So I’m in the shower, and on the way to hot, the faucet falls off in my hand. Literally. I ring the super, who can fix anything and looks like Schneider (it’s like our own One Day at a Time around here at the highrise), but he’s not available. It’s all fun and games ’til you have to venture out into the big, bad world and find a fix yourself. It’s a small part inside the faucet that requires replacement, something—as I learn at Home Depot—they don’t sell separately. “You may have to open the wall,” says the helpful Depot-er. And who makes this fixture anyway? I remodeled the bath, and think it’s Groehe, but there’s no signage, number…nada. The contractor has no record. (Note to self: write this stuff down and keep a file long after the project is complete!). I head to Community Home Supply. The “question desk” is full of crack professionals who are stumped. (Great place to order bath accoutrements by the way.) They send me home to take a snap of the part that remains in the wall. I return. They think they discover a discontinued model that matches. Then, out from the secret and sacred files, comes The Card. I’m directed to the Godfather of all parts, The Faucet Shoppe. One step inside the store and Norman Miller, third generation “shoppe” keeper, has found the part (in an opened and thus discounted box to boot) for $40! His warehouse is filled to the rafters with replacement parts from toilet covers to vintage fixtures. May not seem like a sexy stop on the interior decorating tour, but for me, it’s heaven!

– BARRI LEINER