Mihrab Gallery

The sign outside the Mihrab Gallery says: Tribal, Antique, Modern. Which pretty much describes my aesthetic to a tee (or, at least, what my aesthetic would be if I could afford it). So, whenever I’m on a Main St. antique run, I always make the effort to trek all the way up to 30^th (Refind is kitty corner, so it’s not the only reason to stray beyond the beaten track).
As a general rule, all I can afford to do here is window shop. I will probably never be in a position, financially or architecturally, to buy an enormous antique Indian carved wooden door or painted Indonesian screen, but I covet them along with almost everything else in the place.
However, this week I lucked out. I was on the hunt for a particularly unusually dimensioned table/​bench/​somethingorother to put my TV on so that it would stop resonating on the hardwood floor and driving the people downstairs to distraction, BUT would still not block the built in bookcases. Tall order (actually, short order), I know.
As usual, I popped into Mihrab just to look, and, not as usual, found myself faced not only with a selection of Indonesian tables that met my needs exactly, but signs indicating a 50% discount on everything in the store. Needless to say, I upped my budget from $ 50 to acquire a $ 150 table at half price.
The best thing, though, was that when I asked if there were more similar pieces I should look at (I’d seen three in the showroom), the saleswoman gave me free reign of the warehouse space downstairs, where I ended up finding one I loved even more.
Lessons? 1) Sometimes Mihrab IS affordable. 2) Ask, and ye shall receive!