The Antique Shops at Kensington



Gold Buddha



Today, I went for an adventure in Kensington, MD to check out antique row.  Amazing.  Very cool little area with more antiques than you can comfortably absorb in a day.  The shopkeepers were amazing and kept recommending the next shop in the row, which I have to say shows very good manners and respect for one's colleagues.  One shop was extremely enjoyable.  A cheerful young woman was working there and began to tell me the history of the shop and its owner.  As I was walking around, I had noticed the buddhas which were substantial and very attractive.  The shopkeeper explained that the owner's father had owned an auction house and had been a great collector of Asian antiques.  Although none of these beautiful relics were for sale, they were a real treat for the eye.  There was also a nice navajo squashblossom necklace (well over a thousand dollars) and an amazing small ivory buddha ($500).



Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright



In a shop run by a pair of very sweet, humorous and interesting sisters, I was shown a gorgeous coin silver ladle made by a local Washington silversmith in the 1850's.  Very nice, simple and elegant piece.  And, as we noted, it's always great to see old antiques made by craftsmen still lovingly kept in the community where they were produced.  Also in the store was a terrific plaster bust of Franklin Lloyd Wright.  This piece, as they explained was made in a series of busts of persons who were thought to be the "light of the world" at the time.  Since Wright brought us so many masterpieces of modern architecture, I have to agree with the sentiment.  I certainly enjoyed this shop.  And while I can't remember the names of each of the shops, if you go visit you really should see them all anyhow.




Orange Abstract

 

Fleur de Lis Pin

 The last shop with items I coveted was large and had some fantastic turquoise and silver jewelry.  I chatted with the friendly owner whose son had also gone to Tulane and now was in business in NY.  She had a great store and upstairs I saw two items I loved.  One was the dynamite fleur de lis pin and the second was the awesome giant orange abstract painting.  All said, it was a wonderful few hours in the shops at Kensington.  My last stop was the charity shop for the prevention of blindness which had two lovely volunteers.  There, I bought several knives, cufflinks, and so on and have added those to my shop.  To see those purchases, check out my shop at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/neurorocker

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