Story by Morgan Haney | Photos by Isaac Janssen
Walking into POPS Resale is stepping in to an eccentric atmosphere— thanks to the variety of pins, records and mushroom coral filling the room.
Owner Dan Shorr is sitting at the cash register, proudly wearing his fedora and holding his three-legged rescue dog, Junior.
The selection of the sunglasses alone in front of the store is enough to make any reasonable person melt. The back of the store is filled with vintage goods. But it's the ceiling tiles that are the most eye-catching.
Colorful hand-painted ceiling tiles fill the store from front to back, featuring tiny handprints and detailed “pop” art. Some are worth $3 while others are worth $400. The value isn’t dependent on the artwork, but rather on the donation that comes with it.
Shorr gives these canvas-like ceiling tiles to anyone willing to paint them, under one condition: They must return the ceiling tile along with some sort of monetary donation. The proceeds of this fun art project go toward the Down Syndrome Association of Central Kentucky, commonly referred to as DSACK.
The proceeds have been used to go to other charities, but when Shorr’s granddaughter was born with Down Syndrome, he knew that DSACK would become the new and permanent foundation these tiles would benefit. Shorr’s granddaughter is now almost seven-years-old and will be creating her own ceiling tile soon.
Since the store has been around for more than 20 years, there is certainly a surplus of merchandise. The popularity of the store has only increased as people bring in stuff daily.
“If we go more than two or three or four days without a batch of records coming in the door, I would get a little worried," Shorr said.
Head on over to POPS Resale on 1423 Leestown Rd. to pay Pop and Junior a visit. Unique treasure will be found between the record stations, clothing racks and ceiling tiles.