Goods & Services

If you’ve been at your favorite restaurant or other local business around town and noticed its awesome T-shirts, there’s a good chance the shirt was made at Brand X Custom T-Shirts. Whether your order is large or small, the knowledgeable staff will guide you through the process of putting your name, brand, or graphic on whatever T-shirt you want. Or you can choose from the aesthetically pleasing and often-funny shirts that it’s pre-made. But our favorite part of Brand X isn’t even what or how it puts words and images on the shirts. It’s the fact that there’s no minimum requirement on orders. You want just one T-shirt with your mom’s face on it for Mother’s Day? You got it, if you’re using Brand X.

There are certain things you need in a good nursery. You need a friendly staff that not only knows exactly what it’s talking about, but one that also will share knowledge in a way that even the most novice gardener can understand. You need a beautiful space that prominently displays the plants and offers suggestions on how you could design your own landscape. And finally (of course), you need an abundance of beautiful, thriving plants for purchase. Whitfill Nursery has all of the above and then some. With over 60 years of experience growing and raising palms, citrus, and other plants in the desert, it’s easy to see why this family-owned and -operated nursery has its green thumb permanently pointed up.

Readers Choice: Moon Valley Nursery

We’ve found that dogs are man’s best friends about 95 percent of the time. That other 5 percent of the time — the time you spend washing your furry friend — dogs are man’s worst enemies. Whether your dog hates the water or loves it, chances are you’ll be just as soaked as your pet by the time its bath is over. That is, unless you let the professionals at Wag ‘N Wash do the scrubbing for you. From the standard bath in one of its specialized single-dog basins (where you can wash your pup) to new haircuts to the dreaded clipping of your dog’s nails, you can trust the groomers at Wag ‘N Wash with all of it. With an appointment, the staff usually will have your dog in and out in about three hours. And don’t forget to grab Fido a little snack from the Wag ‘N Wash bakery. These freshly baked treats smell good enough for us humans.

Whether you’re driving cross-country or across town, the Camelback Inn is a fine destination. With wonderful rooms, a lovely ballroom, top-notch dining, and an incredible desert setting, this Marriott is a cut above. Our favorite reason to drive over for a visit is the spa, a longtime favorite. From the fluffy white robes and clean locker room to the gorgeous pool and delicious but healthy menu (don’t skip the gazpacho — or the “detox” margarita), this is the place to be even before you’ve set foot in a treatment room. Splurge on a 90-minute Swedish massage or a signature wrap, a facial, manicure/pedicure — or spend the day and do it all.

Readers Choice: Sanctuary on Camelback

Nix the naked nail beds and forget your French manicure. Nowadays, nail art is as much about pushing the envelope as the cuticle. Whether you’re asking for avant-garde acrylics or Japanese gels, there’s one place in town that caters to the cutting-edge manicure. Stash House Phoenix is the premier destination for those who want their digits done in style. The Stash’s star technicians, Adreanna Corrales and Jimmy Nguyen, are accustomed to cranking out one-of-a-kind creations with all the fingertip fixings, including stone work signatures, hand-painted prints, nail piercings and tattoos, and gold foil sets that put Cleopatra to shame. With so many possibilities, it’s hard to know where to start. Which is why we recommend following the salon’s Instagram feed for daily inspiration: @stashhouseaz.  

It seems everywhere you turn these days, people tout the benefits of organic and all-natural foods. Hey, no judgment. We’re all for it. So it only makes sense that we also apply the same principles of what we put in our bodies to what we put on our bodies. And that’s where Citrine Natural Beauty Bar comes in. The small boutique beauty supply store inside UNION at the Biltmore offers an array of all-natural beauty goods like Ilia lip products, Tata Harper body balms, and Jane Iredale hydration sprays. We’re going to warn you right now, though. Once you start using these amazing, luxurious products, you may find it hard to go back to your old standbys — and Citrine doesn’t exactly charge drugstore prices. But you’re worth it, right?

