THE CONSUMER WINDFALLS

Chew Fly, Don’t Bother Me

A wretched beast, the fly. Vainly we swat, spray, and electrocute, but Mother Nature neutralizes the fly more elegantly: Her Venus fly trap, pitcher plant, sun dew, cobra lily and butter wort simply eat the little buzzers. Charles and Else Box of the Green Thumb Shoppe carry Dallas’ largest supply of carnivorous plants. Aside from performing the very practical task of pest control, these slow-growing bug eaters also make good ter-rarium material. Warning: If you plan to supplement your carnivore’s diet with a little raw meat, serve hamburger only. Pork and poultry will give it indigestion. The Green Thumb Shoppe, 306 Big D Bazaar, 3636 N. Buckner. 327-1411. Friday-Sunday 10-7.

– Jane Albritton

Russian Dressing

Dorothy Brode is doing her best to preserve the art of Ukranian embroidery. She learned it from a native about four years ago. “The finished product was so lovely that I began decorating aprons, placemats, and blouses for gifts,” she explains. At the encouragement of friends ’ and family she is now extending her services to the public on a personal-order basis, embroidering designs on ready-made and custom items. Ukranian embroidery works a cross-stitch motif in durable French yarn. There are about 500 traditional motifs, many of which Mrs. Brode collected from museums during a recent visit to Russia. Prices are determined by the size and intricacy of the designs; a man’s shirt, embroidered on the yoke and two front panels, costs $30 to $35. Dorothy Brode, 1611 Rio Vista. 946-1190.

– Sam Meador

These Boots Remade for Walking

Hot on the heels of recycled and factory-outlet clothing stores comes the recycled shoe store. Carl Wray, a shoe buyer for several major department stores for 25 years, has brought a vast stock of bargain shoes to Vikon Village; although no brand names can be advertised because of an agreement with his factory suppliers, Wray stocks only famous-maker and designer shoes, which normally retail for $30 to over $100. Factories send him test-samples and shoes returned by retailers because of damages or flaws; he makes any necessary repairs and cleans and sterilizes all shoes to mint condition, then offers them for sale at $8 to $10. Wray guarantees his repairs. He offers several thousand pairs of men’s, women’s and children’s shoes each weekend: “We continually restock as the shoes are sold, so if you don’t find what you want on Saturday, there will be new styles and patterns on Sunday.” Carl Wray Recycled Shoes, Vikon Village, Kingsley at Jupiter. Open Saturday and Sunday only, 10 am to 7 pm.

– S.M.

Saddled and Wiser



Any cowboy will tell you that a broken-in saddle feels a whole lot better than a new one; besides, older leather’s likely to be of higher quality. Now in their fourth return from retirement, Sam and Marge Davis have enough used saddles (and new ones, too) to give the buyer a real choice and still leave him with something in his checking account. At 76, Sam does most of the saddle repair himself, and with Marge’s help, recollects the days when he brought the first registered quarter horse to Dallas County, how he and his friends started a forerunner of the Mesquite Rodeo, and what it was like to travel from Texas to Calgary on the rodeo circuit. So buy a saddle and get a history lesson free. Rawhide Saddle Shop, 1925 S. Buckner Blvd. 391-7297. Monday-Saturday 9-5.

– J.A.

Avant Garb

The clothes lover has a new friend in Donna Thomas. She and her husband have converted an old auto supply store into AVANT, one of the most interesting clothing shops in town. AVANT carries vintage garments; new designs by Mary Gilliland, Claudia Fisher, Lonnie Smith, Jan Hart, and Cynthia Moon; and some unconventional ready-to-wear items. If the Victorian bloomers with the trap door don’t catch your attention, the terry cloth disco suit will. AVANT, Fashion Collectables, 2716 Greenville Ave. 824-0260. Monday-Saturday 10-6. evenings by appointment.

-J. A.