Parviz, the owner, is an absolutely incredible resource on Persia, its millennia of history, and…read moreimpressive cultural and artistic contributions. Artistry is manifest in both modern and antique Persian rugs and while the current political situation in Iran has attenuated some art, if you are discriminating and go with weavers for whom this art has been passed down for 4 or 5 centuries (particularly single-knotting) Persian carpets remain the pinnacle of hand-woven artwork that you can put to daily use. My wife and I both like hand-woven tapestries, e.g., we have a Two Grey Hills (Navaho) weaving on a wall. Curious, due to what Woven Treasures has on display in their front windows, we decided to go in to see what they might have in a runner. As a rule of thumb, I favor the colors and designs of carpets from Tabriz and Qum, and were very direct, specifying the dimensions and provenance (Tabriz, if possible) of what we were looking for, and Parviz, after selecting several Tabriz runners from a surprisingly large stock, provided a wealth of detail on each. We zeroed in on a stunning instance of what we had wanted and bought it. As it took a bit of time to prepare the carpet for transport, Parviz walked us through some of what he had and it dawned on me that he was more docent than merchant. The runner was a perfect fit for the corridor it was intended for, both artistically/aesthetically and dimensionally. Sadly, the third dimension had been neglected; a closet door that opens onto the corridor had a rather "tight" fit with the hardwood flooring. I had fallen hard for it, but its footprint limited its placement elsewhere in our flat. Reality coerced me into returning the runner, so while sad, I took its return as an opportunity to upgrade an area rug (Azerbaijan) we had in our home for more than 30 years. Again guided by Parviz, we did so with a rug woven in Isfahan that we're very happy with. We have a piece of art, which is a good value at any price.

Hmmmm. The owner is "special" in multiple ways, I suspect that is the rule throughout the carpet…read morebusiness. But I brought a treasured carpet to him for repair and for a princely sum he repaired it in two weeks.

A venerable shop in Old City. The proprietor greets you on the way in. Lots of vintage, especially…read morebar ware of all kinds. Miles Davis plays in the background providing an authentic vibe amidst 40's, 50's and 60's martini glasses and drink shakers. Even if you are not a buyer, you'll enjoy the visit.

I was visiting Philly for the the first time and happened to be exploring the area. I appreciate…read morethese sorts of antique stores with a variety of unique, artistic items- everything from jewelry to furniture and odd items from days past and present. The older couple who own this store are quiet and friendly but give you the time to browse around without hovering. They were open to answering any questions I might have had also. I contemplated if I had a space for some things in my house if any. Lots caught my eye, and I could appreciate the character throughout the store. I zoned in on this dainty, cool glass wall planter and decided to pick it up comparing it to another- both similar the same shape but different painted designs. I imagined the wall space for it and decided it would be perfect for a rooting Pothos plant! It was small enough to carry on the plane also. If I fancied anything else, I would have found a way to get it back to California. I l later discovered it's a blown glass piece by Jason Probstein. I'm delighted to discover there are galleries with his artwork here in California also! If you're wandering around the Old City area of Philadelphia, this is a gem of a store to browse. You might find something you like! There's so much character in here!

Circa Gallery is a rabbit hole thrift store in the best way possible. From the uncanny mannequin of…read morethe little girl displayed on the sidewalk outside to the seasonal displays carefully curated in the windows to the narrow aisles packed with, well, everything, this is a second-hand treasure seekers must-check-out shop. You will want to take your time perusing the shelves of glassware, jewelry, knick-knacks, cigar boxes, dolls, books, trinket boxes, DVDs, & CDs, & ephemera of all kinds. For the art students looking for found objects for shadow boxes & mixed-media pieces, there's a lot to comb through here. If you are looking specifically for used classical & Broadway musical CDs, this is a good resource for that kind of music. I donated 8 wooden cigar boxes to Circa, & Michael, the owner let me have a catalogue on the surrealist Yves Tanguy as a trade. Much appreciated! He's cool to chat with. His shop is a labor of love & collecting. Check it out. I asked permission from Michael if I could take a picture of the mannequin girl. Voila.

This is a stunning collection of various pieces of American history and certainly worth a visit…read more The collection certainly gets 5 stars, as every piece is immaculate and the books are in pristine collection. Certainly worth stopping. I do hope the management can learn customer service. I entered because the shop looked charming and I wanted to buy unique gifts for family this Christmas. I have been to shops like this before with "no photos" signs, which I follow. This shop had no signs. No one said hello when I came in, someone went to take a dog for a walk. No problem. I was taking a few photos to decide what gifts to get, texting other family members to decide what to get. There were no humans in the photos, and nothing was art. At one point the man behind the counter said "you should really ask before you take pictures." I apologized and asked if I should delete them. He said no then went on to tell me that at my age I should know how to be polite. I apologized again and told him that some oddity shops like photos used on social media and there was no sign. He then went on to tell me I should know better, which resulted in him telling me that I can't take criticism. It was a bizarre interaction. He told me to leave, which is his right. So I left without buying anything. It was an odd interaction and I hope that they put up a sign if photos are something they do not want taken. I hope that the 5 stars is "polite" enough for them.