Green is the new black, and flawless skin is the new full-on foundation. Which is why Phoenix locals who love a good pampering are ditching their drugstore buys for the earthy essentials of Flora Apothecary. Founded by former makeup artist Nikki Wrangler, the all-natural line of luxurious skincare caters to men and women who could do without the chemicals in their commercial cosmetics. From body scrubs and facial elixirs to bar soaps and beard oils, all of Wrangler’s artisan products are as pleasing to the senses as they are to the skin. That’s because Flora Apothecary is all about opting for plant-based products such as avocado oil and mango butter over sinister sulfates and parabens. Although Flora Apothecary doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar shop, it makes do with online sales and the shelves of local boutiques such as Frances, Camelback Flowershop, and La Grande Orange.

www.floraapothecary.com

Consider the mattress. As a kid, bed is where you’re sent when you’re being atrocious. As a teen and young adult, it takes on an, uh, more exciting role. As an grown-ass person, your bed is either your sanctuary or the thing you likely dread replacing because it costs an ungodly, un-bank-accountable sum. Or at least it did until Tuft & Needle came along. Based in Arizona and California, it’s a mattress company geared toward folks with an eye for quality and a thrifty sensibility. Tuft & Needle manufactures just one — one — type of foam mattress in all the standard sizes made in the United States. And we have to say, it’s incredibly comfortable.

Arizona has a reputation for being, shall we say, behind the times. But that’s not without precedent. After all, in terms of statehood, the Copper State was the 48th on the map. That’s right. We sneaked in before Hawaii and Alaska hopped on board. It’s a fact that Michael Spangenberg, Stephen Polando, and Nicholas Polando accept with pride. So much so that they named their lifestyle brand State Forty Eight, a line of shirts, hoodies, and accessories for men, women, and kids and emblazoned with that name. State pride never looked quite so sharp.

www.statefortyeight.com

Teresa Wilson and her stem-slinging crew at Camelback Flowershop know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to positioning peonies and rearranging roses. This team is able to listen to a client’s description of what is desired, envision the client’s idea, and then translate the vision into a breathtaking and unique floral arrangement. And don’t even get us started on how beautiful the actual shop is. After moving to a new location in the fall of 2014, Wilson and her staff have about three times the space to fill with flowers, succulents, and bouquets. Stop in on a Friday afternoon for Fresh Flower Happy Hour, from 4 to 6 p.m., for half-priced vase arrangements and steals on loose-stem flowers.

It’s not every day that an Arizona-based creative gets a tip of the hat from the one and only Jonathan Adler. But Gilbert artist Jessica Rowe is one such lucky lady. Adler has a home goods store at Biltmore Fashion Park and often visits the Valley because his husband, Simon Doonan, has long worked with Barneys. Anywho, Adler saw Rowe’s work, loved it, and, as it were, had to have it in his stores as part of his JA Finds collection, which features up-and-coming design work. Adler has carried pieces from Rowe’s Lips series, watercolor works that blow girlish kisses of thanks to iconic pop culture imagery of the Rolling Stones’ logo and the opening scene of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

www.instagram.com/theaestate

Some people look down on parents for living vicariously through their children. But we have no shame in doing so when our kids are wearing the stellar, futuristic designs of Baby Teith. Tiffe Fermaint and Keith Walker founded this children’s clothing brand after having a little one of their own. Originally an adult runway designer, Fermaint started creating looks for her daughter and then began to sell her designs on her Etsy shop. Baby Teith’s lightning bolt onesies, iridescent skirts, and punny Morrissey shirts are available at several boutiques and online markets nationally. Fermaint’s designs are mostly for kids, so you parents will just have to be satisfied knowing your kid has the coolest threads on the playground.

www.babyteith.com

The staff is friendly, the selection changes constantly, and you can’t beat the prices at Love Child, our favorite resale shop for children’s clothing. We haunt the $1 (yes, one dollar!) rack and have found everything from a Gymboree velour sweat suit to Abercrombie and Fitch cutoffs. There’s a wide selection of used leotards and tap shoes (a dance mom’s dream) and a shelf or two of books to keep the kids busy while you browse. Offer up your e-mail address and you’ll get plenty of sale notices and coupons — although the regular prices are good enough to keep us coming back to Love Child.

From Urban Outfitters dresses to Prada shoes, My Sister’s Closet has everything a fashionista on a budget could need. The deals on clothes, shoes, and accessories couldn’t be better — we’re talking about $35 for a Diane von Furstenburg dress and $60 for Stuart Weitzman pumps that originally cost nearly $500. But don’t think My Sister’s Closet is all about the labels. The buyers here know that stylish, nearly new clothes from any brand are worth reselling, which means you’ll also find great buys for less than you’d usually spend on lunch. For the best deals, wait for the seasonal progressive sales, when everything in the store gets discounted between 20 percent and 70 percent. We’ve scored a vintage leather skirt for $25 and a designer dress for under 10 bucks. Plus the staff is always friendly and the aisles easy to navigate.

It seems every young artsy couple that gets engaged these days is tagging one particular Phoenix maker in their Instagram engagement announcements. That’d be Mother of Gideon. Helmed by Charis Elliott and Seth Fainkujen, the Valley’s go-to edgy jewelry purveyor has earned a following with its one-of-a-kind pieces and willingness to work closely with shoppers looking for a ring, whether it’s hyper-detailed and Renaissance-inspired or clean-cut and classic. That, and MOG is dedicated to reusing materials like recycled gold and silver, as well as locally sourcing its precious gems. We like to think Beyoncé would approve.

www.motherofgideon.com

Whether you’re shopping for your mother in law, BFF, slacker brother, or your kinda friendly co-workers, Bunky Boutique’s the place to go. The tiny CenPho boutique carries all manner of little odds and ends — from locally crafted jewelry by Pure Life and supremely comfy Overthrow Clothing T-shirts to high-end grooming products by Baxter and handmade greeting cards. Where the shop really shines is in its selection of Arizona pride products that are exclusive to Bunky — baby bibs, ball caps, and tees that make for lovely souvenirs (and didn’t come from the airport).

When it comes to Retro Ranch, the priority is given to quality over quantity. The store is not as big as some of the others in Melrose District, but that just means the midcentury finds are more concentrated. The staff fills the limited space it has with the best pieces it comes across when hunting for midcentury furniture, clothing, and accessories. But then Retro takes it to the next level by creating eye-grabbing displays with its wares. Its slogan is “Swagger on in . . .,” but we think you’ll be walking with more of a spring in your step when you’re walking out with something you just can’t wait for your house guests to ask about.

Whether you have a plot at a community garden or a succulent on your countertop, you’re likely contributing to the growth and longevity of plants suited to the Arizona desert. And though seeds of these plants can be snagged at hardware stores and online depots alike, Native Seed/SEARCH hopes to educate the public and support native (and increasingly endangered) desert flora that could disappear faster than a terrarium at a hipster boutique. The Tucson-based nonprofit is home to 1,900 accessions of native arid-lands-adapted crops. And as a hopeful antidote to Monsanto and climate change, NS/S opened a seed library in its retail storefront where library members can check out seeds, grow their own plants, and “return” seeds harvested from their plants so they can be used by other members. Get planting, Phoenix.

3061 North Campbell Avenue, Tucson

520-622-5561

www.nativeseeds.org

There’s nothing quite like getting in your car at 120 degrees and playing hot potato with your seatbelt buckle before clicking it into place and bracing yourself for the slow and steady burn of the nylon belt. Let’s face it: Cars are not made for the desert, but Local Motors is on a mission to change that. The hottest car on LM’s Phoenix roster is the Rally Fighter, a car specifically designed to take on off-road desert terrain and catch the eyes of anyone cruising down I-10. But to get your hands on one, you’ll have to help build it. Every car purchase comes with a commitment of either one week or two three-day stretches in which the buyer builds the car alongside one of Local Motor’s mechanics — everything from laying brake lines to assembling the Chevy E-ROD LS3 engine. Yield: a uniquely badass (desert) experience.

