At a dinner eat wisely but not well and
speak well but not wisely.

~~ Graham Greene 

FINDERS KEEPERS

SAN JUAN -- Call it by any name -- vintage, second-hand or thrift
store -- this is one type of retail business that beguiles with its
promise of the grand hunt through discarded things old and new
often culminating in a special find.

There is plenty to hunt at Finders Keepers which recently opened on
Loiza St. From pretty porcelains and things for the home to designer
evening wear and retro or modern furnishings.

The two women behind the enterprise, sisters Mirti and Elaine
Saldaña, took over the large, commercial space and stripped it
down to look like a huge New York loft, painting the walls and
floors bright white to give the store a fresh and airy look.

The space is easy to navigate and orderliness prevails, except on
days when the store gets a deluge of new stock; goods are
displayed neatly so as to allow each item to stand out in style and
for customers to be at ease looking through an incredible variety
of things.

The merchandise, carefully edited and in optimum condition,
covers all the usual categories: furnishings, dish ware,
glassware, handbags, clothing for men and women (daytime and
elegant evening gowns and designer dresses), shoes, art, mirrors,
jewelry, lamps, mirrors, decorative pieces.

Prices overall are not exactly rockbottom but considering the
high quality of items for sales, they are not unreasonable.

Stock includes merchandise sold on consignment and items
the sister have bought to resell. The jewelry selection includes
showy costume pieces as well as lines by up-and-coming Puerto
Rican designers like Dos Pinceles, by twin sisters Patricia and
Gabriela Urrutia and Roy Delgado's Tropical Depression, a line
of attractive mobiles made out of metal, thread and rope.

Very soon, the sisters will be adding a small cafe in a separate
corner of the store next to the entrance where big bay windows look
out to Loiza St. This part of the store also is painted bright white and
already small tables and chairs are set up, and waiting to
accommodate future clients.

For Loiza St., which seems always in the throes of metamorphosis,
what with stores opening and closing, Finders Keepers is a great
new place to explore for that discarded treasure waiting to find a
new home. There is something for everyone.

And as the sisters point out on their Facebook page, "The
search is the most fun part at Finders Keepers."

FINDERS KEEPERS, 1906 Calle Loiza, corner Las Flores St.
Open from Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm
939.337.6234

Beautiful artwork on post 
office box on Loiza St.


To be alive at all
is to have scars.

~~ John Steinbeck 

AUG. 28: FOOD FEST ON LOIZA ST.

For foodies, the place to be this Sunday is the first Culinary Urban
Festival on Loiza St.

Organized by the area's food-related businesses, the event aims to
to draw attention to the diversified culinary fare available in this
popular part of town:  from pizza and hamburgers to Italian
specialties, Puerto Rican gastronomy, tacos and cachapas (these
last two to be found at El Chifrijo food truck run by chef Marko
A. Ramirez Ortiz)

Running from 10 am to 10 pm, the festival will offer food tastings,
talks by chefs and plenty of party spirit throughout the day with
night time musical offerings rounding out the event.

Participating businesses include Kamoli, Café Tresbé, Fahrenheit,
Silk, Piola, Nonna and Café Pierre.

For the activity, the four blocks between Diez de Andino St. and
De Diego Ave. will be blocked to traffic so the public can walk
on the street.

"Jupiter" by NASA

The past is the present
it's the future, too.

~~ Eugene O'Neill

⇰ A SIMPLE TIP        

Branch from a Hibiscus plant

Flowers are expensive these days but if you have a
garden with decorative leaf plants, such as Alocasia,
Rex Begonia or  Calathea, when you prune the plants
you can place the cut leaves in a pretty vase and they
will decorate the home.

If you live in an area with mosquitoes, make sure to check
the water frequently to prevent these dangerous critters
from breeding.

Let's not forget the danger of ZIKA!



Copyright © 2016 Lorraine Blasor, all rights reserved