Very fun! Lots of stuff to look through, items I've never seen before. Had a good time just…read moresearching for treasures here.

I have walked by this shop almost daily on my way to work, but never had occasion to pop in until…read morerecently. I was greeted nicely enough by a gentleman who sat slightly obscured behind a stack of... things. The whole store was full of ..... things. The store had everything from "vintage" stuff to random junky stuff that just looked... used. The displays made it really difficult to walk around. All in all, interesting, but nothing really caught my eye and I left empty-handed.

Quirky queer bookstore with a great selection of both used and new books covering a wide variety of…read moretopics. There are plenty of community resources at the front of the store, as well as some thrifted clothes. Books are fairly priced, clothes are fairly expensive. Limited seating, but all very cozy if you can snag a spot. Unfortunately there are no bathrooms. The shop is 3 stories tall, each story with a unique vibe. Excellent customer service and employees give great recommendations!

This store is huge and has a great variety of both new and used books, dvds, clothes, and more. It…read moreis definitely heavier on the books than anything else, but if you keep walking around the store you'll find new things everywhere you go. They have a heavy focus on LGBTQ+ options, which can be really hard to find elsewhere! The people working were very kind and friendly and the prices were actually pretty good as well. It's a cute place that feels like an old house and I recommend even just to look around.

The atmosphere is perfect for a spooky, goth, witchy shop. There was a lot of selection of jewelry…read moreand oddities. The prices on the jewelry was very reasonable. Keep in mind, when parking, the pay to park signs are hidden. We ended up with a parking ticket theat ruined our trip. Not the shops fault, just keep that in mind when going here.

What a fantastic shop. I wanted to buy almost everything I saw, except the coffin that greets you…read moreat the door. I am sure there are people who would love it, but it would just take up too much space in my studio apartment ;) I had spotted the store whilst visiting Woodrow's sandwich restaurant across the street, last month, but didn't have the money to venture inside. It was at the top of my list of places to check out this trip. I promised that I would buy just one thing, because if I didn't stick to my guns, I would have spent hundreds of dollars. It was so difficult to choose. I made three laps around the store before I discovered "Dancing Shiva." " This cosmic dance of Shiva is called 'Anandatandava,' meaning the Dance of Bliss, and symbolizes the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction, as well as the daily rhythm of birth and death. The dance is a pictorial allegory of the five principle manifestations of eternal energy--creation, destruction, preservation, salvation, and illusion. According to Coomaraswamy, the dance of Shiva also represents his five activities: 'Shrishti' (creation, evolution); 'Sthiti' (preservation, support); 'Samhara' (destruction, evolution); 'Tirobhava' (illusion); and 'Anugraha' (release, emancipation, grace)." https://www.learnreligions.com/nataraj-the-dancing-shiva-1770458 Pretty cool, huh? I love learning about different religions and collecting icons. And this store is full of them. As well as lovely items of witchcraft, catholism, antique medicine, carnival glass, goth culture, skulls, tarot, and pretty much anything spooky. The vibe is great and the stock is so unique that I'm sure it'll be full of all kinds of new items to discover the next time I visit. Would recommend!

Love it. Made purchases. Recommend. Many choices and options. The stained glass is well made and…read morebeautiful.

They're slightly hole-in-the-wall but they have some amazingly beautiful stained glass and other…read moreglass ornaments, and they aren't too expensive, considering. My girlfriend and I went there in search of a pink Witch's Ball for her sister. We've been inside to look at the stuff at least a dozen times, because it's so pretty. Although they didn't have quite exactly what we were looking for they were very nice and helpful finding us something that would be perfect, and they gave us a few bucks off the sticker price as well. This place is certainly not handicap accessible, just because the paths between shelves are so narrow, and of course there's risk of breaking something. They do have a lot of stuff in the windows, and they always hang a bunch of stained glass under the awning for pedestrians to admire. Even if you don't plan to buy something you should walk through this. I'm always a fan of stained glass, so I just love this place.

I love this place, it's totally wacky! They have TONS of chandeliers and lamps and some cool…read moreantique stuff like old totems, clocks and metal horses (way in back). Good place to poke around and pretend you're in your great grandparents basement.

This shop next to Starbucks is mainly lamps.Tiffany lamps are their specialty. I personally think…read morethis place is weird and horrible, but then again I'm not in the market for Antique lamps. I've been in here once and it looked like it was also the owner's living room and they slept in the back. It is packed with all these lamps and glass statutes. The men who tried to help me were weird and it looked like they may have people in the basement.