Hampden will be a little less exotic when Caravanserai closes its doors permanently next month.
Owner and founder Ruth Turner posted on Facebook and Instagram this week that the store is having a final clearance sale. After that, she said in an interview, she plans to close the store and vacate the premises by Oct. 1, ending a 12-year run at 1113 W. 36th Street, also known as The Avenue.
“Hello Baltimore! We are having a wonderful and unheard of FINAL CLEARANCE SALE,” Turner said in her message. “This is an everything must go sale from August 20-September 20. We will be open 11 to 7 daily and if you have any questions, just call me on my cell phone…It has been our pleasure to be part of this wonderful community.”
Almost everything in the store is now 50 percent off, and in some cases it’s more than that.
“If there’s something you have always wanted, let me know,” Turner said in her message. “The more you buy the cheaper the price. I’m very grateful for all your patronage and I look forward to seeing you in person.”
Caravanserai, which goes by ‘atthecaravan’ on Instagram or just “The Caravan,’ is the latest in a string of longtime, non-chain businesses to close in Hampden, as older merchants retire or move on to other endeavors. Last month, it was Hunting Ground on Falls Road. Before that, it was Café Hon, Sprout, Trohv and Hampden Junque. The COVID-19 pandemic was a factor in some cases.
Turner, a Baltimore native and Maryland Institute College of Art graduate, opened Caravanserai in 2012, modeling it after a store she previously had in Spain. Prior to opening a brick-and-mortar location, she sold imported goods for two years at outdoor markets around the city and built a following. The building housed a business called Budget TV before she moved in.
Spread over 18 rooms on three floors, Caravanserai features, “ethically sourced hand-crafted global furniture,” clothing, textiles, jewelry and décor, culled from Turner’s buying trips to India, Thailand, Indonesia, Peru, Mexico and other countries around the world. It’s somewhat comparable to two Baltimore stores that no longer exist, A People United on Charles Street and Something Else in Mount Washington. Turner calls it a “cultural gifts store” and describes herself as an “international nomad” and “Master of the Ornate.”
“My passion for travel and love of beautiful objects intersect to create Caravanserai,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “Caravanserais are roadside inns scattered along the Silk Road, the ancient trade route connecting Europe, Africa and Asia. These ‘caravan palaces’ lodged camel caravans, nomadic traders and travelers while encouraging an east-meets-west exchange of commerce and culture. At home in Baltimore, my goal is to carry on this tradition of cultural exchange by promoting the work of artisans practicing traditional craft through fair trade.”
60 trips to India
Turner said she has enjoyed running the store and traveling around the world, including 60 trips to India alone. She traveled internationally during the COVID pandemic and shipped a container back to the U. S.
“I’m extremely grateful for the experience,” she said. “I would have never gotten to see this much of the planet if it weren’t for the store.”
She said she finds treasures everywhere she goes and credits her shopping skills to thrifting in Baltimore as a teenager.
“I can go to Dundalk and bring back unusual, eye-catching pieces. Everywhere you go, you can find exotica. You just have to keep one eye open. It’s a world full of unusual and aesthetic creations.”
Over the past year, she said, “I sourced traditional papier-mache boxes in Kashmir and crewel-embroidered woolen ponchos in the Himalayas. I picked up Moroccan organic cosmetics in Marrakesh, beaded animal sculptures in Guatemala and ceramic devil and angel figurines in Peru. I like to be on the move.”
Turner said Caravanserai fared well during the pandemic because, surprisingly, her foreign shipments arrived in record time. “I brought in a 40-foot container in the middle of COVID,” she said. “I called and asked, ‘How long is the backup on the containers?’ They said, ‘Oh, it’s not bad.’ That container was here faster than ever. It was incredible.”
But with all this experience, she said, she’s ready for something new. She can speak several languages, including Greek and Spanish, and is thinking of moving to Greece.
“I’m not retiring,” she said. “My interests are in language, personally, so I want to live in a place where I can practice my language skills.” She said the store has been open every day of the year except Christmas and Thanksgiving and that takes a toll after 12 years.
