Odd Jobs: October
Like many successful business entrepreneurs, Crystal’s passion has created her work, which on any given day frequently is an adventure into the unknown. You can’t see through the darkened windows of her shiny black Dodge Ram as she loads up intriguing treasures she’s collected (and is willing to part with).
She drives two hours to her third-floor gallery in Petaluma, where she artfully arranges the eerie items in ways that entice even the most skittish customers.
A browse through Gothic Rose reveals that not everything is dark and macabre,though rather odd. You can buy a wax bust of beautiful young screen star Bette Davis (circa 1930), just $1,295. It has human hair, glass eyes and porcelain teeth. Many similar items have stories behind them, making the shopping more like entertainment.
Sacramento antique lovers may remember Crystal’s first antique shop on Fair Oaks Boulevard in Carmichael, “Old Age New Age.” She also displayed for many years in the Antique Plaza’s Rancho Cordova and Rocklin collectives. “My customers are still trying to find me,” Crystal laughs.
Hidden Compartment Carriage
At the Sienna Antiques Collective in downtown Petaluma, where Crystal has nurtured Gothic Rose for the past five years, her co-op colleagues have fondly nicknamed Crystal’s upstairs nook “the home of Rosemary’s Baby.” The Cadillac of 19th century baby buggies nestles a life-size antique baby doll staring out from the weathered and worn carriage that sports a hidden compartment in the bottom.
Browsers in Crystal’s unforgettable upstairs corner are “fascinated and horrified simultaneously,” says Wanda Westberg, “or, they absolutely love it! What’s wonderful is the staging; it’s not really scary, but edgy, with surprising humor.”
Instead of the sermon-of-the-week, Crystal places an Addams Family poster inside the glass door of an 1800’s church marquee ornately framed in wood. She says restaurant owners sometimes buy these to display their menus. Price: $1,200.
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