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True love has been known to blossom
spontaneously in the aisles of Le Spot.
It must be that unbeatable blend of romance, mystery,
and mood lighting that gets 'em every time....no matter
what the age. |
| Some call the Mystery Spot
the Sundance Hospitality Suite of the mid-Catskills.
Spot regulars include director/actor
Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, Habit)
and editor Jim Lyons (Far from Heaven).
On this fine day we were blessed by a visit from editor
David Leonard, artist Carmen
Einfinger, and filmmaker Scott Saunders.
We met Scott a few months ago at the
Florida
Film Festival when we were a juror in the
short film category, and his film The Technical Writer
(starring Tatum O'Neal) was in feature
competition. Here they show off their recent purchases,
including a mounted trout ($10). |
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Musician Chris Maxwell
of The Gleaners is a Spot
regular. You can usually find him on weekends rummaging
through our stacks of hand-selected vintage LPs, and he
never manages to leave without a sweet pile o' vinyl.
This time he not only picked up a near-mint copy of Astral
Travelling by Lonnie Liston Smith ($12),
but a set of vintage hand-hooked rooster seat
covers ($8. each) for his cabin. (Note the
crochet/flying/bird theme in this photo). |
| This lovely couple -- Bea
and Paul from Brooklyn -- recently wandered
into the Mystery Spot. We kept stealing
glances at Paul, thinking he looked so familiar. We were
right! Turns out he's an actor who's been in tons of Woody
Allen movies! |
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| We love Steve
Dubner's writing,
and we're not just saying that simply because he once
wrote a wonderful article about us for The New
Yorker (wherein he noted our striking resemblance
to Debra Winger). Check out his great
books, Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper and Turbulent
Souls. Here he reminds us what one does when one
shops at The Mystery Spot. |
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One of our favorite writers, Luc
Sante (Lowlife) stopped by our booth
at the Margaretville Antiques Show to
say hi and add to his world-renowned collection of Used
Car Lot Bumper Stickers ($1. each). |
| Who knew? Right in our midst lives
one of Andy Warhol's original teenage
Superstars! Penny Arcade appeared in
Andy's film Women in Revolt, and is a well-known
performance artist and monologist. She recently treated
The Mystery Spot to a sampling of her
act, and it was hilarious and profound. While perusing
the offerings of the Spot, Penny developed
a strong attraction to this squirrel and nut Nut
Bowl ($12.) |
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Spot regular Kate
Pierson of the B-52's proudly
displays her finds for the day. They'll all go towards
furnishing her fabulous modernist/rustic getaway, Kate's
Lazy Meadow Motel, in nearby Mt. Tremper.
Included are a mod 60's canister set ($20.),
a chartreuse ceramic 50's lamp with bubble shade
($40), and a pastel drawing of a Joan Kennedy
lookalike (free). |
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Let's be honest - everyone
knows the #1 reason why the sidewalks of Phoenicia are
packed every weekend. Sweet Sue's continues
to be the culinary hotspot of the Catskills, and for good
reason. Stacks of mouth-watering pancakes, homemade soups,
mile-high salads, bottomless cups of coffee, and most
of all, Sue and the wonderful wait staff
who make everyone feel at home. After a long day on their
feet, the waitresses often drop by the Mystery
Spot to spend their hard-earned tips on the latest
Phoenician fashions. Two of our favorite gals - Christy
and Lea - check out a couple of vintage
frocks that caught their eye.
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Three generations of Houskas
stop in to say hi - Julie, Ruth
and Helen. Ruth Houska runs the United
Methodist Church "Formerly Yours" Thrift Store
in town, and we're probably giving away a few secrets
here by confessing that it's been the source of some
of our favorite finds. The thrift store ladies run a
tight ship - and the place buzzes like a busy beehive!
The ladies put out fresh merch every minute!
You must be quick on your feet and remember to get out
of their way as they scurry back and forth stocking
the shelves, or you'll get run over! We kid you
not!
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won't tell if you don't! Every now and then an
astute dealer from NYC swoops in and cleans us out of
our vintage gear to re-sell down in the city.
Jill from Jillery in Greenwich
Village recently paid us a visit and picked the shelves
dry of practically every fabulous vintage purse
on the premises. (Not to worry, we had plenty more where
those came from, and the shelves have been freshly re-stocked).
Come back again soon, Jill!
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| You're never too young to shop for
the latest vintage couture here at Le Spot.
Young Anna Greenleaf checks out the rack
for a frock in her size. Remember Anna, you can always
grow into it! |
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Cluck! cluck! Why did performer/DJ
extraordinaire Ken Bullock and gardener-to-the
stars Dean Riddle cross the road? Why,
to get to The Mystery Spot, of course!
Dean is the garden columnist for Elle Decor
and the author of a wonderful book called Out
in the Garden. They are holding up an adorable Made
in Japan ceramic chicken sugar and creamer set
($32.). |
| Sherlock Sylvia searches
for clues in the 1920's book More Toasts
($15.) whilst wearing a vintage red wool cape
($20.), men's tweed hat ($10) and puffing
on a corncob pipe ($5). (She
bought the cape and hat with her babysitting money). |
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Matthew, Alexis
and Rachel stop by to say hi and pick
up a few extra used car bumper stickers for their growing
collection. |
| Ceramic artists Phillip
Maberry and Scott Walker stopped
off at The Mystery Spot en route to the
Love Shack to purchase this great ceramic
poodle objet d'art ($20). and try on
this groovy Hawaiian shirt ($35.). |
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Yankee fan Nick
can't decide between these vintage baseball mitts
($20. each) or a NOS vintage pair of 70's mirrored
sunglasses ($10.) |
| Earlier this summer the Goddess
Festival up at the Full Moon Resort
brought all sorts of wonderful folks into town. Among
the performers shopping the Spot was
Tanya, a professional aerialist who has
a trapeze act with her sister called the WauWau
Sisters. She was thrilled no end when she found
this near-mint copy of Circus Punk for
only $6. Can't say we blame her! |
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We hadn't seen Janet Wygal
- one of our colleagues at the NY Rocker,
and member of bands The Wygals and
The Individuals - in years. Imagine how thrilled
we were when she came walking in the front door of Le
Spot, looking as chic and gorgeous as ever, with
honey Tedd on her arm. A faux
wood grain ceramic ashtray ($12), immediately
caught Tedd's eye, and can't say we blame him! |
| Comedienne Lisa DeLarios
and her dog Stargil find inspiration
in a vintage multicolored honeycomb crepe paper
decoration ($8.). The comic (not to mention decorative)
possibilities are endless! |
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You might think that Phoenicia
is the perfect village - and it very nearly is - but it's
been missing one thing: the perfect smoothie. Thank goodness
for Paradise! The gals at Paradise Picnic Supply
opened their doors this summer and have been providing
us with delicious organic smoothies as well as other scrumptious
treats. What's more, for those of us too busy to leave
their shops amidst the rush of customers, Sylvia
and Aglaia will deliver a freshly made
smoothie to your door, free of charge, on their grand
three-wheeler. |
| Famed tattoo artist Bruce
Bart, Delainie Bart, and Curse
Mackey proudly display their day's finds - three
exceptional religious portraits on tin. |
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Actress Savannah Haske
(Third Watch, Piggie) searches for hidden meaning
in this 1960's signed still life painting
($42.). Tripod artist Ralph "Chip" Gallagher
wraps his fingers around a naked lady
mug ($15.) |
| Animator Pes and
his delightful producer Sarah Phelps
celebrate the worldwide success of
Roof Sex, their
ode to furniture and rooftop lovin.' Pes holds up an incredible
needlepoint of a crying boy ($22.) while
Sarah proudly models the vintage navy gloves
($10.) and 60's white patent leather purse
($20.) that she bought to accessorize her red-carpet-worthy
film festival ensemble. |
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Our Motto: "Clutter My World"
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