Waves & Shades

Marine Consignment of Mystic is the boater’s version of a Nordstrom Rack store filled only with shoes on sale. At least that would have been my comparison when I actually wore four-inch heels, as opposed to just putting them on in my destination parking lot, listening to people ask, “How can you walk in those things?” and responding, “I don’t; they’re my sit-down shoes.”

But it’s true. This place at 15 Holmes St. is a boater’s dream and that of anyone else on the water–whether you’re fishing, diving or kayaking. Packed to the gills, (I can’t help myself), the 1,200-square-foot space holds buoys, bells and shells, along with charts, anchors, nets, lines, life rings, lights, chains, fishing poles, foul weather gear and a gazillion pieces of marine hardware. As store manager Bill Leach likes to say, from Anchors to Zinc.

It also carried, until recently, Bruce Willis’ vintage fighting chair–the one he’ll be sitting in on the big screen when Moonrise Kingdom, currently being filmed in Rhode Island, comes to a theater near you. This is the place where movie prop people buy stuff inexpensively. It’s also the place for restaurant designers, home decorators and antique collectors.

And we haven’t even gotten to the kayaks, rented under the company name of Mystic River Kayak. By 2:30 one recent sunny afternoon, 35 already had been rented. Kayakers conveniently launch into the Mystic River from a boat ramp behind the building.

The store, now in its fourth year, takes items on consignment, with 60 percent of a sale going to the consignor and 40 percent to the shop, which never owns or claims items.

Leach said a difficult economy plays into the very essence of the store, with people making a little money when getting rid of things and others buying items inexpensively. Win-win.

When you get out onto the water glittering under the summer sunshine, don’t forget your shades from , across Route 1 at 11 Cottrell St. Open for a year, the shop carries all kinds of sunglasses from $20 to $400. From Maui Jim, Bollé, Oakley and Ray-Ban, to Tiffany, Dolce & Gabbana, Tory Burch and Kate Spade, your eyes are covered. The store also carries accessories, glasses and swim goggles for kids, and has you covered from head to toe, with hats and flip-flops. Just don’t forget to use your sunscreen.