Leekan Designs

Profile

This vast store has been importing Asian, Oceanic, and Moroccan home décor and accessories for over twenty years. Colorful Chinese lanterns and brass birdcages hang overhead, intricate woodcarvings adorn the walls, and regal Buddha statues surround the rare merchandise. The front of the store is devoted to décor and affordable housewares, with stacks of decorative bowls from Afghanistan, stained glass hanging lamps, elaborate mosaic mirrors from Indonesia, and ornamental screens from Morocco. Crafty shoppers browse the massive central table bearing more than 100 varieties of vivid antique African trade beads ($18 to $120 for a string), which can be made into a necklace or bracelet on the spot. Ready-made jewelry near the register includes carved bone earrings, cinnabar and sponge coral bracelets, and jade necklaces. The rear of the store offers an impressive array of antique and new furniture starting at around $500, like carved cedar Afghan chairs and nineteenth-century Chinese chests. Apart from an array of giftable objects, the cache also features a smattering of quirky, one-of-a-kind items, like East Javanese street-dance masks and a throng of Chinese puppets. — Lauren Murrow