By Julie Landry Laviolette
 

Imagine a luxurious gallery boasting 50 million-year-old fossils, a Lladro chandelier of 300 cascading porcelain fairies and a collection of World War II binoculars.

 And everything is for sale at this Dania shop.

 The  At the entrance of this Dania shop sits edgy, contemporary furniture crafted from vintage airplane parts. One piece, a massive executive desk, was made from the flap of a 1940s U.S. military cargo plane. Price tag: $29,500.

Around the corner is the ethereal Lladro chandelier, with its snowy, white figurines suspended from delicate strings of LED lights. It will set you back $120,000.

(If your purse strings aren’t that loose, you’ll also find hundreds of smaller Lladro pieces, from candle votives to tableware, starting at $100.)

The natural history gallery includes slabs of 50 million-year-old natural stone from a fossilized lake bed in Wyoming, all cut to display preserved fish and tropical flora. Now fashioned into murals, tabletops and even backsplashes, the pieces start at $700 and range to $185,000 for a pair of six-foot murals imprinted with palm fronds.

Gregg Whittecar, gallery co-owner and producer, said he and co-owner Arron Rimpley bought and sold art and antiques for 20 years before they opened the gallery.

 “We go on buying trips all around the world. We’re always looking for something unique and unusual,” Whittecar said.

This Dania shop and gallery also frequently hosts art-themed parties, fund-raisers, even weddings, so the pieces are routinely moved around to accommodate events, he said.

The second floor houses the Weiner Museum of Decorative Arts. Also free to enter, the private collection is one of the largest displays of 19th- and 20th-century British ceramics in the United States, Whittecar said. (But put your wallet away. None of these pieces are for sale.)

There are thousands of finely-crafted vases, sculptures and figurines in the rotating exhibits, which includes the largest Royal Doulton collection in the United States, as well as the works of iconic names such as Wedgewood and Minton.

The museum also features the delicate glasswork of Dale Chihuly, and has 30 to 75 pieces on display, depending on exhibit space.

Both The Gallery of Amazing Things and the Weiner Museum of Decorative Arts, are open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free tours are available for groups.

If you go…

Gallery of Amazing Things
481 South Federal Hwy.
Dania Beach, FL 33004
954.654.7739

Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts
481 South Federal Hwy.
Dania Beach, FL 33004
954.376.6690

After your visit, stick around and explore small-town Dania Beach. Head north on U.S. 1 to treasure-hunt in a quaint row of antique shops. Line up at Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlour for housemade treats, or stop in at Grampa’s Bakery & Restaurant (seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) for a homestyle meal. Head east on A1A to find the Dania Beach pier, where, for a dollar, you can amble out and see the anglers casting their lines. There’s a casual restaurant and bar there, Quarterdeck, where you can have a drink and enjoy the ocean breeze.

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