You may think that getting a cactus in Phoenix is an easy feat. They’re everywhere, right? This may be true, but don’t you even think about touching that saguaro down the block. For one, it’s illegal to move a saguaro without a permit and, two, messing with those spines is risky, at best. Instead, leave the dirty work to the professionals at Phoenix Desert Nursery. Besides saguaros in various stages of growth, this nursery has almost every cactus you could think of. Looking around the property is like gazing over a vast ocean of terrifyingly spiny beauty. You’ll find everything from chollas to organ pipes, aloes to prickly pears. Hoping to add some hip succulents to your windowsill and Instagram account? Yep, Phoenix Desert Nursery’s got your back.

Readers Choice: Moon Valley Nursery

After stints working in nurseries and the Department of Agriculture, Michael Lanier couldn’t contain his knack for raising plants to the confines of his home in downtown Phoenix’s Garfield neighborhood. Lanier took his green thumb public this year, opening The Bosque inside monOrchid gallery on Roosevelt Row. Living up to its botanical name, the plant boutique offers apartment-friendly greenery with an assortment of cactus and succulents, as well as pothos plants. Though Lanier’s focus is on low-maintenance desert flora, he also offers such non-native oddities as coconut trees and coffee plants and takes special orders. With a little water and some guidance from Lanier, aspiring horticulturists can go green with ease.

What should we do if bitten by a venomous snake while hiking? What if our car breaks down in the middle of the desert and we have no cell service? What wild plants in our backyard are edible and which ones will kill us? Well, you can learn the answers to these questions by taking any of Ancient Pathways’ desert survival classes. The company is based in Flagstaff but teaches all over the state. You can sign up for a one-day course in primitive and modern desert survival tactics, and you’ll learn about building emergency shelters and locating water. If you’re more adventurous, you can sign up for a three-day intensive course and learn all about tracking animals, capturing wild game, and using the stars to navigate. There’s plenty of outdoor hands-on experience, and head instructor Tony Nester has taught survival skills to Army Special Operations and U.S. Border Patrol agents. If you want to impress your friends — or just make it out alive should disaster strike — then Ancient Pathways has your back.

2532 North Fourth Street, Flagstaff

928-528-2552

www.apathways.com

When it comes to Midcentury Modern, Arizona is a gold mine of mint-condition treasures. Tapping into the retro resource is professional picker Dominic Fasano. The chef turned home décor hunter has an eye for all things Atomic Age and collectible, thanks in part to his job at vintage furnishings store Modern Manor. When he’s not refurbishing products for retail or reclaiming them as his own in his 1965 Al Beadle Boardwalk condominium, Fasano finds an eager market on Instagram. Followers of Fasano are privy to his most recent finds: Eames chairs, Bitossi ceramics — pretty much anything that looks as though it came off the set of Mad Men. And though Fasano may never disclose where he gets such retro goods, he is willing to sell them directly to his social media-based customers. Midcentury without the middle man? We’ll take it.

www.instagram.com/domfasano

Here is what you need to be happy (and to furnish that groovy Ralph Haver home you just closed on): Six Mario Bellini for Cassina leather cab chairs, an Adrian Pearsall walnut slate and upholstered sofa, and a Carpathian elm and brass sideboard designed by Harold Schwartz. In that case, there’s only one place to go, and it’s to Red. This longtime purveyor of high-end, pristine-quality midcentury furnishings and art has what you need if what you need is a little better than the stuff at the local antique mall. Beautifully restored sofas and chairs, still-perfect end tables and lanais, and that chrome bar you’ve always fantasized about. It’s better to be Red.

