Dive Into Twin Urchins Superette’s Enchanting Vintage Curios

Photo: Courtesy of Sam Feyen

Like a stash of long-forgotten treasures unearthed from Jacques Cousteau’s attic, the vintage wares from online boutique Twin Urchins Superette are beautiful, rare and recall the romance of the sea. Founder Sam Feyen, a local fashion photographer, began collecting and restoring vintage décor in 2017 to use as photo shoot props, combing estate and yard sales, swap meets, auctions and thrift stores for special one-of-a-kind pieces.

“There’s a high that only comes from good hunting,” Feyen says. “For me, it’s this feeling of pure peak happiness.” Time and time again, Feyen found herself drawn to ocean motifs. “I think it’s mainly because of where I grew up, Maui,” she says. “My days as a child and teenager always consisted of going to the beach, shell hunting and doing things that connected us to the ocean. So naturally, I gravitate toward that.”

Feyen releases small collections once or twice a month, depending on how good the picking has been. Among her all-time favorite finds: a teak Tahitian cigarette box with a delicately etched mother-of-pearl lid that took her weeks to refurbish, a midcentury Hawaiian girl bust made of plaster of Paris from Florida label Marwal (highly coveted among vintage fans) and a set of shell cross-stitch art pieces, which she stumbled upon untouched, framed and still in bubble wrap. She’s also become known for exquisite shell lamps from the late ’50s and early ’60s. “That was when everyone became obsessed with Elvis and Hawai‘i,” and there was a boom in ocean-themed knickknacks and souvenirs.

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Photo: Courtesy of Sam Feyen

Though you can score a vintage replica from a big box store for next to nothing nowadays, Twin Urchins’ popularity—many items are snatched up in mere minutes—points to some shifts in thinking. Growing climate change concerns have created a pushback against overconsumption. The pandemic also made us all hyperaware of the items in our homes. More than ever, we want to feel connected to what we surround ourselves with.

“I feel like people want that authenticity,” Feyen says. And while her personal passion is now a burgeoning business, it’s not about the money. “When I find a piece that just needs a little bit of love or looks like the day it was made 50 years ago, I’m over the moon,” she says. “I like seeing that item have a second chance at life.”

twinurchinssuperette.com, @twinurchinssuperette

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