Wander down an obscure alley in the old part of a city somewhere in America and you will find it: "Ye Auld Curiosity Shoppe," a cliché to be sure, but rare; for who has ever come across such a shop? It is cozy and dimly lighted, pleasantly crowded with curious things stuffed into every nook and cranny. Really, you could spend a month in there and not see everything. The owner and shopkeepers are cut from the same cloth–rather bohemian and artistic. We have coffee, tea, and our special lace cookies to nibble on–both shopkeepers and guests are welcome to them. Our shopkeepers are friendly and conversational, but not intrusive. The shop is a nice place for browsing.
In a secret chamber, for those people are of a magical bent who intuit the room's existence, there are bottles and jars of strange herbs, potions, and magical candles, for those who want to explore...possibilities.
For our open house, we sent out handmade art cards as invitations. Walk-ins were also welcome. Each visitor received a lovely little token to keep for door-prize drawings. Since each token was unique and we recorded the claimed prize in our registry, visitors did not have to hand in their token, even if claiming a prize, so it was a keepsake. We had a lovely little feast of treats on a small round table. Guests were invited to sip punch, mingle, browse, buy, and come back again.
This is the shop I envision.