When you walk into Modern on Melrose, you may think you’ve walked into a midcentury design museum instead of an antique store. The staff has created such well-designed miniature room setups with all of its midcentury furniture that it’s difficult to walk away from each one not wanting to purchase everything and re-create it exactly the same way in your own home. Because, c’mon! Would anything go as well with the pattern on that 1953 couch than those orange wool throw pillows? Plus the staff is helpful and knowledgeable without any of the pretentiousness too often found in high-end specialty stores.

More than just a boutique, Central Phoenix shop Frances has turned into a cool-girl clubhouse. Thanks to workshops that feature local creatives like Lynne Bonnel and Brendan McCaskey and range in topic from the basics of knitting to embracing natural skincare, Georganne Bryant’s store has become a bona fide hangout spot where making new pals and learning new crafts is actually super-fun. So’s the shopping, as featured brands include Matt & Nat, Free People, and Bando. Not only can Frances get you all dressed up, it’s also someplace to go.

Scottsdale must be the place to go for big-ticket, high-style old furniture. Right? Nope. We head to downtown Tempe and Rare Lion, really the best place to find Napoleonic desks, a Virtuoso bookcase, or a pristine Paimio settee. Vintage smalls also are available at this superb shop filled to the rafters with exquisite old jewelry, super-collectible high-end ceramics, and even some vintage paper products. Rare Lion also offers appraisals of your collectibles, and its on-site gemologist can help you determine whether that 90-year-old cocktail ring is clad with gemstones or just pretty glass.

A Shawnee Farmer Pig cookie jar for 30 bucks. A telephone table painted turquoise. A lady-head vase with barely any chips on her hat. A mantel clock, a painting of a dog wearing a raincoat. An Oxfordware bowl with only a little crazing. We practically needed a wheelbarrow the first time we shopped at Ilona’s, the stuff was so cool and the prices so reasonable. Did we need that mantel clock, that amber glass centerpiece vase, the Harker Corinthian gravy boat? No. But we had to have it, because who knows when we’ll find such fun stuff at such low prices ever again? (Actually, we do — always, and always at Ilona’s.

We needed a 1960s Underwood typewriter (with intact ribbon), a wire dress form, and a set of French Saxon Star-Flower dishware, and we needed it now. We didn’t realize, of course, that all this vintage stuff was lacking in our lives or that we could get it in one place and for pennies on the dollar until we found ourselves at Brass Armadillo, where all this and more lay in wait. Conveniently located just off Interstate 17 and chockablock with gorgeous old stuff, the Armadillo is open till 9 p.m. seven days a week, for those of us jonesing for a post-dinner hunt for a mint-in-box Howdy Doody rag doll or a pair of Everwood side tables in mint condition and priced perfectly. Nicely organized with street signs, the Brass boulevards of merchant boutiques are neatly arranged and frequently restocked, so repeat trips are a must. We love the rows and rows of glass cases full of rare and pretty small items (Hey, is that a 1959 Barbie doll?), and the friendly staff who wraps our purchases so carefully, too.

A friend visiting from England whined, “Your vintage clothing stores are a downer. More like costume shops.” So we took her to Antique Sugar and she shut the hell up. This is the place for fabulous yesteryear threads, and its expanded stock in its new location (Sugar recently relocated from midtown to groovy downtown digs) is even better than it once was — and that was pretty darn good. There we typically find couture attire, ’70s garments perfect for those pesky disco parties people keep throwing, and the best selection of midcentury lounging pajamas you’ll ever see. Recent impossible-but-true finds include 1940s still-in-the-box navy blue silk stockings, dyed-fabric pumps (in our size!), and a 1963 Elizabeth Arden frock coat with the tags hanging off. Also surprising is this boss boutique’s wide array of men’s duds, a rarity in any vintage clothing store.

