Upon entering, to the left, there is a wooden table with thick legs, where a copy of the first Spanish edition of the book rests. the green rayby the French writer Jules Verne, dating from 1887. The hallway is thin and lined with dozens of antique objects, which are found everywhere.
It looks like a time capsule, but it is a antique store, located in the heart of Punta del Este, on 28th street, a few steps from Gorlero Avenue. It is the middle of summer and the venues are packed, as are the sidewalks and beaches. However, within the Art Nouveau Antiques trade, another reality is experienced. “It’s a very particular item,” says its owner, Japci Ocampos, “few people come in and this season there is a lot of movement, but little consumption.”
There are statues of all sizes on the floor, in showcases; furniture of wood with fine carvings; glasswarelike a French bottle from 1930; gaucho silverware —stirrups with gold, knives with silver handles and mates between 80 and 100 years old— and jeweler’s: pins, rings, necklaces. The eras intermingle and dialogue with each other through the different pieces, which do not reveal the walls of the enclosure.
The corridor, which began with the old copies of Verne, ends with old toys —There is a little Italian train with more than 80 years that still works. “Many people pass by and take the place as a museum: they enter, look, ask and don’t buy,” says the businessman, who inherited the business from his parents. The venue is 45 years old and maintains that mystique.
On this Monday afternoon, a woman came in and asked about vintage toys. Ocampos replied that they were at the bottom, let it happen. She, interested, took some photos and withdrew without buying.
Some time later, after 5:30 p.m., the woman returned, but this time she was accompanied. A man in a black peaked cap and sportswear came in interested in one of the toys. It was the Mexican singer-songwriter Cristian Castro. The artist has lived in Punta del Este for some time and, according to what he told Coffee & Businessis processing your home in the country.
Japci Ocampos, owner of Art Nouveau Antiques, and Mexican singer Cristian Castro
Castro arrived at the antique store interested in different toy car tracks. Finally, the 48-year-old artist was left with a 1979 scalextric, with its original packaging, which contained two cars. For this piece he spent US$180.
as he learned Coffee & Businessthis relic was acquired by Castro in order to give it to a close child.
Photo: Federico Gutierrez.
Mexican singer Cristian Castro walks through the streets of Punta del Este
After a few minutes of browsing the store, the author of “Blue” and “Raining stars” continued walking through the central streets of Punta del Este always trying to unnoticed.
