Local antique items featured in Oscar winning film ‘Oppenheimer’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - It’s a dream of a lifetime—items from a local Kansas City store made it to Hollywood. The owners of Bella Patina, an antique store in the West Bottoms, say it all started with a phone call in 2022.

“We had a set designer that reached out to us that worked with a production company.” Owner, Nick Allen went on to say, “They we’re doing some buying for some projects they were working on.”

But to Allen’s surprise, the films would soon be nominated for Oscars.

“Two films, ‘Oppenheimer’ was one and then ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’”

Allen and his wife, Megan were shocked.

“These are real movies this isn’t just like a local project,” he said. “It was just shocking to realize this is a really big deal.”

More than 15 items from the store, including mirrors, red leather chairs, and art are visible throughout both films.

“Not very big items but period specific.”

Both motion pictures are based in the 1920s—Allen says that’s the perfect era to shop for in Kansas City’s West Bottoms.

“Fortunately, the area has become such a destination for vintage and antique shopping. They heard about it and heard about our store and reached out to us directly.”

The production crew had never been to KC, but they told Allen it was the best place to find what they were looking for.

“He had mentioned that things had gotten really expensive on the coast to purchase for projects, so they started moving into the Midwest and purchasing items and shipping everything back.”

The cast of ‘Oppenheimer’ walked away with seven Oscars Sunday.

“We hope folks will say, ‘Hey, lets go check out that store that was featured in an Academy award-winning film.’”

Bella Patina is only open on First Friday. The Allen family will open their doors again April 5-7.

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