Gargoyles, Grotesques and Chimeras
Back Bay - Boston, MA United StatesA few steps away from the hustle bustle of Newbury Street lies a gothic, multi-denominational church's dusty storeroom. Gargoyles, Grotesques, and Chimeras is truly a store unlike any other. The space is full of gothic, often religious,...
Obsolete
Main Street - Venice, CA United StatesFor the home that has everything consider adding decades old advertising signage or a factory work table or Goodyear slick racing tire. Rather than running after furniture or ceramics or lighting from landmark artists and manufacturers as many...
Rayon Vert
The Mission - San Francisco, CA United StatesWe might have passed by items like those in Rayon Vert a dozen times without taking a second look. Which explains why we'll never be able to open such a store. The shop, that was once more flower shop than home accessories shop and still...
X21 Modern
The Mission - San Francisco, CA United StatesX21 sure sounds like it could be a sci-fi movie, so then it's appropriate that the store looks like the warehouse of a movie production. Stocking a huge collection of antique and vintage furniture, accessories and and oddities, if you can...
Zanzabelle
Silverlake - Los Angeles, CA United StatesFor children and the child in all of us, Zanzabelle is a magical little cottage. First thing's first, get yourself a cone of ice cream. Then, take your pick among old time candies, cool little toys, quirky books, bottle of pop, pop design...
Elsewhere
Sites we dig
Sites
- Hint Mag
- IHT Style
- JC Report
- LA.com Shopping
- Men.Style.com
- NY Mag Fashion
- NY Times Fashion & Style
- Refinery 29
- Style.com
- Superfuture