By Darragh Doiron

The News staff writer

NEDERLAND — Dubbing herself a curator of whimsy, Trisha Faye Grice has brightened her new Boston Avenue shop with, as the name implies, “Uncommon Curiosities.”

“Glitter is magic, and there’s no place like home,” said the Nederland shop owner.

The fun starts outside with a wishing well she’s fashioned from a bird bath. Vintage jewelry and colorful trinkets fill the first room. Eyes head up to catch hand X-rays in the lighting fixtures and to a corner where a lamb’s head seems caught in a tree. Patrons leave money on an altar with images of Jesus, Mary, Buddha and others and the curious can travel through other rooms with shelves brimming with the sort of trinkets their grandmothers used to have. The bathroom is overflowing with bridal and anniversary paraphernalia.

“What drew us to her is her personality,” Tina DeBarge of Beaumont, said.

She was impressed that Grice noted what she liked on her first visit, then phoned her when new goodies she’d might like appeared.

“People just don’t do that any more,” DeBarge said.

These books, buttons, knickknacks and memories from other eras “just came” to Grice, an obvious collector, or “curator.”

“I was absolutely drawn to collect. My house is totally different, but the same,” said the woman adorned with dozens of tattoos.

The sentiment “Tell me somethin’ good” is inked across her chest, and she says people do, all the time. She calls women “mama” and often hugs departing repeat shoppers.

A house fire in Austin gave her new perspective, allowing her to “let go” of some of the wares that have been in her life, but she loves when items find a good home.

“I like to see the way people feel,” she said.

The merchant said she enjoys putting her curiosities in unusual, “out of the box” settings. Above the altar is a bird cage with cat figurines inside. The birds perch freely, outside the cage.

Grice, who created and sold The Tattered Suitcase, a similar collection, on Calder Avenue in Beaumont, said she’s enjoyed observing that some customers who walk in and walk out promptly, while others take their time and peruse.

Sarah Staton of Bridge City returned to the shop for an old tin “no smoking” sign for her kitchen.

“It’s like all this old stuff … she’s brought it all back to life. It’s like memories of your past when you were growing up,” she said. “These are unique pieces you can’t find anywhere else.”

After growing up reading fairy tales and watching “The Wizard of Oz” each year, Grice says she’s all about the whimsy.

Glitter, she says, is her philosophy right now.

Uncommon Curiosities is at 1114 Boston Ave. in Nederland.

“Antiques, rarities and unusual finds” is how Trisha Faye Grice describes her wares in Uncommon Curiosities. It’s a challenge to take it all in at once, so several visits could be in order. Here’s just a few finds one may spy with one’s little eye:

• Bucket from Loretta Lynn’s ranch

• Ketchup bottle phone

• A framed photo of local personality/columnist Martha Madeline “Toodlums” Ferguson at 17

• A baby shoe in a glass vase with rocks

• Bowling pins

• Children’s books

• Birdhouses by her beau, Colby Duhe



ddoiron@panews.com