ReadyMade Magazine - February/March 2010

PLACE SETTING
go!
RESTON, VIRGINIA

“We live in Virginia to be close to our family and to be able to have a house with a yard and lots of play space for our kids,” says Stu Eli, who along with his wife, Janet Morales, owns kitschy-cute online store Three Potato Four. “The incredible antique markets are a definite plus.”

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AS TOLD TO ERIN WYLIE

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Vitals

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WHO Janet Morales and Stu Eli DAY JOBS Owners and curators of online store Three Potato Four (3P4) ;1;, a trove of vintage décor and homegoods, and parents to Holly, 4, and Otis, 1 COLLECTORS OF Vintage signage, skateboards, oversize stu;…everything really

SITE threepotatofour shop.com

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MY VIRGINIA

STU: Reston is a modern post-war community, and every space is carefully thought out. There was a back-to-the-land movement in the ’60s and ’70s here, and you can see that in things like the community walking paths and even an underground elementary school. We always joke that Reston is like the Dharma Initiative. It’s kind of a self-contained community.

Our favorite local hunting ground for antiques is The Old Lucketts Store

( luckettstore.com), a marketplace for vendors in an old house. It seems as if they offer new inventory almost every day and, if you’re there at the right time, you can get the most amazing things. The prices are pretty good, and we’ve found a lot of signs and fixtures for 3P4. We heard about Squash A Penny Junction

(804.876.3083) from a friend of a friend of a friend. It’s a very tucked-away old general store filled to the rafters with really good finds.

Taylor Gourmet (2;

( taylorgourmet.com) is
a beautifully designed
sandwich shop that
features reclaimed
wood and a front that
opens up like a garage
door. It has an urban
feel but reminds me
of when I used to get
a sandwich at the
local Italian deli in my
old neighborhood in
New Jersey. I order
the 9th Street Italian
and a Boylan’s Root
Beer, which they have
on tap.