On our Saturday excursion to The House of Dang to search for vintage goodies, Andrew (the proprietor) suggested that we should visit Dolly Python. It’s a combination vintage clothing/antique store/junk store located in the same area of Dallas, at 1916 Haskell Avenue. We slithered on over and look what we found (actually, this is not but a fraction of it).

By the time you drive there, probably most of this will be gone. We found the place as packed full of people as it was of merchandise. The Dallas Observer voted Dolly Python the “Best Treasure Trove” earlier this month. If you go there, you will immediately see why. With fourteen vendors who restock their wares daily, there will always be something new to catch your eye.

The proprietor, Gretchen, was buzzing around trying to keep up with everything, but she still took time to answer questions and point us toward items that might interest us. Of course, everything did.

I sent my husband one direction with the camera while I went the other. I’m looking at these pictures realizing that I missed seeing a lot of things—there is so much in Dolly Python that it is almost overwhelming. I’m also realizing that my husband didn’t tell me about these things! My money was burning a hole in my pocket that day, and I guess he knew I would want to bring it all home.

I did find a couple of treasures that made it home with me. In an earlier post I talked about faux vintage lampshades. I found two shades that were “the real deal.” They now grace my living room.

Dolly Python has a website on MySpace. Visit it to see more slides of their wares. But, if you love browsing through stores like this, nothing beats a visit to the location. You can spend hours there. It’s better than your grandma’s attic.

As one who loves to shop, I almost salivate when I see an ad with “BoGo” on it. “Buy One, Get One.” I love a sweet deal. Here’s a better concept: “Buy One, Give One.” By doing so, you can “light the world.”

Everyone needs a couple of flashlights; one is for the house and one for the car. You could buy a relatively inexpensive flashlight down at Wal Mart and then keep filling it with batteries every few months (or risk having the batteries go dead when you need them). OR, you can buy this BoGo Light which is solar powered, needs batteries only every two years, and has a solar panel which will last twenty years. When you buy this flashlight, an identical flashlight is distributed in a developing country.

“So,” you are thinking, “why is that important?” The Bogo Light site can explain it in more detail. Here are the reasons that caught my attention:

Two billion people in developing countries have only kerosene lanterns, candles, and single use batteries to light their nights.

For a poor family, the cost of buying kerosene can eat up 1/3 of their income. IF they had these flashlights, the family could re-direct their money and have a better life.

Children in developing countries often have to work during the day. Their only chance to read is after dark, but kerosene and flashlight batteries are expensive and candlelight isn’t adequate. IF they had these flashlights, those children would have the opportunity to learn to read and escape a life of poverty.

According to the World Bank, every twenty seconds a person dies from cancer and illness associated with the indoor pollution from burning wood, dung, and coal. With a gift of solar light, 1.6 million people might have a better chance at health. Hundreds of thousands of people might not be injured or killed in accidental fires caused from kerosene use IF they had solar light. Solar light might even help in the prevention of malaria (the mosquitoes that spread it don’t seem attracted to the solar light).

The use of solar light would positively impact global warming (less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere), groundwater contamination (fewer batteries), and topsoil erosion (less wood cut for fuel).

For $25 + shipping from Houston, TX, you can help end world poverty, further education, increase world health, and positively impact the environment. AND, you get a good flashlight! It sounds like a sweet deal to me.

My friends Mark and Dawn passed this on to me. I just bought a flashlight, and I’m passing this on to you. If you buy a flashlight, and pass this on to one person, and they buy a flashlight and pass the information on to one person, and so on, and so on, etc.—why, people, we can change the world.

Let there be light.

All I can say is Wow! You have to check it out if you are anywhere near. We went to visit it yesterday after reading about it in the Dallas Morning News several weeks back. It sounded intriguing.

The paper had named it THE best new independent store of 2006. The article said that it was a mix of retro furniture, vintage accessories, and colorful home decor pieces. As you can see from the slideshow, it’s a wonderful eclectic mix. Just what I want in MY house! Everywhere you turn, there is a new treasure. The prices are extremely reasonable. The owners, Andrew Bayer and Doug Voisin, have a clothing line, and they also sell on consignment for local artists and designers.

We loved the uncluttered feel to the place. All the little “tchotchkes” get the opportunity to really showcase. Although I reeeally wanted the gold mannequin, and fully believe that the black table and chairs belong in my house, I only left with a wonderful green pottery bowl, a wooden salad fork and spoon with deer horn handles, and a gold handbag.

I’ll go back, though, and bring home the rest one piece at a time.

Located near the intersection of Peak and Bryan, at 4219 Bryan in Dallas, Texas, the store is open 11-7 Tues-Sat and 1-5 on Sundays.

If you get hungry on the trip, there is a Vietnamese restaurant across the street. I can vouch for it. There is also a Thai restaurant. Maybe go to both. I know that shopping makes ME hungry. I’ll see you there.