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The Mystery Spot
is owned by reclusive artist/filmmaker
Laura Levine
who decided it was time to share some of her treasure
hunting bounty with the rest of the world.
Named for Homer & Langley, the infamous
Collyer Brothers
(who were tragically crushed under their 136-ton accumulation
of "collectibles"), the
Mystery Spot
is a shrine to clutter. As a child, Levine still remembers
being warned by her mother that she might end up like
one of the Collyer Brothers if she didn't clean up
her room.
Did she listen?
You be the judge. 
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Scroll through the next few pages and meet some of our wonderful
customers. Artists, rock stars, filmmakers,
and antique dealers. Kids, teens and fashion queens. Stylists
for Martha Stewart and Bloomingdale's, designers
for Anthropologie and Coach....and of course,
you, dear friends!
Please bear in mind that these pages are in reverse order,
from oldest to newest, so you'll find the more recent pages
if you keep scrolling. To see the most recent photos and updates on all things Mystery Spot, please visit our blog.
 |  | The christening of
The Mystery Spot
log, created by artist
Keith Strahan
with his chainsaw. Here's
Keith
with Rex, Io, and Robin. The most photogenic family in the Catskills! |
| Laura Levine, the proprietress of
The Mystery Spot
with
Employee of the Month
Caroline. Caroline personally oversaw the construction of Plasticalia! | |  |
 | | Kate Pierson of the
B-52's
is one of our favorite customers. A loyal supporter
of Le Spot, she's been shopping here since Opening Day. Here
she is checking out some vintage duds as she mulls
over her stage outfit for an upcoming gig. |
| Funny Boy
David Ilku
all wrapped up in his latest purchase - early schoolhouse
music rolls from 1905. This one is entitled "Nature."
We found a barn full of these wonderful antique children's
musical couplets and are offering them for a mere five
dollars each! | |  |
| We were thrilled when Mary Randolph Carter, the world's foremost authority on junk (and the author
of "American Junk," "Big City Junk," etc.), dropped by for a visit. She not only
bought lots and lots of stuff, but featured The Mystery
Spot on her website, www.carterjunk.com. (Go to "On the Road" and then "Junker's
Journal," and you can read all about Carter's
visit. Lots of pics!). A great website, a dedicated
junker, and her books are a must-read! | |  |
 | | Okay, so
Gwyneth Paltrow
hasn't visited
The Mystery Spot
(YET!), but we still manage to sell a steady stream of these
Dutch ponytail holders from the 1970's at 2 bucks a
pop. The sales appeal being the model on the box, who
we swear looks just like Gwyneth! (If Gwyneth were
a teenager living in Holland in 1973). One of the many
mysteries of the Mystery Spot. Who
IS
this girl? |
| More happy customers! Photographer
David LaChapelle
and his friend
Anthony
picked up a supply of our mint 1960's trash tabloids,
Midnight
and The National Informer.
ARE
Nude Models Perverts? You'll have to read it to find
out! | |  |
 | | "Sugar Artist"
Margaret Braun
models her newly purchased
Mod Maid
belted four-pocket (with snaps!) 60's vintage jacket.
Only 35 bucks. Dig that Cadmium Orange! Make sure to
check out Margaret's amazing new book, Cakewalk. |
 | | Photographer
Lynn Goldsmith
and husband
Sid Schneider
happy as clams under the
Mystery Spot
log. Lynn loved the place and took lots of photos;
Sid loved it too but we think he might have been a
little scared by all the clutter. |
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Look for
Tessa, Viva
and
Sylvia
this summer as they walk up and down Main Street advertising
some of our favorite retail establishments:
The Mystery Spot, The Goldsmith, Upstate Art,
and Modern Kids.
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Homer & Langley's Mystery Spot
is named for the Collyer Brothers. Here's a piece all about them that proprietress
Laura Levine
wrote
and painted for
Blab!
(November 2001, Fantagraphics).
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| Sorry, they're NFS.
But aren't they as cute as a button!
Anna
and
Leo
model our limited edition Mystery Spot T-shirts, hand-screened and available in sizes from infant
to adult. Ten bucks for kid's sizes, fifteen for grown-ups. | |  |
 | | Zach Alford may have great taste in music (as a drummer he's toured
with Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, and the B-52's) but his taste in fine art is questionable, at best.
We caught him admiring lovely ladies
Carmelita
and
Esquerita
in the Mystery Spot Black Velvet Nude Lady Art Gallery. (Though an absolute bargain at only $85. each, or
$150. for the pair!) |
| Our favorite rock & roll literary couple,
Alan Light
and Suzanne McElfresh, check out the vinyl treasures at the Mystery Spot Auxillary Yard Sale, an annual event where mint 45's from the 1970's sell
for 25 cents each (or 5 for a buck) and LP's a mere
50 cents each. Here Alan checks out a rare
Tanzplagen
release. | |  |
 | | Jazz musician
Don Byron
finds inspiration in a yellow ducky. |
| Fairy godchild
Sarah
helps to redecorate the ever-evolving window display
at
The Mystery Spot.