“It really was a labor of love,” she said. “My staff works really hard. This is a big initiative. We are tired.”
Wholesaler and retailer
Turner said she operates as both a wholesaler and retailer, and while she is closing the store in Hampden, she’ll continue to supply items to other retailers up and down the East Coast. She works with retailers in Martha’s Vineyard, Woodstock, New York City and the Virgin Islands. She said her finds are sold locally at The Carriage House of Schneider’s in Roland Park; Wells Discount Liquors on York Road; More Than Fine Framing in Towson; Eddie’s in Roland Park and on Charles Street; Pandora’s Box in south Baltimore; and in the gift shops at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the American Visionary Art Museum, among other locations, and she’ll continue to use her connections and work as a professional buyer for others.
Among the furnishings that are marked down at Caravanserai are mirrors; book shelves; armchairs; side tables; bedside tables; cabinets, and teak benches. Textiles include wall hangings, door hangings and bed spread. Fashion items include kantha coats; block print dresses, tunics and trousers; and silk, cashmere and wool scarves. There are Baltimore-related souvenirs; holiday-themed gifts; a chandelier from India; lamps and light fixtures; ethnic masks; hand-crafted Buddhas from Thailand and a large replica of the Taj Mahal by Baltimore artist John Ellsberry that needs a home.
Turner said she would have liked to have turned her business over to someone else but couldn’t find the right person. She said a business such as hers can be challenging to run because of all the multi-lingual business transactions and travel and shipping arrangements, in addition to keeping a store open seven days a week and satisfying customers.
“The understanding of how the store works is pretty complicated,” she said. “First of all, you spend six months a year traveling. You have to oversee textile design and furniture production while quality-controlling clothing details such as zippers and buttons. And then you have to understand what the market value is. You have to understand what the latest trends in clothing are…It’s a lot to juggle.”
Transitional period
According to state records, the building at 1113 W. 36th Street contains 3,000 square feet of space above ground, on a 1,740-square-foot lot, and has a full basement with a high ceiling. It’s zoned for commercial use.
The owners are listed as Wayne and Judy Gioioso of Baltimore, but Wayne Gioioso, a real estate investor and minority owner of the Orioles before the team’s recent sale, passed away last December at age 83. Turner said she doesn’t know what will happen to the building after she moves out.
Turner said she’s aware that Hampden is going through a transitional period. But she said she thinks there is still a market for one-of-a-kind businesses, such as Caravanserai, that are client-focused and help build community.
“If the truth be told, in spite of the fact that Amazon is easy to buy on, you get zero human contact,” she said. “The importance of the store has always been that people come in here and we know them. What you see is what you get. People know who we are and we know who they are. I know when my customers are having good times and bad times. We don’t just know the customers, we’re friends with them. We often have a cup of tea with them. We are part of a community. I see the store as part of my life.”
Although shopping online for clothes is popular, it can also be tricky, she said.
“It’s really hard to buy clothing online that looks nice on you,” she said. “Have you ever tried to buy something on the internet? You buy it and ask yourself, ‘What is this thing? The fabric is often inferior and tends to fall apart. It’s no fun returning the junk you bought online.”
Turner said she believes Hampden has a promising future, with new businesses coming in such as The Duchess restaurant that the Foreman Wolf group is opening soon in the Café Hon space.
“I know that the building that contained Five and Dime Ale House is being reopened,” she said. “And I trust that the team behind Petit Louis is going to create a tour de force restaurant. What I like about Hampden is that you can stroll down The Avenue, meet up with friends, have a meal and go shopping all in one. The neighborhood offers food for every palate — Greek, Thai, vegan, Italian, Chinese, Indian and Afghan. Hampden is recreating itself and will continue to be a vibrant Main Street community that will attract locals and tourists alike.”
FYI—Neither Milk and Ice, nor Sturgis Antiques have closed. They’ve moved to other locations and are doing well.
Yes, the story refers to closings “in Hampden.” New locations for Milk and Ice and Sturgis Antiques can be found on Harford Road in Baltimore. Sorry for the confusion.