New England Obscura Brings Oddities To Annex

Are you in the market for a pair of snake bone earrings or maybe even a lizard wet specimen? Or maybe you’re more into resin earrings or keychains of your favorite pop culture icons, but you still want to check out some taxidermy creatures and gravestone rubbings as well? All that and way more were waiting for you and purveyors of the odd, the weird, and the wonderfully obscure at the third annual New England Antiques and Oddities Exhibition, held this past Sunday afternoon at the Annex YMA Lounge and Hall on Woodward Avenue. 

Organizer Joseph Zembrowski, Jr. was manning the door himself as a seemingly endless line of attendees came and went and kept the 50-plus vendors consistently busy selling their wares and talking shop — though at an event like this, the shop talk was more fun than most, as it involved crafting, creating, gathering, preserving, and celebrating all things strange and special. That’s why Zembrowski began having these events in the first place. 

“I got tired of only going to farmers’ markets, posh set-ups, run of the mill art showcases, and mainstream events, and I decided essentially to unite the freaks of the Tri-State Area,” he said with a smile. ​“This niche culture needed a place to go, they need a place to call home, and I’m just happy to do it.” 

Zembrowski is a practicing taxidermist and creates biological wet specimens with a background in mortuary science. He also sells antiques, oddities, and curiosities under the name New England Obscura. His first two exhibitions in 2021 and 2022 took place at The Beeracks in East Haven. This year he chose a larger venue, though by the look of the line of people waiting to get in and the crowds moving through the hall on Sunday, he was pretty sure he might need an even larger venue next year. 

“It’s both a blessing and a curse,” he said.

He tries to throw an event at least every couple of months. The next one, the Paranormal Night Market, is scheduled for Oct. 21 at Armada Brewing, at 190 River St. in Fair Haven. That one will have ghost hunters, educators on the paranormal, exorcists, and ​“everything strange and freaky in between,” according to Zembrowski. 

Though this annual event is scheduled in October, Halloween is not the only reason people are interested, as Zebrowski and others throughout the afternoon noted. The public wants its spooky stuff all year long. 

“There has always been such a high demand for it, considering that we are in the most haunted quadrant of this country,” Zebrowski said. ​“New England loves their freaky stuff, and I’m just happy to help provide it.” 

The vibe was definitely spooky, but also seriously fun, as attendees — many dressed in all black with the occasional cape, devil horns, and other seasonal attire — made their way around the hall and engaged with each other and the vendors. Many near the entrance stopped to admire and talk about the wares of Eclectic Spirit LI, which included mummified animal heads on vintage dolls wearing clothing that was either made by Long Island, N.Y. artist and owner Sasha Mejia or a vintage find. Accodring to Mejia, all the heads are either mummified by her or ethically sourced, and on this day included alligators, rabbits, possums, and raccoons. This was her first event with New England Obscura. She has been creating and vending for around two years, starting her own business after losing her job, finding it ​“so fun and fulfilling” that she ​“wanted to share it with others.”

Dark Witch Oddities of Rhode Island also carried a number of taxidermy pieces, along with crystals and items made with bones, and was also participating in its first event with Zembrowski. According to artist and co-owner Jaime Burt, who makes most of the pieces, ​“every weekend we’re somewhere.” She and co-owner Randy Burt, who was decked out in his best Freddie Krueger costume, will be opening their own store soon.

Batty Boutique artist and owner Ann Shomo of Delaware kept it fun and a little scary with her resin and acrylic jewelry, offering a variety of eclectic pieces including pentagram hair clips. She said she tried to keep her pieces ​“spooky fun,” attending a lot of oddities, anime, and comics events. ​“My stuff fits everywhere,” she added. Her Pedro Pascal earrings made this reporter smile. 

Some Nerd’s Closet of Milford, who have participated in other New England Obscura events, also offered a dazzling array of ​“nerdy pop culture” pieces in the form of earrings, keychains, coasters, stickers, and pins. It’s not everywhere that you can find Adventure Time flair next to a pair of Patrick Bateman earrings, but artist and owner Maryanne Schultz said she likes to make things that other companies don’t, noting that working in retail made her more in tune with what people want. Again it was agreed that people want spooky stuff all year long, and for a variety of occasions.

“Spooky Christmas, spooky Valentine’s Day, why not?” she added with a smile.

A variety of items made with bones — and just the bones themselves — were for sale throughout the hall. Meriden’s Kelly Nason of A Bone To Pick noted that she is also busy all year with her visual art pieces and jewelry made with bones she sources from a taxidermist. Though she noted that some people can be ​“weird about it,” she said she mostly encounters people who are interested in the idea of recycling and reusing these natural pieces that are obtained in an ethical way. 

“I don’t even kill bugs in my house,” she said. 

Her most popular pieces include any snake bone or jaw bone pieces, which she had already sold out of on this day. 

Local artists were out and about shopping the event as well. Visual artist Tess Schober did her Halloween holiday shopping and treated herself to a sacred heart necklace from Arts of a Goldfire, as well as a cyanotype print of a sacred heart from Vulture Rodeo. 

“It’s my birthday month, and I love Catholic imagery,” she said.

She had also been perusing the wares of Josh Swingle of Frail Limb Oddities, which included wet specimens of a variety of reptiles. Based in Milford, Swingle said he feels these pieces are giving the animals ​“a new purpose after they die.”

“My main goal is to bring people closer to reptiles,” he added. To have people be up close and appreciate them is ​“important” to him. He is even going to school to eventually work in reptile conservation.

His most popular pieces are snakes and lizards, but turtles are his personal favorite. 

“I want to focus on them because they need our help more than any other reptiles,” he said, noting that of the over 350 species in the world, 60 percent of them are threatened or endangered. 

“Serious changes need to be made,” he added.

Add into the mix the numerous dealers of collectibles and vintage items, such as books and clothing, and less common vintage finds, such as funeral antiques, flash tattoos — and yes, there was even someone juggling swords outside for those waiting in line — and you have pretty much something for everyone. Everyone at one point or another thinks they are a little bit weird, but that’s okay, because Zembrowski has made a space where everyone can go be weird with others, including himself. 

“I think every weirdo in a 10-mile radius is here today, and I love it,” he said with a wide smile. ​“It’s splendid.”

For more information about future New England Obscura events, please follow its social media pages or visit its website.