Welcome to THE EXOTIQUE!

Our store is many things… Are we an Art Gallery? Yes. A place to find International Jewelry? Yes! A place to find unique clothing? Yes, African clothing, South American clothing and clothing many other locales.

We started the store with the focus of bringing international goods, straight from the vendors and merchants themselves, here to Durham, NC.  Our goal is to raise the community’s awareness and increase the exposure of artists from all over the world.  Art, jewelry and Clothing , from far off regions, brought straight to your backyard.  

We are located on 319 West Main Street in the heart of Downtown Durham; we can’t wait for you to visit and to share our experiences with you. 

Please View Our Goods

(Inventory may vary, so please call us to confirm)

Beads                                             Women’s Clothing

Fabrics                                           Women’s Accessories

Mudcloth                                        Men’s Clothing

We have a wide variety of international jewelry

Woven Kente                                 Men’s Accessories

Paintings & Artwork                       Home Furniture

Silver & Gemstones                        Home Accessories

EVENTS

We are always hosting new events, such as Art Exhibits, Quilt Exhibits, Birthday Celebrations or Party.  If you would like to schedule an event or to check our event schedule please call us at (919) 688-5747.

About the Owners

Lola and Yemi

We opened this store in April 2006.  We are sure you can attest to this. After many years, you look at yourself and simply want something new and interesting, something different.  You know it will be disruptive, uncertain and maybe even risky. But what is life if we do not explore the tangents, eh?  So here we are, a couple who have traveled to many distant shores saying "why not?" And whatever it may be, it must involve engaging people. We are a people couple. We love meeting people from all walks of life. 

America gives such opportunity to venture out and with our background; we thought bringing all our experience, culture, enthusiasm to bear, we could actually create a worthwhile project. By the way, that is us high up on the mountains, by the glaziers in northern Chile. At 5am!! 

We arrived in the US in 1999 from England.  Actually from Southampton.  And before that, Nigeria.  Did you know the Titanic left Southampton on its ill fated journey?  We have been so blessed with travel.  So many sojourns to so many African countries.  Seeing so much culture, diversity, colors and uniqueness, it simply spurred a thought - why not bring this over to the US, where folks have always wanted to acquire something eclectic?  Our travels have allowed us to gain so many contacts.  It’s funny, you know, but America has allowed us to learn one phrase - "win, win".  Yes, it’s a win, win for everyone - America gets to acquire wonderful items, the artists and producers get to sell their wares and we go along for a wonderful ride of adventure. Not bad at all. And if you are out there simply reading this, we would suggest to you - Venture out. As a famed man once said:

“You live life once; but if you live it right? Once is enough!" 

Every one reading this MUST recognize the blessings in their lives, as we have. A story is told of two prisoners, both looking out of the prison window. One saw the mud in the street, the other looked up and saw the stars.  Same situation, different perspective, different attitude and certainly different outcomes.  We are truly blessed. We continue to look at the stars. God bless each of you.

Update

It is 2009! It’s a difficult time for many currently and for those in the retail industry as well.  The future is never guaranteed. We are hoping that despite the downturn in the country that our customers continue to do well. When you do well, we do well.  Please drop in to say hello and support us also. Remember the "Exotique" gifts for all the birthdays, anniversaries and celebrations are here. We also continue to strive to bring in items that you deem of great worth. 

THE EXOTIQUE

• ART GALLERY • INTERNATIONAL JEWELRY • AFRICAN CLOTHING •