This month's theme salutes the Happy Homemaker, with a fluttering clothesline of vintage aprons made
of chiffon, calico, and rick-rack. At four bucks and
up, they have been flying out the door! | |  |
 | | On those rare occasions when business is slow at the Mystery Spot, we run across the street to
Sweet Sue's
to pick up some pancakes or the latest village gossip.
Imagine our surprise when we returned from one of our
lunch runs to find these six lovely ladies all decked
out in front of the shop in vintage frocks from our
racks! They were visiting the Catskills for the weekend
for a bachelorette party for
Ashley's
(third from left) upcoming nuptials. Congrats, Ashley! |
| Tiki collecting family The
Gorton-Kirks
make their annual pilgrimage to the
Mystery Spot
from New Jersey every October to add to their ever-expanding World-Class Tiki Collection. You may know illustrators
Julia Gorton
and
Dan Kirk
from their marvelous children's books. | |  |
 | | Paper editor David Hershkovits, wife
Brigitte
and lovely
Esther
are regulars here at the Spot. Starting this winter
you'll be able to pick up your very own copy of the
latest
PAPER
magazine, hot off the presses, right here in Phoenicia! |
| Announcing the latest styles of the ever-popular Mystery Spot T-shirt, each individually artist hand-screened. We now carry
it in flourescent pink, flourescent green and classic
red, in all sizes from infant to adult, as well as
spaghetti strap tank tops! $10/15. Modelled by visions
of loveliness (and our favorite god-daughters)
Eva
(left) and
Sarah
(right). | |  |
 | | No photos, please! Future starlets
Caroline
and
Sylvia
in some black and white selections from the always-fashionable
racks and racks of vintage duds at the Mystery Spot. Caroline models a vintage
black velvet and ostrich feather wide brimmed hat
($45.),
black velvet bolero jacket
($25.) and
black purse with needlepoint accent
($18). Sylvia sports a 1950's Audrey Hepburn-inspired
white fake fur mini cape
($30), vintage
white chiffon hat
($15.), and
Enid Collins
knock-off
rhinestone bejeweled canvas tote
depicting the fashion capitals of the world ($44). |
Our favorite punk rocker Richard Hell
leafs through a gorgeous vintage copy of Dracula
($10.) and registers an appropriate look of shock and
horror. |
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This is Bryan. Bryan is eighteen years
old. He lives near Buffalo. He
came into The Mystery Spot this summer
carrying his rubber band ball. He named it Achilles.
Achilles is six months old and is still growing. We gave
Bryan some rubber bands for Achilles. We say, "Go,
Bryan!" |
| Neil Finn of Crowded House
dropped by the Mystery Spot recently
and bought all sorts of stuff. He even obliged us with
a photo for our archives, muttering something that sounded
like"Pineapple Head,"
as he graciously posed. |
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Sara spent ten minutes sorting through
our incredible selection of
original vintage 60's hippie leather and suede
purses trying to decide on the perfect one. She
finally opted for a great tooled leather purse
($13). Well done, Sara! |
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Alex tries on a slinky forties rayon
dress ($44.) with fabulous diagonal chevron on the back.
She spins! She laughs! It fits her like a dream!
She takes it! Watch out, Rochester! |
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Super-talented chanteuse Ambrosia Parsley of
Shivaree is one of our favorite customers. Here
she give a vintage faux leopard coat ($44.) and sunglasses
($10.) a test drive as a thrift store painting of Jesus
($35.) looks on. (Yes, that's her real name!) |
| Here's Mystery Spot patron and punk
rock godhead/author Richard Hell with
his lovely bride Sheila. Turns out he's
a big Casper the Friendly Ghost fan.
Who knew? (Yes, this wonderful handmade folk
art wooden cut-out Casper ($18.) went
home with him). |
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Journalist Mitch Smyth and his adorable
wife Vilma came all the way down from
Canada to visit the Mystery Spot and
write a travel article on the Catskills for the Toronto
Star. We sure hope we make the cut! |
Several generations of Gornick women
(and one adorable baby boy) pose on
the Boardwalk - Marian, Vivian, Lisa and
Damon. Marian is our college roommate Janet's
mom, Vivian is her aunt, Lisa is her sister, and Damon
is her nephew. Vivian is known for her fabulous award-winning
writing (plus we always thought it was way cool that among
her numerous credits she is also known for writing the
introduction to the SCUM Manifesto). |
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Collector extraordinaire and man-about-town Larry
Brill bought a Giant B from
us at the Third Annual Mystery Spot Ladies Auxillary
Yard Sale. |
| Lovely Ava
models the latest line of hand-screened Mystery
Spot toddler tees ($10.). Somebody quick,
sign this girl! |
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Every now and then we like to give
a "shout-out" to other memorable yard sales
we've had the pleasure of attending. Here's illustrator
Lane Smith selling off the last of his
beloved James and the Giant Peach memorabilia
before the repo man comes. (Just kidding! Lane, as
we all know, is a bazillionaire!) |
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Our Motto: "Clutter My World"
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