In a Word . . . Well, . . . Colorful

In yesterday's entry, we thought that the words "fun" and "funky" would describe our introduction to Cave Creek, AZ.

But when we found our way into "one of the world's most unusual stores," we realized those words were not enough to do justice to the visual impact upon walking into The Town Dump. A quick look around the store is not possible--the effect is similar to eating ice cream too quickly. Trying to rapidly focus on the multitude of unusual items can cause brain freeze.

Just inside the door is a sign stating that the management does not haggle over the prices. After looking at some of the price tags, I think the sign's message might be: "We know the stuff is overpriced, but that makes up for the work we have to do to climb over stuff to pick out what you want."

Now to describe this unique store one might use the phrase "exotic furnishings for the discerning interior designer," . . . but I don't think I would.

But, this ceramic piece in the shape of an animal's skull (above) or this ceramic monkey (right) would certainly qualify for being described as "exotic"--and a bit dusty.

As we walked around items in the faily large, overly-filled room, we found ourselves frequently asking: "Just where would one put this?"

For instance, this large jar appears to have a woman with wings wielding a sword, so where would one place this creation in a home? Our only idea was to have canes and crutches placed in it by the front door. For $359, it would have to have a place of prominence in someone's home, and the owner would also have to have a story that would fit the sword-wielding woman and the crutches.

This ceramic sun--at least that's my guess as to what this piece represents--seemed to capture the one word that we used to describe The Town Dump.

That word would be "colorful."

Then we saw the items on this shelf. We don't know if there is a method to the "arrangement" of items around the store, but the laughing mask next to these bird-like creatures seemed an appropriate placement.

In one of the small rooms off the main showroom, we found this display of pots. Of almost equal interest were the walls. It appeared as though a food processor had been filled with raspberries and then set to "Puree" without the lid being put in place.

The adjacent rooms shows the same "raspberry sprayed" walls.

We could not rush through any of the rooms we had seen so far. When I reached the back door, I took a look outside. What greeted me were sights that made me realize we had only scratched the surface of the Dump's treasures.

Join us tomorrow as we tour the outdoor spaces.