From the looks of Joe Allen's long hair and clever smile, it feels like you've entered his dimly lit shop, Armed and Dangerous, to sell your soul. But from his perch behind a case of razor-sharp bat knives and sabers, the only temptation he offers is that his "prices are really reasonable, especially on jewelry." Allen has scoured the world, from England to Indonesia to Italy, to bring his shop's collection to its other-worldly level.
Spawned 12 years ago from a simple love of jewelry, the brooches, amulets, rings and bracelets range from classically beautiful to decidedly freaky. In addition to carved silver claws and amber medallions, this is the Pottery Barn for the modern goth. Animal skulls, crucifixes, menacing insects frozen in their boxes, hour glasses, life-size religious idols, and all manner of seraphs and demons can turn your pad into a parlor of purgatory. Whether shopping for a lifestyle or a costume, the selection has you covered as a dominatrix, pirate, or seductive sorceress -- in both dress and weaponry. The dark and sultry interior will have you expecting Allen to warn you that your purchase carries a terrible curse … la Edgar Allen Poe's The Monkey's Paw. But even if it does, you'll be damned to eternal hellfire in style, and at the right price.
