Trust me. Take a step in, but mind the broken glass. Ignore that musty smell and let your eyes adjust to the dark. Now look. No, no. Don’t focus on the trash. Really, really LOOK. For in this decay, you can find beauty.
I saw this antique store in 1980, on my first trip to the Outer Banks. Over the years we would stop and explore this amazing place. It was filled with knickknacks, old books, beach themed items and furniture. The grounds were filled with retro signs, boats and window panes.
I bought my first piece of furniture there. It was a three mirrored dresser that showed its age, yet I fell in love with it. After I purchased it, my mother taught me how to strip, sand, stain and restore… allowing me to turn this aging dresser in to a gorgeous piece I still use today.
The antique store has long since been abandoned. This year it began to call to me. “Stop! Explore! Capture me in photos before I crumble!” And so I did.
I’ve made a video of some of the pictures I managed to take in my two brief visits to the empty building. In them I find beauty, sadness, decay and intrigue. I long for a good hour in the building with no dogs, a good flashlight and a friend of mine who is truly a master of urban exploration and photography. There is an upcoming blog post on his adventures and his work so stay tuned!
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my own little urban explore of this beautiful abandoned antiques shop.
