The Queen of Clutter practicing “the Fine Art of Clutter”

There is a unique shop which opened up about six months ago facing the Town Plaza, sitting between the Post Office and LeBoulanger on Montebello Way. Montebello is a street which is a single block long and the home to the Farmer’s Market every Sunday morning. This shop is called Frank, short for “Frank Interiors.” This business is owned by a very frank lady, Kristy Kent. Kristy is a bouncing bundle of energy which you can find anywhere on the central coast scurrying about to some another of the many unknown treasures which she features at her Fank shop.

As you simply approach Frank, you crane your head a little as there is nothing normal about the merchandise on display in front of the place, and especially inside the place. First timers nearly always balk, and take a step back as they enter the doorway to the place. The sheer amount of stuff carried on the shelves, hanging from the plaid-like ceiling or resting on the several tables strewn across the floor would have you think this is simply a classic junk store from the 1930s, but, guess what? There is no junk here. I defy you to find one little piece of jewelry, wardrobe accessory or fanciful furniture which is not, in some way, artful, worthwhile and attractive. However, the sheer quantity of stuff is simply overwhelming, too much to take in at one glance. Kristy has intentionally filled her store with so much unique, unusual and retasked hardware that it just bowls you over and overloads your normal senses. Kristy Kent has mastered the fine and sublted art of clutter, in fact, at Frank I think it safe to say that it is overdone clutter, this being the pinnacle of the art.

To demonstrate Kristy’s great ability in the art of clutter, I have isolated and photographed some of her products as individual items and then again photographed the same items in the environment in which Kristy displays them in Frank. It does not take long to realize what a genius Kristy really is.

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First images are of items out of context,

then the same item in the context of clutter:

(This post is all about pictures.  Click here to see them and get the whole story)