The Whaleworx whale

How it started

The story of the whale sign.

The story of the sign

It started with a whale.

Not a real one — a sign. An old whale, painted flat sky-blue and outlined in black, holding on to its paint the way old signs do. If it looks familiar, it should: the whale at the top of every page on this site is that sign, very nearly line for line. We didn’t design a logo. We just looked up at the wall.

The Whaleworx whale mark

The Whaleworx mark, traced from the old whale sign that started all of this.

Where weird things wash up

A sign like that doesn’t stay alone for long. It makes room for the next strange, well-made thing — a regiment of lead soldiers, a painting nobody signed, a brass bell loud enough to rattle the windows — and then the next. That’s how a collection starts. Whaleworx is what happens when you let it.

What we’re about

Whaleworx is a high-end thrift shop for the strange and the well-made: art, findings, oddities and objects with some years on them, priced in the middle — for people who’d rather own one good weird thing than ten forgettable ones. Every lot is one of one. We describe each piece honestly, wear and all, because the wear is usually the best part.

Weird things for good folks. That’s the whole philosophy.

If something here stops you mid-scroll, it was probably waiting for you.

Dive into the Hold