Something curious comes to Old Town Silverdale

When Michael Gordon was in high school, it wasn’t CDs he was saving up for, but a $1,000 suit of armor.

The suit, originally from Spain, now sits in Gordon’s curiosity shop, Old Town Curio, in Old Town Silverdale, 8997 Pacific Ave., as an unofficial mascot. The store opened in February.

“Anything strange or bizarre, I pick it up,” he said, adding that he has been collecting strange items from around the world since he was a student at Bremerton High School. He graduated in 1996.

The store may be small — only 330 square feet — but between the German bibles, Egyptian scarab beetles and a Monopoly game circa 1935, Gordon has a little bit of everything.

Gordon says inspiration for the store comes from Seattle’s famed Ye Olde Curiosity Shop waterfront store, but added that he wanted to bring something unique to Kitsap.

“People need something fun to do, I need something fun to do,” he said. “There’s no store quite like it.”

Gordon said he collects items from garage sales, estate sales and sometimes on accident.

One of his favorite pieces, a sword from a World War II American military officer from Pearl Harbor, was discovered while helping a friend clean up an old house.

Seeing the reactions from shoppers, some delighted and some horrified, is something Gordon finds fascinating.

“A lot of people dig it,” he said. “A few people though, it’s not for them.”

While some of the items for sale were made by Gordon himself, there are two pieces that have a personal significance.

For sale are reproductions of illustrations that appeared in the book “Breakfast at Sally’s,” written by local author Richard LeMieux.

LeMieux, who spent some time sleeping at the Bremerton United Methodist church where Gordon attends, asked him to draw pictures for the book.

“I did it as a favor, I didn’t think the book would take off,” he said.

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