The new air plants in their glass globes were a hit. They even attracted shoppers who would have normally left upon seeing the inside of my store or waited outside for their more adventurous friends.
Some just had stones or shells to accompany the plants. Others had a darker theme with small skulls or a whimsical touch, like a fairy or gnome figurine. There is a rather large one with a Tillandsia Xerographica and a two-headed skeleton to match my sign out front in the center of the display that I’m not sure yet if I will sell or not.
I had spent a fun weekend with one of my besties, Mindy, putting them together and artistically hanging them in the ever-changing window showcase. They are easy to care for and inexpensive to create, which makes for a great quick sales item. I would have to make a note to order more supplies.
Mindy and I are polar opposites. I'll never fathom how we were matched as college roommates, but I am eternally grateful. She didn’t like me at first. In fact, she could hardly stand me.
Neither of us remembers quite how, but somehow, someway, we quickly grew from barely tolerating each other to being inseparable. She was so normal, and I was so, well, so me. She was the first person to just accept me for who I am, macabre warts and all. And there it was, the start of my little found family.
Mindy still doesn’t understand my more morbid interests, but she loves me, and crafting, and we are both thankful to find any excuse to spend time together. Despite our busy schedules, we get together as often as we can, which is never enough. I’m hard pressed to recall exactly the last time I saw her.
I should shoot her a text, ask if she wants to do another crafting weekend. I’m sure we would drink too much wine, and I’d laugh as she cringed about our mixed media, gingerly touching bones and taxidermy while making faces. Hopefully, she can get some time away from her kiddos soon.
My mind drifts to other things I need to do for the store, running inventory lists in my head and thinking through the upcoming seasons. I could use a refuel on some taxidermy and mounted small animal skeletons. Many of which I could get from some of my favorite vendors at the approaching Oddities Expo in Philly. Would be nice to find some new things to carry and spice things up a little.
This year's schedule is hectic with attending the convention, my upcoming European buying trip, the local Edgar Allan Poe steampunk event, and then the holidays. Welcome to the life of an oddities store owner. But I need inventory, and it is best to pick up the taxidermy and skeletons in person.
I must be careful with the more fragile oddities. Keeping them safe both in transit to my door and then once in the shop from dangers, such as too much damaging sunlight, is paramount. I think of myself as their adoption agency, trying to send them on to wonderful homes.
Some items I cannot bear to part with, like the baby two-toed sloth in a jar, unless the price is very right. And there are a few things I could never sell, like my dear friend that hangs behind the counter, Van Helsing.
I look over at my articulated human skeleton companion and say, “Well, Van Helsing, that shaped up to be a pretty good morning, after all.”
He just smiles his toothy grin at me in agreement. My gaze slides down from his mostly intact teeth to the rest of his bones, taking in the puzzle that is Van Helsing. He is old and yellowed, and I am fairly certain is several skeletons cobbled together.
The large ribcage seems out of proportion to the smaller arms and the enormous femurs would have suited a much larger male pelvic bone. Historically, it had been widespread practice to mash many bones together and sell unscrupulously as a complete skeleton, which is probably why Van Helsing is such a hodge podge.
The oddities trade is full of charlatans and fakes, but I work hard to conduct my business in good faith. I value the relationships I have established to fill my shop with the absolute best things I can find for the amazing customer base I have built up over the years.
Van Helsing isn’t for sale, though, and he has so much character that I had knowingly bought him in the shape he is in, with no plans for resale. After all, he accepts me in the shape I am in. I smile to myself at my inner monologue saying,round is a shape. My inner monologue can be salty.
Van Helsing is also currently the closest thing I have to a romantic relationship. Sadly, the man I spend the most time with is literally heartless and brainless. At least he can’t think with his dick, unlike my last boyfriend.
We hadn’t been in love, or even said the word, but we had been together for a couple of months. Long enough I thought it was going somewhere. Until I caught him in a few stupid little lies, and instead of trusting myself, I continued to trust him.
Of course, in time, I busted him in a bigger lie and a compromising position that he couldn’t explain his way out of. He had blamed me for holding out on him, so I promptly kicked him to the curb. I wasn't holding out, but I didn't feel like I could be vulnerable with him in the way intimacy required. Turned out it was the right call after all.
Pushing that thought away, I think over my upcoming trips. Everything is almost set, but I dread taking so much time away from my pride and joy, Grimm. My other best friend, Jo, will run it while I am in Europe, and although I trust her completely, it is hard not to micromanage what I worked so hard to build.
Jo could have been the proverbial third wheel of our group when she transferred into the college Mindy and I attended and was added to our sophomore triple dorm room. But one look at Jo, with her innocent blue eyes and mass of honey-colored curls, and Mindy and I both immediately fell in love.
After which, we were promptly shocked as hell when she opened her mouth and started talking. Her angelic looks are in direct contradiction to her filthy mouth. Jo has no filter, which means you get honesty tempered with a fair amount of hilarious commentary. As a result, Jo isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but she’s my shot of whiskey.
Inseparable from that day forward, the three of us were a self-proclaimed girl gang, ride or die. College with our merry little band was a blast, and I was finally able to do some much-needed growth out from under my father’s thumb. I missed those days, and even though we have all moved on to find our own paths, Mindy and Jo will always be my chosen family.
Despite the distance, we remain connected at our core, and it gives me the confidence to entrust Grimm to my friend while I chase down a taxidermy Raven. It is rumored to be from the tower of London itself. I don’t want to purchase an item like that, considering its price tag, without seeing it in person, thus prompting my first ever European buying trip.
Ravens eat 170 grams of raw meat a day, plus bird biscuits soaked in blood. They are glorious birds. I could envision the facts smartly written on a piece of parchment next to its mounting, both displayed on a round table with a vintage lace tablecloth, and a few Poe books artfully stacked to the side.
The new display would serve two purposes. First, it would be a showstopper for Halloween, and second, it would help draw the crowd from the upcoming annual steampunk Poe convention in Baltimore, one of my favorite events. I always attend for fun, but this will be my first year as a vendor, so I need to step up my steampunk game.
Jo and I had been emailing back and forth about a full-page ad for the convention’s program, since as a designer, she frequently helps me with the store’s marketing. I am not yet sure if I will resell the Raven or not, but it is too perfect to pass up.
Thinking of the convention reminds me I want to put together a new outfit for this year’s gathering. I better start a list. Even though summer is just starting, I always need to be planning for the season ahead.
Fall is the busiest with Halloween and the start of the Christmas shopping season. I imagine many of the gifts from my store would be a little too dark under the Christmas tree, but I have some die-hard oddities customers who check off a lot on their lists at my place.
Halloween is always a great sales season for me because everyone embraces their inner darkness at least a little then. Outside of the busy fall, I am lucky to also have some fascinating clients who keep me hustling to meet their year-round gift-giving and home décor needs.
