Seldom Seen Gallery

I can’t believe this place is labeled ‘Yes’ for kids. And I couldn’t believe it when I opened this review page to find that Jason R. had the almost exact same experience as I had there yesterday. It’s important to preface this with the fact that calling this place a gallery does the real galleries and the actual word itself injustice. THey definitely have some cute and unique items (like the children’s hand puppets), but the majority of items are made in China trinkets.
My mother n law, my 3.5 yr old son & I visited there yesterday (they are now in the Galleria Mall; they are no longer on Las Olas). I stayed with him at all times like white on rice, even while he played with the puppets. He spotted some very large wind chimes on display that in no way appeared to be fragile. He started clanging the chimes together and the noise was so unpleasant I asked him to stop (not because I feared they would break, but because the chiming noise was poor quality). Just as I was telling him to stop, an older male employee with gray hair and glasses, approached and said he ‘had had enough; this store is not for children’. I was mystified, referenced that we had just played with the puppets and apologized. He told me that the puppets were ok for children but ‘once it goes beyond the puppets, he has to stop it’ and that the wind chimes were ‘very expensive’. I admittedly copped an attitude with him bc he just wouldn’t let it go. I mean, these were huge outdoor windchimes that if, quite frankly, couldn’t withstand my son’s pushing them a couple times, would never withstand even the slightest of south Florida’s storms! He was so completely rude and made my son feel like he had done something wrong. We promptly left the store after I told the guy that he didn’t need to be concerned about our breaking anything because we would never be in the store again. WOrst customer experience I’ve ever had in a retail setting. My mother n law was appalled and actually returned 2 items to their shelf that she had planned to purchase prior to the incident. My guess is that this store won’t be in business much longer.

Avoid it… this place is not respectful of the customer/​client. The employees and management are rude, unhelpful and unprofessional. My 3 year old daughter saw a little stuffed animal that sings a song when you press its paw… she liked it so much and was so excited that she pressed it a second time to hear the song again. While she was standing there in awe of the stuffed animal performing its song a male employee (he appeared to be the manager/​owner) walked up, stepped in between my daughter and the animal, and then pressed the animal’s power button to turn it off. He then said, «I don’t want the batteries to completely wear out.» When I questioned the wisdom of the action, the employee was spiteful and unrepentant. You have to be kidding me… the cost of the 2 AA batteries it takes to power that thing is nothing in comparison to what we might have spent. Aside from that, and from a more objective standpoint, the items were extremely overpriced to begin with (for example, those sort of singing/​dancing stuffed animals sell for less than $ 10.00 elsewhere) but I was planning to shell out the ridiculous $ 30.00 they wanted for the stuffed animal for my daughter anyway because she was so in love with it. However, after that treatment, I’ll never spend a dime in this place. I am guessing business must be pretty bad already for the shop manager to risk losing potential sales over a set of AA batteries dying (hint: if you have to replace them its a business expense and can be deducted from your taxable business income – if there is any). I shop where my money and my family are shown respect.

I stopped by today during the Las Olas Art Festival. Good news! Seldom Seen is here to stay. It did go bankrupt, but there’s a new owner. It isn’t going anywhere soon, and as a staple of on the Las Olas strip, I’d hope not.
Products:
Seldom Seen is just that a whole store dedicated to interesting and different knick-​knacks you won’t find at every store in South Florida, and that’s saying something. There’s a lot of unique metal and glass work, and it’s not the standard stuff you’ll find around town. It’s also that perfect store for when you’re looking for something kitschy and funny for your mom or sister or girlfriend – cute women’s joke napkins and signs and purses and such.
There’s a kids section in the back, and as of a selection of different animal statues that benefit different wildlife organizations. To describe everything in the store would take way more space than necessary, but think of it as a great gift store for that wino in your family, or for the grandmother that seemingly collects everything.
Venue:
What Scott M says is totally true. Of all the shops on Las Olas, Seldom Seen is the most unique. It’s a great venue to just take a stroll through when you’re wandering along Las Olas. It’s a large, bright store with lots of colorful and shiny things. You’ll definitely find something that catches your eye, and the people are always very nice.

Great gallery… lots of fun and unique items. We make it a point to stop in when we are in Fort Lauderdale. We especially love the fish and sea turtle pottery. The glazes really are beautiful and we haven’t seen items quite like this anywhere else. They really compliment an island or beach style décor.

One of the few shops worth going into on Las Olas. They have cool unique gifts and great browsing. I like to walk through whenever I am down here.