Sabina Waldman consulted a priest before opening her shop, Sabina & Daughter, in a former convent in Fells Point. "We didn't want to be sacrilegious," she says.

No problem, said the priest, so now she and daughter Samantha keep shop in a large room that was once a chapel. There, with a reverence for the old and a love for whimsy, they show off the most beautiful objects of the 1860s to the 1950s.

A ceramic angel sits on the ledge of a Gothic window and watches over the former sanctuary, while the Waldmans focus on art deco, art nouveau and mission style -- mixed with some Victorian and Empire -- furniture and accessories. There are heroic figures holding lamps, a mission-style mantel, chrome lamps and ashtrays, mirrors, jewelry, hood ornaments from the '30s, beaded dresses, ladies' hats and hatboxes, tapestries and a folding oak screen with stained glass inserts.

The Waldmans' affection for animals is also evident. There are lots of dogs -- chrome greyhounds and bronze Scotties -- in the shop area, while in other rooms sit their real dogs: Uncle Louie, a giant Irish wolfhound, plus Bluto and Harry, two equally huge English mastiffs.

Sabina & Daughter is located at 1637 Eastern Avenue -- in a building you may have to look twice to find. The hours are noon to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and other times by appointment. They also sell things wholesale. The telephone number is (410) 276-6366.