Used is the New Green

Gregg Keller knows all about the power of the object. The merchandising veteran always wanted to open his own shop, and when the opportunity arose a year ago, even his name spoke to what he wanted to accomplish. “Yes, Rellek is Keller spelled backwards,” he says. “Rellek ... relics ... a lot of things that I carry are antiques.” 

 

But if you’re thinking of a fusty old antique shop, this isn’t your grandmother’s attic. True to the “Nu” in NuLu, it’s a different kind of store. “People say to me, ‘Oh, it’s consignment, but it looks brand new,’” Keller says of Rellek, his Market Street shop. “It looks nothing like a thrift shop at all. I’m very selective about what I take, and I like to get things you can’t get at Macy’s or down the street.” The hot trend right now, he says, is mid-century (that’s 20th century, kids) furnishings. “Every couple of decades things come back and the new generation discovers it,” says the Cherokee Triangle resident. “It’s a different eye looking at it. Also, consignment’s the new green. I like to keep it local.”

 

Rellek stocks small housewares, not clothing, that fit into his 1,000-square-foot storefront with a cozy elan. “This town’s saturated with clothing shops, and there’s hardly any housewares,” Keller says. “Say you move into a new place. It’s things that you’d use to set up your house and finish it – prints, lamps, small tables, accent pieces.” Rellek stocks kitchenware too, but don’t expect electric mixers. “I try to find unique pieces and use a lot of local artists, from pottery to glassware to paintings,” Keller says.

 

Keller is a one-man operation, but brings in family and friends to help out – especially during the First Friday Trolley Hop, where he’s hosted local Kentucky wineries and caterers. He loves the NuLu District (the new name bestowed upon the east end of Market Street) even though at the time he couldn’t really put his finger on what made the initial attraction so special. “I looked all over the city and I found this location and turned it down, and then came back. Everyone is very supportive of each other and very involved and so it’s one of those feelings. It was calling to me.”