O
ne of the places that I go almost
every week is DeBois Textiles, as odd a place as you could possibly imagine. From the outside, it looks like the land that time forgot - a mid-century building with clothes redolent of the 1970’s in the windows. But once you enter the store, many great finds await you. The fabrics are from the finest American fabric houses, including Kelly Wearstler, Schumacher, Scalamandre and Ralph Lauren. All at a fraction of their original cost.
Sometimes, DeBois gets fabrics before they are available to the public, as was the case earlier this year when I picked up some Lilly Pulitzer fabric that wouldn’t be in the stores until 2011. DeBois also has a massive selection of vintage clothes, shoes and handbags. You can find anything from Buffalo-checked woolen trousers to a shift that looks like Jackie Kennedy could have worn it during the Camelot years. www.deboistextiles.com 6
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ousewerks is another weekend haunt of mine. Ben Riddleburger and Tracey Clark, the owners, have such a great eye for items that you will not see anywhere else. Their stock is continually revolving as things move out and they find new items. Ben and Tracey term their goods as “architectural antiques” rather than salvage. At Housewerks, you can find anything from a life-size statue of St. Joseph to green glass floats from Japanese fishing nets. Housewerks is located in a Victorianera gas works building. The architecture of it adds to the ambience of Housewerks. The elaborate detailing of the building belies its humble beginnings as a pumping station.
In addition to selling architectural antiques, Housewerks also crafts furniture and other goods from their items. They just completed an order of “industrial style” farm tables for the Whole Foods chain of stores. Housewerks is also an excellent venue for an event. They have recently started hosting weddings and that’s been a very successful venture. www.housewerksalvage.com