The industrial building at 2250 S. Green St., Unit B, Henderson, Kentucky, doesn’t stand out from the road, but several exterior signs lead the keen-eyed passerby into a gravel parking lot and through a firm wooden door to Jasmine Elzy and Kyla Ford’s world of vintage wonder.
When the cousins first appeared in the 2021 January/February issue of Evansville Living, their curiosities and oddities antique business Corkscrew Curiosities was operating out of a rented stall at The Elm Consignment Shop (120 N. Elm St., Henderson, KY). Named for their grandmother Anna Jane Stanley’s Corkscrew Deli, which closed in 1991 in downtown Henderson, the shop is settling into its new storefront almost a year later.
“We moved on Halloween, which was kind of the year anniversary of us opening at the Elm,” says Elzy, the older of the pair of co-owners. “But we didn’t open until Nov. 12.”
Corkscrew’s soft opening revealed the store’s two spaces: a compact entry with two display cases and a main counter decorated with vintage images and pictures of Stanley protected by Modge Podge and polyurethane, and a spacious former garage still fitted with the original rear door and stocked with rare and intriguing items. A bathroom and a storage room for intake and shipping complete Corkscrew’s section of the building.
For customers, the location has offered a chance to meet Elzy and Ford and, most importantly, browse a larger stock from vintage state flags to artwork from Evansville-based Art by Pizzaface. For the cousins-turned-business partners, the move was driven by passion and practicality.
“We both left our jobs the same day in August,” says Ford. “Being here, being able to do this every day has been super exciting. We obviously love it; that’s why we’re here.”
“We needed more space, and we’d both been wanting to make a transition into doing this fulltime, and it was kind of perfect timing for both of us,” adds Elzy. “We’ve been transitioning to here and also doing more online as well.”
The process isn’t complete, with more display shelves planned to fill the second room for additional products and an official grand opening scheduled for after the holiday season. Meanwhile, Corkscrew Curiosities’ owners continue to embrace their new unofficial slogan immortalized on a fast-selling T-shirt: “Stay Curious.”
