Finding Pandora’s Box in Albany
When I was a little girl back in 1980s Scotland, I owned a music box – essentially all my friends and I owned the same music box featuring a white exterior with floral borders, a pink velveteen interior and a dancing ballerina with a tutu. It was sold through a popular catalogue called Argos and as a child I’d go through that phone directory-sized catalogue and mark all the items I’d decorate my house with when I was a grown up. Did you have a music box? Do you remember that excitement and anticipation of opening it to discover treasures and music inside? Well, Elissa Halloran Designs shop on Lark Street in Albany embodies that feeling. Open for more than 20 years, the store is a treasure trove of tchotchkes from records to handmade jewelry to crystals to salt n pepper shakers to art. Every inch of surface space magically displays 10 inches of unique curated objects. The selection is overwhelming which makes it the perfect gift store – there is so much to look at, to touch, things you haven’t seen in decades and things you’ve never seen before from local artists including Elissa’s own jewelry and artwork. Elissa’s partner Chris also operates Lark Street Records in the store, so you’ll find hits from yesteryear as well as today in addition to hard-to-find vinyls too. Part museum, part art gallery, part cool aunt’s attic, 100% a must visit. Elissa Halloran Designs is located at 229 Lark Street, Albany. Please check her social media @elissahallorandesigns for store hours.
