Jacob Berendes and Mike Leslie have reinvented the junk store and created a little cultural explosion a la Andy Warhol in Worcester. The store is a true curiosity shop and creative space where you can enter their homemade shoe box diorama contest – or check the events to see when a visiting artist is drawing $1 portraits. Recently Berendes built a Sun Ra Solar Myth Planatarium that is currently on view and they are producing a cable access show on Worcester’s Channel 13 called Snow Ghost.
The real deal for me though is joining the rent club – meaning you donate $40 to pay the store’s rent and in return you receive three surprise pieces of original artwork made by one of the artists in their creative network (one below left). On the right is a thrift find from the store – a 3D puffy birds wall hanging that I believe someone made from a dish towel ($7).
And the website and blog is unlike any other – I promise.
