Growing up, my mom filled our house with everything Disney. Decorative, collectible plates? Had 'em, for every princess movie. Various sets of various Disney character figurines? Had those too. Categorized by movie, no less. Holiday decorations? Yep. Christmas tree bulbs? Check. Novelty holiday figurines? Check. Snow globes for every movie and holiday? Check, check. Blankets, posters and paintings? Oh yes. Even my room. First it was The Little Mermaid theme then, Jasmine from Aladdin theme, followed by a Winnie the Pooh motif. My mom's room, while she didn't rock the character bedspreads like I did, the knick-knacks that adored her dresser and wall hangings were all Snow White. When we had a guest room in one place, for whatever reason, it had a somewhat nautical theme...but that's neither here nor there. The point is, everything was Disney....although I have tried, I'm not sure I can ever convey to anyone who wasn't there the amount of Disney regalia we had in our house, no matter where we were living.
While I will always have a fondness for Disney, I am currently on an expedition to watch all of my favorite classics. I have no intention of recreating much of the above. I have decided on a drastically different style to attend to. What is this style? Anything Paxton Gate. Okay, I know, Paxton Gate, not cheap--but I don't plan on remaining so poor forever. So let's put our imagination to work here!
Located in the Mission District on Valencia Street, Paxton Gate is a gardening and landscaping store which draws its inspiration from the natural world and sciences. The natural sciences being entomology (basically pinning bugs to things and hanging 'em up), skulls and bones and taxidermy. Paxton Gate offers a slew of items from materials to post your own insects, to individual rodent bones or skulls, to taxidermy supplies to taxidermied animals. Of course they also offer an abundance of plants and gardening supplies--but I do not possess much of a green thumb, so I focus on the other things.
Of course, like everything in life, especially those things that are featured on this blog, there are prices associated with these items. Many of those prices are steep. But who wouldn't love to have a Gentleman Mink on their entry hall table? Or better yet, who isn't currently pining for that perfect Taxidermy Lion Mount to go above the fireplace? If you've got the money, $500.00 and $3,500.00 shouldn't stand in your way of owning such fine art. I just don't feel like enough people appreciate the art of taxidermy. You just don't see enough Taxidermy Mice Wedding Cake Toppers. And for $186, I don't understand why not.
And what's better! Just like my childhood room incorporated the house decor, with a Paxton Gate product theme, I can do the same for my future children, with Paxton Gate's kids line!
One day, when I'm not so poor, I'll decorate my house with Paxton Gate gear. It won't be the Disney theme my mom started, or filled with the cat regalia my family seems to think I enjoy so much, but with my own design. One that will give my kids and their friends nightmares for years. If I wasn't so poor, I'd start my Paxton Gate collection now. After all, it took my mom years to accumulate all of those knick-knacks, plates, wall art and bedding.
Posts
