Stuffology

this was the cutest store ever! i bought a mother’s day gift! They had tiles from all over KC, sports memorabilia, old furniture and lamps… i could spend all day in here.

I must admit I have avoided the West Bottoms, probably because I don’t love the «hype». But I love vintage and antique stuff and my friends kept raving about the stores down there and showed me some of the stuff they picked up, so I thought it would be best to go with an open mind and see if I could find anything cool.
Stuffology is on the second floor of the Central Bag building. I must admit that it’s kind of weird the way you get to this store. You have to meander through other places in order to get to it.
But once you do, this place has some seriously awesome stuff. My friends told me that Stuffology was previously in another building and was dark, dusty, and difficult to find anything.
But the new Stuffology is wonderfully lit and curated. Amazing industrial pieces are laid out in a manner that Restoration Hardware would be jealous of.
If you’re looking for a one of a kind item, this is the spot. I feel like many of the pieces will end up in high end lofts or homes in Westside or something.
Will definitely be coming back!

Stuffology is the less refined, less overcontrived version of all the other West Bottoms antique shops. They do carry a lot of manly, rustic antiques that are not quite ready for your home. They would require some cleaning and other prep, but that being said, I still saw several items I would happily take home if I had the space and the budget.
For example, they had a lot of rolling carts ready for you to convert into coffee tables (a la Pottery Barn circa 2010?). They also had some beautiful, solid furniture that with the right elbow grease would be a great piece. These weren’t at deal prices either. I’m hoping they negotiate. And then there’s all the random old schtuff shoved in the corners. I didn’t notice the allergy issues, but I wouldn’t notice that in a field of ragweed either. It was dusty, and you will want to wash your hands afterwards. Some things you won’t find here: cutesy-​poo, time-​stamped, framed sayings or furniture painted in shabby chic colors.

Of all the places we visited on First Friday, this was the best. It was stuff to be looked through and considered, nothing restored, redone or otherwise changed.

Junky, allergy-​inducing levels of dust, overpriced. The presentation is completely terrible. Anything I picked up was just way too expensive. If you want to charge those kinds of prices, you have to make your place look worth it. It’s not hard — invest in some better lighting, some better shelving, and freaking dust things off once in a while.
And for God’s sake, if you want to charge a lot, don’t use tacky blue duct tape to scribble your prices.
Stuffology is located on the second floor on the east end of 12^th Street. I stopped in because there were a couple new vendors on the bottom floor, and I’d already climbed the stairs before I remembered Stuffology is a shop I dislike.
You may find a little bit of home stuff here, but it’s more of a men-​friendly vintage store. I found some musical instruments, records, and equipment, but I was disgusted at how it was just thrown around. There was a snare drum I looked at – Moxwin by Pearl label — which I texted to my husband, a professional drummer. I had to pick the thing up to even find the price, which clanked when I tilted it on its side — couldn’t you put the tag in an accessible place? — and then they wanted $ 80 for it, too much. Below it was a timpani, which was marked at $ 350 — who would want to spend hundreds of dollars on a timpani in a shop like this?
There was a room dedicated to speakers and amps. It was claustrophobic and looked like nothing had even been touched in months. No prices were marked on the couple of things I looked at.
Save yourself the allergy medication and invest your time in a better organized shop.

Stuffology, yet another one of the «First Weekends only» Antique shops in the West Bottoms, is a bit of a mixed bag. They have some great things, for sure. But the place is (in my opinion) very disorganized. Additionally, areas of the store are so musty that I find myself wanting to leave for fear of a major allergic reaction.
I meant what I said about the cool stuff. They have a ton of awesome hanging lamps, if that’s what you’re in the market for. They also have this kick ass photo backdrop of a gorilla that was from some olden-​timey circus or carnival. I want it SO. VERY. BAD. The last time I was here I also noticed a pretty cool selection of «Victorian» photo albums. My point is that it’s most definitely worth a look.
They have a puppy here. He/​she is pretty cute.
Moral of my story: I really like Stuffology, I just wish they’d air it out a bit, or at least light some candles so it smelled a little better!