Aug 16, 2010

Shop offers taste of Egypt in downtown LongmontBy Tony KindelspireTimesCall.com

Longmont — Steve Collins pores through the boxes in the basement of his business, Discoveries Egyptian Imports, and pulls out item after item that look like they came straight from the Valley of Luxor.

Cat statues, stone tablets covered with Egyptian hieroglyphics, scrolls of papyrus … except these aren’t antiquities. They are reproductions of ancient Egyptian art and symbols that he either has set aside or doesn’t have room for in his store, which is located behind Divine Divas, 454 Main St. Though made by modern Egyptians, most of the items look thousands of years old — at least to the untrained eye.

Collins has made his living importing items from Egypt for the past three decades, though not all of those years have been smooth sailing on the Nile. Increased competition and an ever-changing market for his products have made for an interesting 30-year history for Discoveries, the roots of which date back to 1979, the year Collins went to visit a college friend who had spent a year abroad studying at the American University in Cairo.

“For me, the initial hook was the culture,” Collins said recently, giving a tour of his store to a visitor. “And it wasn’t the ancient Egyptian culture — I didn’t know what that was. It was the culture of modern Egypt.

“What really sunk the hook in was the beauty of their work.”

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