(Editor’s note: DeeDee Wood is the owner of Black Cat Curiosities, an online antiques research and sales venue.)

The displays give a nod to rural roots and rustic, primitive-style farm décor and a home-spun, inviting vibe. (Photo by DeeDee Wood)

The Crow’s Nest sits quietly back in a historic old railroad era building, tucked away off of the main street in Preston.
You can see a crow depicted on the side of the building as you drive by a side street, and might wonder what treasures or antique finds could be inside this unique gift shop location.
The crow called out for a fall October article, and the shop itself provided an air of local shopping, and perhaps a few antiques.
Faye Sterling, owner and operator of The Crow’s Nest, has been in business for 15 years in Preston.
Situated near what was once the railroad tracks in Preston, and home to the former Harper Oil Company from the 1930s, the building that houses
The Crow’s Nest was also once a bit of a warehouse for railroad stops, storing feed, storage items and more, as the tracks ran right out the back of the building.
Inside, the shop offers unique items that Sterling hand-selects from many different places.
“I have a fair amount of Amish-made items,” Sterling points out, “along with primitive-style items.”
From soaps, holiday decorations, home accessories and more, within the inventory, one can find antiques tucked away here and there.
The day of my visit, there were some vintage glass pieces, such as carnival glass, an Eastlake 1890s parlor table, (which I admit, I purchased), and other items mixed into the new inventory, such as antique furniture, a soup tureen and other treasures.
Variety is the key in this shop, with the themes of primitive style gifts and accessories.
There was an amazing dollhouse in one area of The Crow’s Nest that was made for the Sterling children many years ago. Kaye had assembled a neat old dollhouse on legs that had places to place dolls in the back.
The piece was vintage and very nostalgic, and was also for sale.
The displays in the shop are very fitting for the area Preston is in, giving a nod to rural roots and rustic, primitive-style farm décor and a home-spun, inviting vibe.
If a warm cup of aromatic herbal tea could be a mood, that feeling is contained within this store.
The day of my interview visit was also a day of the shop moving two spaces down, into a smaller venue, which offers equally as inspiring treasures and choices, in a more compact shop.
Well-made displays of gifts, soaps, accessories and décor were beginning to leave one location and being situated in the new shop.
While The Crow’s Nest once offered a consignment plan to sellers, Kaye states that now she only sells inventory on her own, with no consignment option.
The wonderful little gift shop has a local following, and when entering her old shop, or her new location, the feeling is fun, whimsical, a bit of mystery with Halloween items being offered currently, and a folksy, rural, primitive vibe.
In the new location two doors down, a wonderful old antique counter fills up one wall, with treasures being added as the inventory is being re-displayed.
The antiques and little vintage choices are peppered in to the inventory as the owner finds things that call to her, on shopping trips for her shop.
The Crow’s Nest will be in its new location two doors down in the same building by early October.
The address is 136 Lednum Avenue, Suite 2, Preston, Maryland.
Its hours of operation are Wednesday-Saturday from 10am-3pm, or by appointment. They can be reached at 410-673-8003 for further inquiries.