apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

This place is filed to the ceiling with tons of stuff. Its a great store but its very difficult to see what they have and there are no prices on anything.

Great stuff, poor display.

Completely agree with hhitchc's assessment. Walking in there is both enjoyable and highly frustrating. Piles of items everywhere, which is fun if you're encouraged to actually explore; but it's near impossible to either dig through or navigate around them. Items that are clearly marked have hefty price tags (though fairly on par with the usual inflated pricing you see on Atlantic ave), and because of the clutter, a lot of the inventory appears dirty or in disrepair.

You don't want to see the price tags - they'll make you want to leave the store.

Agreed with all of the above, Plus...

To add to the experience of shopping there, the staff hovers over you making sure you don't touch anything. A very awkward and claustrophobic store.

so no one likes this store.
I thought at first -oh great, but will it be crazy expensive- yes.
I will not be going there.
Does any one think Apt Therapy will get on the ball and start featuring stores that are not crazy over priced?

brooklynjennie, they do...it's called IKEA (I kid!). Seriously though, it's tough to run an independent store in NY and price things affordably given the overhead involved.

Well, I hate to give this up... I want to keep it a secret...... But Darr, right down the block is AWESOME AWESOME AWESOMER!!!!! I bought the store last time I was in there and everyone else was buying up too. I will be going back this weekend to fill a few more empty spots in the house.

http://www.shopdarr.com/

Its not cheap, just choice pieces that are way way less than anywhere else.
Shhhh... don't tell anyone.

Okay... Darr is CRAZY expensive too. So are most of the places on Atlantic that offer these cool, vintage-industrial finds.

Does anyone know where these stores get this stuff? Of course they put a huge mark up on it. I often feel when I walk in these places that they find this stuff in junk yards and then put an $800 price tag on it. Ridiculous.

Anyone have any practical, affordable suggestions?

I feel like this phenomenon is becoming more common in many cities (even where overhead is much lower, like Minneapolis): owner of shop scours estate sales, garage sales, craigslist, snatches up interesting items, sells at a 70% mark-up in trendy store.

"becoming more common in many cities"

This is as it has always been in the antiques world, not a new phenomenon.

Darr is awesome, but WAY overpriced. There are such great finds on Atlantic Ave. but sadly, most are out of my price range.

These items are pricey because the store owners have done all the legwork. They scour the estate sales, auctions and flea markets every week, pay the increasing high rents and still try to have an ROI.

well maybe you don't need this stuff so badly if it is so expensive.

Darr is a wonderful store and the man who owns it is lovely lovely lovely. Most of his wares are out of my reach, but shopping there is a pleasure. City Foundry makes my skin crawl. I agree with some of the previous comments--esp. about the staff hovering over you. Crazy.