The Madam's Curiosities set to open in 12 Points

Jan. 4—A new antique and oddities shop is about to open in 12 Points, and its wares are anything but typical.

The Madam's Curiosities, located at 1281 Lafayette Ave. in the Gosnell building, will have a soft opening from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 13.

The shop is described as selling "antiques, oddities, curiosities, and all that's in between."

It is a joint venture of business partners Megan Hawkins and Willis Fiddler, who have been working on the shop's opening for more than a year.

According to its Facebook site, "We are very excited to bring a whimsical, curious, occasionally macabre shopping experience to the public and to share this adventure with all of you."

Items at The Madam's Curiosities include old dolls; a vintage clown Halloween mask; old bottles; glass domes; antique portraits; deer bones; and applehead dolls.

Among the more unusual items is a quack medical device, something a door-to-door salesmen "swore up and down if you use it, your husband's hair would grow back," Hawkins said.

The curiosity shop "kind of looks like a museum," said Hawkins, who has been collecting items for about 15 years. "I want people to come in and kind of experience it."

If visitors have questions, "I've got an answer for most everything and if I don't, I can find out," she said.

Consignors and artists also will have items for sale.

The back of the store, set up like a living room, will have vintage Halloween items, comic books and more.

Hawkins plans to continue going to flea markets as often as possible to look for new items.

Fiddler, a bricklayer by trade, came up with the store's name. Part of the inspiration comes from the Gosnell building's history.

The building was once owned by Eddie Gosnell, whose wife was Madam Edith Brown, and she apparently ran a brothel out of the former hotel.

"We are directly underneath some of the (former) hotel rooms," Hawkins said.

In fact, they have framed some of the wallpaper from those upstairs rooms before they were recently renovated; the wallpaper dates back to the 1930s.

Fiddler and Hawkins have worked hard to renovate and restore their shop, removing old flooring and exposing part of the brick walls.

"We wanted it to look the way we think it would have looked when it was built," Hawkins said.

The Madam's Curiosities will have a grand opening in February, with a date yet to be determined.

"We will decorate for Valentine's Day" and have other things planned for the special day, Hawkins said.

Once open, stores hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The store is located between Amosami Cheesecake and Groovy Baby Vintage.

"I think there's something for everybody here," Hawkins said. It will especially appeal to those who love Halloween and those who like "the strange, unusual and eccentric."

She added, "I hope it's a place people can feel comfortable and know every time they come in there will be something brand new."

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue