BEST PLACE TO PASS THE TIME 2005 | Artafax | Shopping & Services | Phoenix
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BEST PLACE TO PASS THE TIME

Artafax

Looking for the ideal housewares gift for your too-cool-for-school pal? Head over to Artafax in the Kierland Commons shopping plaza for everything from cool place settings to knickknacks that will knock your smock off. What moved us about the store for Gucci hipsters on a recent visit was the inordinate number of far-out clocks on its walls, many by Dutch designer Hank Stallinga and British designer Deborah Jedwab. One cylindrical timepiece has a stationary 12 at the top with a swinging 6 at the bottom. A silver, rectangular clock that we particularly liked has a swinging rabbit's-foot chain at the bottom. There was a compass-like one with 14 gears showing. Another has mirrors at 1, 4, 6, 9 and 11. There was one in the shape of an exploding atom. The prices for these sculptures that tell time ranged from $80 to $250, cheap (if you ask us) for functional art that you'll dig for a long time. Of course, there's the standard cuckoo clock, too, but you will want to go très chic at the stylish Artafax -- or you may as well buy your wall watch at Wal-Mart.

BEST PLACE TO BUY A MAKE-UP GIFT

Tiffany & Co.

If there'd been any way to buy one of those light-blue Tiffany boxes on the black market, we could've saved a mint by snagging the box and heading over to the discount jewelry mart for a cheapo trinket. Alas, you've gotta pay to collect a Tiffany box.

Sometimes, there's no substitute. Yep, we did something so wrong, we were forced to go all the way up the ladder to the Jeweler of Jewelers for a make-up gift. Okay, okay, we admit it, damn it all; what you think we did doesn't even compare to the offense in question. We had no damn choice. Anything short of Tiffany's, and we'd have been up the canal without a bobble.

So, tail between legs, we headed to the Scottsdale branch of the jeweler to the rich and famous. Once inside, we had one question: "How much do I have to spend to get one of them blue boxes?" A nice lady behind the counter looked sympathetic, as her haughty colleagues glared at us with that "Well, if you have to ask . . ." look. The Queen of Compassion pointed to her own earrings, which resembled Tahitian pearls but were really stainless-steel jobbies for a mere $65. "Of course, we have items like money clips for less, but that won't do, will it?" she said, clicking her tongue three times. No, it wouldn't!

To put those tight-assed colleagues of hers in their place, we blurted: "What's the most expensive item in the store?" It was a $250,000 diamond engagement ring. We settled for something on the low end of in-between -- a $486 crystal heart on a platinum chain -- and got the hell out of there!

Fortunately, the locks on the doors hadn't been changed by the time we got home with our little blue box.

BEST PLACE TO BUY A GREETING CARD

The Store at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

We think this classy museum emporium is just about the best place to buy anything, but it's unparalleled in the area of greeting cards, thanks to the exquisite eye of Janice Bartczak, the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts' Director of Retail Operations (a fancy-schmancy name for head buyer). No Hallmark here. Rather, Bartczak stocks The Store with an assortment of single and boxed cards by makers such as KOCO NY; Peaceable Kingdom Press of Berkeley, California; Galison of New York; Knock Knock of Venice, California; Borealis Press of Surry, Maine; and Designfold of New York. And in the event that you dislike the cards on hand -- highly doubtful -- The Store also sells a DIY card-making kit. Even we jaded media types aren't immune to The Store's charms; on a recent visit, we succumbed to the allure of a set of Opera Notes cards by Galison featuring to-die-for illustrations by artist John Martinez.

BEST MAGAZINE RACK

Borders Books & Music Tempe

It's kind of sad to admit that we really researched this, but indeed, we did -- that's how hooked we are on magazines. The god of glossies still hasn't answered our prayer for an independent, can't-miss newsstand downtown, so for now, we schlep to the crown jewel of Mill Avenue's chain-store lineup for our fix. Quite simply, there are just more racks here, period, which means that every category is robust. More news and fashion, more sports, music, and queer-friendly titles, plus a cheeky selection of indie and foreign mags with amusing names like Artichoke, Swindle, Theme, and Anthem. The more, the merrier. Because as any true magazine junkie knows, it's all about quality and quantity.

BEST BOOKSTORE

Changing Hands Bookstore

The kind folks at Changing Hands are so helpful. They publish a monthly newsletter, complete with a full listing of the events held at the store, which include costumed storytelling for kids, grown-up authors like Scott Simon and Hillary Clinton, and a variety of writing classes. Ask a staff member for a book, and it's in your hands before you realize she's left and returned. Need a card, or a gift? They've got it, along with irresistible store tee shirts that read "Fictional Character" and "Will Work for Books."

So we weren't surprised when, on a recent trip to the store, an employee helpfully suggested that we rename the Best of Phoenix award for Best Bookstore to "The Changing Hands Best Bookstore Award," recognizing that CH has certainly won its share of BOPs over the years.

Good idea, we said, as we struggled to the cash register with our stack of new and used books. But usually, when you do that, the award is given to someone else. Why would we give Changing Hands the Changing Hands Award? Leave the "Best of" business to us. We'll leave the book business to Changing Hands. And the "Best of" for Best Bookstore. Again.

BEST COLLECTIBLE BOOKSTORE

The Antiquarian Shop

With the passing of George Chamberlain in January, Arizona lost its dean of booksellers. The erudite Mr. Chamberlain held court in the same location for 40 years, and now his daughter Ann Chamberlain Maroe has relocated from Oregon and her own bookshop to continue her father's legacy. There are many Valley bookshops where one can pick up a copy of any current best seller or last year's Stephen King novel, but the Antiquarian Shop is a real bookstore for dead-serious bibliophiles. Here you'll find George Washington's autograph and a copy of Cicero's Cato Major printed by Benjamin Franklin in 1773. The shop also handles the work of the modern masters with first editions of all the greats, including Hemingway and Steinbeck. Many rare-book stores specialize in specific areas like history or the sciences, but the Antiquarian Shop offers the best it can find in all fields with an emphasis on condition. If it's $2.98 cover prices you're seeking, then head to the bargain tables at Borders; but if you want to hold history in your hands, this is the place to go more than once upon a time.

BEST COMIC BOOK STORE

Samurai Comics

Here in the Valley, the comic book landscape seems to be dominated by ginormous Atomic-powered retail establishments that are "All About Books and Comics." These titans of the sequential art set draw teenagers and other socially maladjusted hooligans from Tempe to Tolleson into their establishments with the latest multi-paneled, four-color adventures from a cadre of superheroes, or exclusive signing sessions with big-name artists like Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. Meanwhile, Moryha and Mike Banks -- owners of Samurai Comics -- have survived and thrived in the shadow of these comic colossi over the past three years. Operating their smallish shop out of a cramped strip mall a few doors down from Gay Denny's, the couple has developed a cultlike group of regulars who've graced their shop looking for the newest from major publishers like DC, as well as harder-to-find titles like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Eightball. The Bankses often book well-attended appearances by such obscure small-press artists as James Kochalka (author of the zany sketch diary American Elf) and Craig Thompson (who's penned such graphic novels as Blankets).

Business has been so good, Moryha and Mike are in the process of opening a new location at 107th Avenue and Indian School Road. Looks like the underdogs sometimes win out in the end after all.

BEST PLACE TO "RENT" A MOVIE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF

Burton Barr Central Library

When you get right down to it, you have to be pretty cheap these days to want to actually rent the video or DVD rather than buy it. After you rent the damn thing and bring it back late, it'll cost you about the same amount of scratch it would have if you'd bought it new from the beginning. (This considering what we now know about Blockbuster's wack-assed "no late fees" policy.) And anyway, Hollywood Video, Blockbuster, and even the mom-and-pops all stock pretty much the same old crap. Wanna see The Ring Two or xXx: State of the Union starring Ice Cube? Those other guys have got 'em by the score. But if you're interested in the collected shorts of Fatty Arbuckle, or Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler, or anything the least bit obscure, Burton Barr's first-floor video shelves, stocked with hundreds of classic and foreign films, are for you. Your inner cheapskate will be satisfied as well, 'cause "rentals" are free, so long as you have your library card handy.

BEST BLOOM

Hot Haus

Sometimes, the whole mall scene in the Valley gets depressing, with the search for originality. Let's face it: That platter you got at Pottery Barn might be super-cute, but it's sitting on the Crate & Barrel dining room table of several thousand other super-cute shoppers. That's why we love Haus. When the owners moved from the street to the mall last year, we were deeply suspicious. But a recent trip thrilled us -- Haus is better than ever, Jonathan Adler's designs firmly in place, and even if you don't have any cash, a Haus call is worth it for a look-see. Our favorite addition is Hot Haus, a budding floral operation run out of one corner of the store. Now you can find something to stick in that Jonathan Adler vase.

BEST ALTERNATIVE TO SENDING FLOWERS

The Brownie Connection

Sure, flowers are pretty, but they wilt. Wouldn't you rather have a little nosh? For a long time, we ignored the offerings of the Brownie Connection, turned off by the boring packaging. But now we must admit we've learned, you can't judge a brownie by its cover. When a friend finally shoved one (okay, several) of these under our noses, we gobbled the cream cheese, nut and cookie varieties, as well as the plain brownie, then raced for the milk, mumbling our approval through a sugary haze.

Unlike flowers, old brownies never die. At least, not for three months. Just make sure you wrap them tightly and store them in the freezer.

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