Uncommon Objects — Attraction in Austin

Uncommon OBJECTS is one of my three favorite antique shops in town. I suppose it's technically one of my two favorites, since Room Service is vintage, but let's not go splitting hairs here.

HOWEVER--much like my three children, I could never, EVER choose a favorite...and I spend way too much money on all of them. Of my favorite three "old junk" shops, though, Uncommon most lives if to it's name. It truly is un-freaking-common.

You can walk into this shop and find anything and everything that could possibly qualify as antique, collectible, rare, vintage, old, odd, curious, macabre, kitsch, junk; it just goes on. Over the years, the shop has (wo)manned by some of Austin's best and a lot of the folks working there are familiar faces.

The space is a really nice size, much larger than it appears (both from the outside and upon entry), and houses wares from 24 unique vendors. Co-owners Steve Wiman and D'ette Cole have cultivated what they refer to as an "aesthetically mature retail environment," and I can't think of a better way to describe the store. Uncommon has such personality and character, it quite nearly breathes. Some of the ephemera appear to be half-alive as well, full of a life blood that was never meant to keep them around for...

I came to Austin for an AI internship this summer. Just finished my first week and started my first weekend. I arrived at Uncommon Objects on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and stepping inside felt like walking into the attic of the world’s most fascinating collector.

This antique store isn’t just a shop—it’s a curated maze of the bizarre and beautiful. From the life-sized giraffe statue greeting you at the entrance to a surreal taxidermy goat dressed as a Victorian officer, every corner has something that stops you in your tracks. I spotted wooden eggs, turtle shells, preserved reptiles in jars, and even a mummified animal foot. A little unsettling—but mesmerizing.

Some displays felt like time capsules: vintage figurines of Chinese deities sat beside Dutch maidens and porcelain dishes. Others leaned into the strange and whimsical—a giant rabbit loomed over shoppers like a mascot of eccentricity. The store layout invites exploration, with each booth revealing a new personality and era.

It’s not a place to “just shop”—it’s an experience. You’ll leave wondering if you visited a museum, a curiosity cabinet, or a dream. I didn’t buy anything, but I left with a dozen stories. This is one of Austin’s weirdest and most...

If you wanna get really deep, I could tell you how Uncommon Objects is a huge collection of the most common objects ever. A living catalog of the American experience, littered with turn-of-the-century typewriters to hand-written postcards that originated somewhere in the rust belt and probably meant the world for the intended, but now exist as a curious oddity to you or I.

But then again, Uncommon Objects is just a really cool 'store' that could easily double as a museum, and everything is for sale, and makes for some really inventive, offbeat gifts or great additions to any vintage-minded home decorator. Everything, from every era, lines the shelves, hangs on the walls, and gives the place a truly lived-in feel, not unlike the countless stories and untold tales behind the objects themselves.

It's the kind of place that could stir your memory (maybe your Grandfather had 'one of these' way back when) or unlock totally uncharted waters (seriously, there are pieces of old medical equipment that look like alien autopsy tools - you'll appreciate modern day healthcare a lot more after seeing them), but best of all, it's the kind of place that gives our...