I rode a wave of imagination Saturday to a distant planet, where my prize was a blade that could transport me to other universes. Or so the artist of a painting I liked said.
As I gazed at the burnt orange surface of what looked an uninhabitably hot globe, I wondered what other marvels are spinning invisibly through the cosmos, untouchable for humans, save for the dreams that take us there.
Such is the power of art. When I asked the painter how much his rendering of the far-flung sphere cost, he said $25. It seemed an appropriate price to pay for such a spellbinding work, so I reached for my wallet.
And he told me to give the money to his mom.
The artist was 10-year-old Colin Vassion, son of The Local Dive Retail co-owner Mindy Vassion, who was nearby ringing up purchases at her new consignment shop on Cherokee Boulevard.
Mindy’s co-conspirator at The Local Dive, Andie Bost, was standing next to her, bagging a T-shirt featuring the ‘80s most adorable merchandising asset, Gizmo from the film “Gremlins.” (Sorry, E.T. The truth hurts.)
The man purchasing the shirt could have been buying anything – literally. Conceived as a consignment space where local vendors can sell their goods, The Local Dive features about 30 “booths” containing a miscellany of items.
I placed quotation marks around “booths” because the spaces blend together, or at least I didn’t see any clear boundaries as I entered 607 Cherokee Boulevard. (If you’re looking for The Local Dive as you’re driving toward the tunnel, you’ll miss it, so turn right just before you reach McMahan Law Firm.)
Instead, I saw a jumble of vintage wares, secondhand knickknacks and sundry odds and ends. I realize “sundry” and “odds and ends” mean the same thing, but I want to emphasize my point: the merchandise is random.
After taking only a few steps inside, I saw a milk carton filled with used records, an old tape deck sitting on a weathered cabinet, a glazed ceramic bust of Lucy Ricardo, a rotary telephone on a coffee table, someone’s bowling trophies, a handbill advertising a 1979 Bob Marley concert in New York and a set of living room furniture that could have been the inspiration for the word “kitschy.”
“There’s no rhyme or reason,” I thought as my eyes went from a patron who was inspecting a Black Sabbath LP to a painting of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane above him on the wall.
But as I circled through The Local Dive, themes began to emerge. A space in a back corner featured an almost artsy display of used camping gear, all of which was for sale.
A stall containing off kilter fashion caught my eye. As I held up a small jacket consisting of a patchwork swirl of fabrics and colors, I wished I knew someone who’d appreciate it as a gift.
I also happened upon a booth of mugs, coasters, dishtowels and other paraphernalia sporting variations of the F-word. There it was, placed prominently near the rear of the store. There weren’t any children nearby, nor were any adults browsing the shelves.
Multiply those three booths times 10 to get an idea of what The Local Dive has to offer.
“We’re two girls who decided to create something awesome Chattanooga didn’t have and a place where everyone can come together and have fun,” Mindy told me.
She and Andie appear to have hit the bullseye. The Local Dive was crawling with shoppers who were picking through the merchandise. Since it was the market’s grand opening, that was to be expected, but I also spoke with a few folks who said they’ll be back.
Among them was criminal justice attorney Mary Sullivan Moore, who I found gushing over a purse that looked like the head of a wolf, I think.
“This place is full of weird and funny things,” Moore said as she spotted a different purse that looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from “Ghostbusters.” (The ‘80s makes a good showing at The Local Dive.) “I’m redecorating my office and might come back to pick up a few things.”
After speaking with Moore, I felt like I finally understood what Vassion and Bost are doing. Yes, The Local Dive is filled random products, but it’s no flea market. Instead, the owners lean into the arbitrary nature of the place and allow its vendors to define it.
Among the happy denizens is Lela Dorman, owner of Stitch Effects, a embroidery and screen print shop located in a studio within The Local Dive. Dorman uses a $38,000 programmable machine to print or sew whatever her customers imagine.
When I spotted Dorman through an opening in a wall, her machine was stitching the Local Dive logo into six baseball hats. As we chatted, she said she was previously located in a secluded studio elsewhere in Chattanooga and facing a $600 bump in her monthly rent.
Bost offered to lease Dorman a space within the Local Dive, which not only saved the seamstress money and increased her visibility but also made her a part of what she says is a friendly and supportive community.
“I’m really thankful for The Local Dive,” Dorman said. “Without Andie, I’d still be isolated.”
The same could be said of Death Space – the name Colin has given his artistic enterprise. He said he came up with the name while playing the video game “Dead Space.”
“Get it?” he asked
Colin was manning a booth featuring several of his paintings and looking nervous as I walked by. Being a fan of science fiction and all things set in space, I stopped and asked about his works.
He immediately launched into a sales pitch. “See this collection?” he said, pointing to four small paintings that together formed a complete image, like the pieces of a puzzle. “You can buy each one by itself or buy the whole set.”
“What happens if I buy only one of them?” I asked.
“Then I’ll paint another one,” he replied.
Colin told me he draws ideas from the “Star Wars” universe and the “Ready Player One” movie and was inspired to paint planets while working on a school project about Uranus.
“Uranus is 12 million light years from Earth,” he said, massively overestimating. (For the curious, the planet a little under 1.9 billion miles away.) “But it’s not the only planet out there. And our solar system isn’t the only solar system in the galaxy; there are more solar systems than we can count.
“Since we can’t see what they look like, I thought I’d imagine them and then paint what I see.”
I purchased the painting titled “Home Planet,” which Colin said is the eighth planet in Solar System No. 1,870. It derives its name from being the native planet of three friends who find an artifact that allows them to travel across the galaxy in an instant.
Colin’s mom said it was his first sale. It won’t be his last, though, the fledgling artist assures.
“I’ll have new paintings here every week, so show up early before someone gets the one you want.”
The same could be said of the entire market, which will continually feature new products, Mindy said.
“You can never know what you’ll find,” she added.
You can, however, get a peek at a selection of their new items on their Facebook and Instagram pages. (Search each site for “The Local Dive Retail.”)
The Local Dive is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. every day.