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Walking through the two large rooms of the store Cleveland Curiosities on Madison Avenue, reactions range from wonder to horror to, well, curiosity. Taxidermied, double-headed animals. A guillotine. Vintage jewelry. And plenty of skeletons. Caskets. Old medical books. Radioactive vases
Clement Kunkle, co-owner of Cleveland Curiosities, has always had a fondness for the bizarre.
Opening its doors in 2018, the shop has become a popular stop in the city of Lakewood. Offering obscure antiques and oddities, the shop was a passion project for Kunkle and his wife, Hallie Wallace.
“I started working on taxidermy and entomology projects starting when I was 14 years old,” Kunkle said. “We’ve been here for a while now. It keeps doing its thing. Everybody seems to be happy. The community has been really cool.”
Once Kunkle graduated from high school, he decided that college wasn’t the immediate road for him. Following that, he began work on the store with his girlfriend. After opening its doors, they would end up getting married.
Keeping the shelves full continues by collecting from multiple venues - including making connections with locals working in antique taxidermy and collectors. Additionally, items will resonate with people in the medical field, funeral services and church cleanouts.
“We do a lot of hunting for antiques,” Kunkle said. “The same goes for small independent artists. We try to carry as much of that work as we can.”
Kunkle doesn’t have a traditional background in retail. Instead, he learned about online sales. Learning about the trade as he got older, he felt that this was enough to start the business.
Kunkle says that the city has been a great promoter for small businesses.
“Lakewood has always been a really good place,” Kunkle said. “There wasn’t a whole lot happening when we first came here. But both West Park and Lakewood have been up-and-coming places these past few years. We hope that it continues to remain a space for small and independent artists.”
Over the years, Cleveland Curiosities has continued to grow in popularity, which Kunkle takes pride in.
“Everyone likes weird stuff,” Kunkle said. “It changes all the time, but we feel like we can just lay back and let people do their thing.”
Cleveland Curiosities is at 13375, 13373 Madison Ave.
Contact this reporter at bglove@westlifenews.com or 440-871-5797
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