[August 03, 2011] Soulard collector of oddities needs space Tweet ST. LOUIS, Jul 10, 2011 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It was not a typical Saturday morning garage sale. "How much for the appendages?" a woman asked sale organizer Ron Buechele. She was a minute too late. Buechele had just sold the eight mannequin arms to another shopper for $5. There was still an unclaimed wooden coffin, an Army cot, an art deco dentist cabinet and a table full of old film projectors. The collection came from the basement of Mad Art Gallery, the business Buechele has run out of an old police precinct in Soulard for 10 years. Friends Theresa Hopkins and Jeff Brawn, both artists, knew that Buechele is renowned for his collecting. They came to the gallery to see what he was willing to let go of at low, low prices. Brawn settled on a box of baby mannequin hands and two meat grinders. "And I'm vegetarian," he said. He bought the grinders for the metal and wood handles that will likely show up in one of his mixed media pieces. As for the baby hands? No clear inspiration just yet. Hopkins had in her stash a box of toy train tracks, an oil can, desk lamp and "World War II-looking headphones." Brawn said there was some good stuff to dig through, but it was just a taste of what Buechele has to offer garage sale junkies. "We've been in his basement. We know he's holding out," Brawn said. "There are human skulls down there, for one thing." True, Buechele said. His collection is hard to define but does include skulls, cameras, crucifixes, furniture, tools and movie posters, many from the 1980s. Buechele said he needed to clear space in the 7,000-square-foot basement for a silk screen studio. "It was just sitting down there. Someone else can love it for awhile," he said. Buechele, 46, has been a collector of cool, odd things for about 25 years. He still has his Tonka toys in their original boxes and his Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars from childhood. When he would hear that friends were going to get rid of their old treasures, he would be there for a look. "Once you get a reputation for taking someone else's (stuff), people start to throw it your way," Buechele said. William Murry, 12, was lugging an old school desk with names carved on the top. The boy's mom, Tammy, was toting a Super 8 movie projector. They bought a Super 8 camera at a sale a few weeks ago. Ever since William saw the summer movie about a group of children around his age making a Super 8 movie, he has wanted to try his hand at directing. "Maybe I'll get my digital camera back now," Tammy Murry said. "Maybe," William said. To see more of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stltoday.com. Copyright (c) 2011, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]