Sure, there are plenty of places around town with great resale items to purchase, but none boasts cheaper prices than Goodwill. And out of all the Goodwill locations in Arizona, it’s the Goodwill Redesign in Scottsdale where we find our favorite and most reasonably priced antique treasures. Unlike other Goodwill stores around the Valley, the Goodwill Redesign stores focus on furniture and decorations, leaving clothing to other locations. We don’t know whether it’s the neighborhood surrounding the Scottsdale Goodwill Redesign or the alignment of the stars, but we always have the best luck at this particular store. Try your luck and stop by. Maybe you’ll walk away with a well-loved but nicely preserved ’80s armchair that will perfectly fill that one corner in your living room.

We refuse to pay five bucks for a cake scraper. We cringe at the price of craft supplies at the big chain hobby shops. And why buy name-brand glue? The one-buck stuff sticks things together just as well. But let’s face it: Paying pennies for neat junk is fun, but some dollar stores are just plain grungy. Others are scary. But Dollar Tree is clean, well-organized, and well stocked. Why not load up on new glassware, placemats, and tea towels in a housewares department that’s an actual department and not a dirty corner of a discount store? Birthday party favors, wrapping paper, greeting cards — who says it’s expensive to entertain kids? Beach balls, sunglasses, tanning lotion — all for a buck a pop! And don’t get us started on Dollar Tree’s holiday décor selection. We have to stop writing now and head over to Dollar Tree to see what’s growing there.

Several Valley locations

www.dollartree.com

When you need posies delivered, either locally or nationally, Community Florist is there for you. Its expansive array of roses, flowers, plants, and gifts is available; so is lots of help in choosing the appropriate arrangement for any occasion. Ordering online is a snap, and for those of us who are floral-impaired, the flower-wise folks at this McDowell Road pansy shop are always happy to create a floral masterpiece for you based not on what you don’t know about nasturtiums, but on your budget. It’s fine with them if you announce, “I want a birthday bouquet for Mom; I have $50 to spend.” They’ll know what to do. Flowers, corsages, gifts, and funeral arrangements are the order of the day here, as are centerpieces and boutonnieres. We were impressed that when they were having trouble delivering our order on a recent weekday morning, they phoned us with progress reports throughout the day, until the beautiful bouquet was finally conveyed.

Most every smoker has his or her favorite marijuana strain, but for a little while in early 2015, something special was going on with a type of cannabis called Afghan Kush. Tight, fragrant buds, lots of red hairs. It was said to be an indica, which it must have been due to the full-brain feeling — not a strain for getting much work done. Great for sleep, pain, and TV. The strain was locally grown or perhaps came from California or Colorado. Several dispensaries in town carried it. When they did, it sold out quickly. By mid-spring, it was all gone.

“Got any Afghan Kush?” we’d ask repeatedly at the places that previously carried it.

“No,” would come the response, always with a knowing smile.

“Do you have anything like Afghan Kush?”

“No, there’s nothing like it,” budtenders at two different dispensaries said.

So far, so true. Harvest time can’t be too far away, though.

Found at various Arizona dispensaries

www.leafly.com

You can measure the worth of a good bookstore — especially a used bookstore — by the way it smells. If the powerful, comforting smell of aged paper and musty hardcovers doesn’t immediately overwhelm you upon entering, you might as well just turn around and leave. If we had it our way, we’d bottle the smell of The Bookshop. With its tall wooden shelves completely filled with everything from beloved classics to the newest releases, corners perfect for curling up and reading a book from start to finish, and old Persian rugs that make the shop feel homey, this space just north of the bustling intersection at 16th Street and Bethany Home Road is basically the definition of cozy.

In the past 40-plus years, Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe has become a cultural institution. And it didn’t take long for CHB’s sister store in Phoenix to join its ranks. It’s been there less than two years, and now we don’t know what we did without the Central Phoenix spot for book-buying, author-signing, class-taking, and coffee/beer/wine drinking. This year, Changing Hands brought in such authors as Jimmy Carter and Diane Keaton, expanded its workshop offerings, and hosted events such as the Arizona Republic‘s super-popular book club and New Times‘ panel in search of the great Arizona novel. Customer service at both stores is high, and if they don’t have the book you’re looking for, they’re happy to order it. Don’t ever change, Changing Hands. You’ve got us booked, er, hooked.

