STARRING AT GALAXY: Retro metal lawn chairs.

I have rhapsodized before in this space about my love for Galaxy Office Furniture in Argenta, and I’m about to do it again.

We’re in prime porch-sittin’ weather now, and Galaxy’s latest featured offering is a line of retro metal lawn chairs — the kind you find all rusted out sometimes in antique stores and wish you knew how to fix up. Galaxy’s are reproductions, so the paint’s fresh and rust isn’t an issue. They’re $75 for single chairs, which come in a variety of bright colors, and you can also get a two-seat glider.

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And what I really love about Galaxy — besides the owner’s obvious fantastic sense of whimsy — is that the merchandise turns over reasonably often. This visit, I thought I was going to check out the lawn chairs, but I found so very much else to make me giggle with glee.

For instance: A vintage 1960s peacock-blue custom-tailored-in-Hong-Kong silk/wool dress and jacket for $50, in mint condition and, miracle of miracles, not sized for Audrey freaking Hepburn. Yes, the heavens did in fact open up, and the sun shone down and a choir of angels sang the Hallelujah Chorus. Did I buy it? NOOOOOOOO. Though the cut was generous, it was, sadly, not quite generous enough. Curse the Mars candy company for creating the Milky Way bar. (If one of you buys it before I can manage to lose 10 pounds and get back there, I will hunt you down. I will.)

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At any rate: The suit was there in the first place because Galaxy is the new home of Paddywack’s, the vintage clothing/furniture store that until recently was located in a stand-alone shop on Fair Park Boulevard just north of Markham.

And if vintage clothing and lawn chairs aren’t your thing: I was also thoroughly charmed by a line of metal animal sculptures made by a Tennessee artist. They’re fun, colorful, a little goofy — perfect for a kid’s room or even your front lawn, if you’ve got a sense of humor. Among the selection of creatures: A mermaid, a tiger, cats and dogs, two fire-breathing dragons, ladybugs, an assortment of dragonflies and grasshoppers, a flamingo, and the piece de resistance, a 5-foot-tall brontosaurus. The dino was the most expensive, at $225, but the other pieces — which are much smaller, generally under a foot or so — started in the $40 range. The store is on Main Street in downtown North Little Rock between Broadway and Fourth streets — just look for all the cool stuff out on the sidewalk.

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Other finds this week:

• If a closet makeover has been on your wish list, you’re in luck. Stack-n-Rack, the organization store that’s been at 8202 Cantrell Road for more than 20 years, is closing at the end of the month and moving to Hot Springs, where the owner lives. What Elfa shelving they have left — some wall shelves and several pre-assembled stand-alone pieces — is 40 percent off, and there’s a section of other merchandise — including some decent-sized plastic bins, several quilted china keepers and a line of cute girly desk accessories — that’s 75 percent off. It’s definitely worth stopping by.

And if they don’t have what you’re looking for, the Container Store in the Midtowne shopping center has all its shelving, including Elfa, 25 percent off through late October.

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Cantrell Gallery (8206 Cantrell Road, in the same little strip mall as Stack-n-Rack) is offering a special until the end of September — place one custom-framing order and the get the second half off.

Fashion-forward types: Park Hill boutique Shop Trio (3300 JFK Blvd., North Little Rock) has several racks of designer jeans for 40 percent and 60 percent off — 7 for All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, etc. There’s also a 75-percent-off rack with other non-denim merchandise, plus plenty of new fall clothes, like a fun orange two-button cardigan sweater vest by Ivy Jane ($92). And for football fans, a line of not-your-usual Razorback T-shirts from Jennifer Kelly Designs, normally $86, now 40 percent off. These tees have current-trend details, and the Hog emblem is done in studded leather. Which makes them dry-clean only, but if you care about that, I probably lost you at $86.

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News? Tips?

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