Mine And Canine

What’s Mine is yours when you stop in at Mine, a brand-new shop on Mystic’s Route 1 just east of Masons Island Road.

Inside and out, you’ll find an eclectic collection of vintage, retro, reclaimed, recycled and rethought items, whether they be in the form of showy flower arrangements, such as a pink dogwood looking glorious in its industrial metal pail, or in that of vignettes of another time.

Move from setting to setting amid the many square feet of this funky spot at 16 Stonington Road and you get the feeling the displays are telling stories, some of which feel familiar as they are the handiwork of Amber Davenport. Davenport ran Zuzu’s Petals farther down Route 1 and later she more than doubled her space in a spot in the other direction.

Davenport continues to make her distinctive floral arrangements in this newest incarnation and offers lots of fresh flowers and indoor and outdoor plants. She expanded in space and in content, as she has partnered with Mike Walsh, a longtime rock and crystal distributor, to offer ammonites, quartz, citrine and more and also to provide information on their spiritual and medicinal properties.

Another double-entendre for the store's name, along with the owners’ “what’s Mine is yours,” is the process and place from which rocks and crystals originate – mined from a mine.  

Mine opened in early May and represents Davenport’s entrance into her 17th year of business. In this space, she and Walsh create endless possibilities for home décor, furniture, clothes and jewelry. Lamps from the 50s and 60s conjure Mad Men décor, while an old trunk comes to life showcasing cool purses and vintage shoes and makeshift shelving showing off.

While Mine offers abundance for us humans, in Stonington borough caters to the canines among us.

Pampered pooches reign here at 160 Water St. with some of the coolest doggie stuff around—such as water-cooled beds, float coats, doggie duvets and treats with names like Tuna Yelper and Liver’s Lane. You’ll also find doggie raincoats (my Goldens would not be caught dead in these, but we understand life is full of choices and those little dogs look kind of sweet in their rain duds), portable drinking devices and what must be the crème de la crème of dog bones: naturally shed elk and deer antlers that don’t splinter. 

You’ll also find a selection of colorful collars and leashes, some fancy, some practical—such as the collar that comes with a bottle opener.

Dockside Dogs, in its second year and owned by Rob Hunter and Stephanie Theberge, also offers something different from large pet stores—an inventory of unique, innovative products and food from smaller manufacturers, such as Canada’s Orijen, a natural dog food made from regionally sourced meats and no fillers, or sustainable hemp collars that become softer with wear.

Oh, and for dogs with little tolerance for big booms and cracks in the sky, whether from thunderstorms or fireworks, the shop offers an anxiety-reducing pressure wrap. It’s called a Thundershirt. Who woulda thunk?