Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on December 11, 2018.
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If you have an itch to do some fantasy shopping for one-of-a-kind items in Pittsburgh, look no further than Artifacts in the West End. Touted as a “museum with a price tag,” Artifacts is home to over 20,000 items ranging from Turkish rugs, European artwork, hand crafted tables, to stuffed lions and giraffe busts, human-sized griffon statues, and everything in between.
We couldn't make this up even if we tried.
We first learned about Artifacts during a quest to find a seating area that would compliment a Turkish rug and lamp that we bought while traveling in Istanbul. Naturally, stories of Artifacts' massive showroom of Turkish rugs and other unique items inspired us to visit in hopes of finding our dream accompaniment.
We didn't, and that is fine by us.
Artifacts is Truly a Museum
It took us about thirty seconds once we entered the store to realize that we were not going to leave with a purchase that day. Their slogan of “a museum with a price tag” is indeed true. Everything does have a price tag. Unfortunately, that price on that tag is exactly what you'd expect at any museum.
That small Turkish rug? $900. The floor length rug that is larger than most people's homes? Start at $10,000 or more. The Victorian style paintings? You're looking at about $5,000. The list goes on and on and our budget in the low-hundreds of dollar range could never stack up. (*Prices may not be representative, but we gave it our best shot).
Luckily we knew this ahead of time, so we didn't have a huge disappointment waiting for us when we got there. In fact, it was actually a blessing in disguise that they didn't have a huge selection of pieces that would match our room, as staring at the perfect piece of furniture that is ten times more expensive than our budget would have been devastating.
Unless you have a truck load of cash just begging to be spent you'll likely be in a similar boat to us when visiting, so you may not want to head into it with a dream purchase in mind unless you can pull out the cash to make it happen.
Go to Look Anyway
The good news is that you can still visit Artifacts to appreciate their collection like a museum patron, and it is beyond worth it to check out some of the curated oddities they have on display without the need to buy an admission ticket.
Artifacts is located at 110 S Main Street in the West End of Pittsburgh.
Looking for more unique shops in Pittsburgh? Head down to the Strip District or Lawrenceville to find some pretty unique boutique shops!
