Candice Wagener
Clocks set in gears are among the finds at Pieces Unimagined.
“I’m trying to collide art and function together and make it beautiful,” says Ky Stolldorf, proprietor of Pieces UnImagined, a new shop on Williamson Street filled with one-of-a-kind restored/recycled/industrial chic furnishings, fixtures and decor.
It seems fitting that someone who spent the last 15 years of his life restoring souls, as a pastor, would make the transition to restoration in a different manner. Before his tenure as a pastor, Stolldorf had an early career in antiques, starting with furniture and then branching into sign restoration. He was once owner of a shop containing the world’s largest selection of antique advertising. He has a stockpile of raw material for his creations — “a lot more than we can ever hope to use,” says Stolldorf. Sometimes in a dream or with a “lightning bolt thought,” the materials come together in his head to become a functional, beautiful piece of art.
Candice Wagener
A whimsical garden sign and viintage household wares.
A solid wood file cabinet on wheels is topped by heavy-duty butcher block. Shelves have been created using white oak and catalpa (reclaimed from a building in Maple Bluff) from Badger Hardwoods.
One of Stolldorf’s favorite elements to use is old gears — repurposed as art, bookends and clocks, all with a steampunk touch. Light fixtures, too, are created from common raw materials like a steel outlet box, but transformed with anachronistic touches like a dimmer switch and an Edison light bulb.
Almost all of the reclaimed wood and metal comes from southeast or central Wisconsin, and Stolldorf and his team can usually tell you exactly where. Stolldorf keeps other aspects of the business local as well, sourcing pipe from nearby Howe Plumbing and using Lakeside Printing for advertising.
Prices range from $2.50 to $2,200, but many unusual, functional items are priced $100-$200.
And if customers don’t see something exactly to their liking, Stolldorf and his team will gladly customize an item in-store or create something based on a customer’s desires, from color to size to number of drawers.
During the store’s recent grand opening, a customer wanted to buy a set of end tables, but didn’t like the paint color. Stolldorf offered to custom paint them and deliver in a week.
“She was more than thrilled,” says Stolldorf, adding “We can tweak things to be exactly you.”
Pieces UnImagined 1228 Williamson St., 608-280-1155, piecesunimagined.com, 10 am-6 pm Mon.-Sat., noon-4 pm Sun.
