929 Lampshades.

Like many small businesses, Alley Kat’s Curiosity Shoppe started on a living room floor and has now grown into a full-scale brick-and-mortar store that supports over 50 local artists and curators. Back in 2014, when Kat was cobbling together various jobs to earn a living, she made a deal for the remaining inventory of a closed lampshade factory. What she thought would be just some bags of trim, fabric, and accessories for her costuming business turned out to be truckloads of sewing materials, displays, lamps, finials—and 929 lampshades. Kat had to figure out how to sell the lampshades and other items online and to wholesalers—and thus she learned the art of resale.

In October 2016, 908 Roosevelt became the home of Alley Kat Deals, and the first members joined the shop. When the business outgrew that venue in 2018, Kat was able to move her store to 1515 Roosevelt Road, where it became Alley Kat’s Curiosity Shoppe. Nowadays, customers can visit The Curiosity Shoppe every Wednesday through Sunday to explore vintage treasures, toys and collectibles, home goods, handmade and artisan gifts, and more!

Kat started attending auctions, estate sales, resale shops, and buyouts to find merchandise to sell. Her living room business expanded into an office, and then a warehouse. To help with her growing business, Kat’s sister, Elena, joined the team in 2016 to help haul furniture in and out of the warehouse. Finally, after realizing many of her local customers wanted to shop directly, Kat decided to open a storefront.