The stuff stories are made of

Everything comes with a story.

Ian Neligh

The bear, like most things in David Gladstone,s Miner Street consignment store, comes with a story all its own.

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Take, for instance, the bear. The bear was killed by the husband of a lady who once worked for the FBI. Its skull is fake; the actual head bone was taken to the Smithsonian Institution because of its unusual size.

Or, take the lamp filled with shotgun shells — instead of seashells — or the noble profile of the jackalope staring out from the wall.

All the items for sale in David Gladstone’s recently opened shop, the Everything and Anything Consignment Store, have a story — including the store itself.

Gladstone, a Navy veteran, said he moved to Idaho Springs more than five years ago to run Hanson’s Lodge. Before then, he had spent most of his life as a chef. Today, the self-professed workaholic runs his store seven days a week and is at Loveland Ski Area at a second job five nights a week.

Gladstone said the motivation behind opening a consignment shop in Idaho Springs was a simple one — to help people. Gladstone said he’s helping area residents by selling their items at a better venue than a typical yard sale provides.

“I want to make a living,” Gladstone conceded. “(But) I’m not out to get rich. My main inspiration was I wanted to help. I know all the locals here — I wanted to help the locals make money on what they never used or what they’ve wanted to replace. This is a low-income town.”

Gladstone said everybody has items they’d like to get rid of for one reason or another, whether it’s because of a need for extra cash or the desire to do a little spring cleaning.

“I give (customers) the opportunity to make a fair amount on something they would otherwise throw away or give away,” Gladstone said.

He said his business gives him the opportunity to work with craftspeople such as Native American jewelry makers, candle makers and glass-blowers — to name a few.

Gladstone has big ideas for his little business. Within about a year, he’d like to open a second store, and within five years he’s hoping to expand to four.

Although the last several weeks have been a little slow, on a good weekday he might see as many as 75 customers, and most of those are from out of town.

“With my store, basically, you never know what’s in it until you look,” Gladstone said. “Stuff constantly comes in, and I don’t know what’s coming half the time until it gets here.”

Prices on the items currently in his store range from 25 cents to $2,000 — for the stuffed bear. It’s the same bear that left five puncture marks on the top of his head — but that’s another story.

“Everything comes with a story, which is kind of cool,” Gladstone said. “You get people that visit the town … then they will look at something, and you can’t help but tell them the story behind it. I get people in who say, ‘Ah, jackalope don’t exist. Rabbits don’t have horns.’ Well, rabbits don’t have horns, but jackalopes do.”

The Everything and Anything Consignment Store, on Miner Street, is open Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information, call 303-641-3246.

Contact Ian Neligh at courant

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