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Goldbug: A Contemporary Cabinet of Curiosity
Goldbug in Old Town Pasadena is the store for those of us who once caught spiders in jars and spent Saturday afternoons in the Museum of Natural History. Owner Stacey Coleman describes the small, family-owned store as "A contemporary cabinet of curiosity."
The neo-Victorian shop looks back to a time when people had a stronger connection to nature. It marries the artistic beauty of nature with the natural sciences. People are immediately drawn to the regally adorned badgers, beavers, and racoons, but the shop is more about taxonomy than taxidermy. It is about respecting and understanding the natural world. The stones are natural, the metals are recycled and none of the diamonds are blood stones.
Shoppers must slow their pace to appreciate the more detailed work of some of the artists displayed. Of particular interest are Christopher Marley's pressed butterflies and Elizabeth Knight's skeletal necklaces. The shop also features art exhibitions. Currently on display are Lisa Wood's tiny insect dioramas where they enjoy candlelight dinners and buy gumballs out of a teensy weensy gumball machine. Stacey, his wife Shelley, and daughter Theodora will be presenting an exhibit of Lisa Wood's larger diorama in October. Make sure to check it out.
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