Readers Choice: Changing Hands Bookstore

All About Books and Comics has been a go-to for Valley readers and collectors for over 30 years, so when Marsha and Alan Giroux faced a serious rent hike at their Central Avenue location, they turned to Kickstarter to finance a move around the corner to West Camelback Road. That the campaign quickly blew past its $33,000 goal by more than $4,000 says a lot about the relationship the Giroux have cultivated with their customers, who show up for current superhero books, indie titles, action figures, and other toys. Moving the store’s massive catalog of back issues (more than a million comics in stock) was no easy feat, but it was hardly surprising to see loyal comic fans show up to help out for store credit. Few shops can boast that kind of dedication.

Readers Choice: Ash Ave Comics & Books

If only for its in-house Blick Brand art supplies (Colored pencil sets! French easels! Tracing paper pads!), we would love Blick. But the friendly, knowledgeable staff provides us arty types with another reason to love this longtime friend to creative people. We find everything from canvas to archival papers to camel-hair brushes at this 104-year-old bastion of better art supplies. Four dozen different types of watercolor paper! Thirty-two different lesson plans for art teachers! We don’t know what Awagami Shin Inbe colored paper is, but the fact that Blick (and only Blick) carries it means we want some! Don’t miss the clearance aisle, a magic markdown store all its own.

We’re not sure whether you know this, but knitting, the stereotypical pastime of grandmas everywhere, is a fairly difficult hobby to take up. You need needles. You need yarn. You need to know how to twist the needles and yarn together to make scarves or mittens or utter trainwrecks of aspirational crafts projects. It’s all fairly intimidating, but not at Jessica Knits. The North Scottsdale store is part multi-colored (and sometimes sparkly) yarn mountain and part clubhouse. With workshops on everything from how to knit mittens and socks, how to crochet slippers, and how to craft felted knickknacks, there’s plenty of reason to haul up the 101. New to the world of knitting? Jessica offers beginner classes and one-on-one sessions that’ll have you purling like a pro.

We visited Al’s with a neophyte beader this summer and came away with a single word: wow. Organized as though Martha Stewart herself had masterminded it, and completely covered in nothing but strings of beads of every make and color, Al’s is so clearly the best bead store that it’s enough to turn even the least-interested-in-beading crafter into a happy dabbler. Al’s offers variety, selection, and quality, with a wide range of materials to both hobbyists and professional jewelers. The personable staff is wise enough to leave shoppers mostly alone to browse and get creative, and knowledgeable enough to confer on both materials and technique needed for pretty much every jewelry design. Glass cases housing silver and precious stones and tables of bead-filled bowls are surrounded by walls neatly arranged by material (everything from glass to jade to semi-precious stuff — and, oh, the turquoise!), color, and size. Al’s can compete with any Garment District supply shop or gemstone-fair dealer, offering rare materials like watermelon tourmaline or simpler pieces made of paper or colored glass. Al’s real secret weapon is Lisa, a beader who can answer any question you’ve got about beading (“Can I thread this on wire?”) and will gently steer you away from mistakes she’s made herself (“Don’t mix crystals with those mountain-stone beads — trust me!”). The only problem with Al’s is coming up with reasons not to go back there every single day.

Finding the perfect present is hard enough. But getting a gift for someone who seeks out the scientific and, more important, the strange? That’s a special skill on its own. Lucky for buyers of the bizarre, Curious Nature caters to lovers of the creepy and crawly. The downtown boutique offers everything from framed insects and animal bones to taxidermy and wet specimens, as well as classes to learn how to make these creations yourself. If you aren’t quite on board with accessorizing your home with anatomy, the emporium also sells stones, minerals, tillandsias, books, jewelry, posters, candles — even a few pampering products to keep your skin and facial hair in check. Admit it. You’re curious now, aren’t you?

Contrary to popular belief, the worst thing about edibles is not that they might work too well, causing you to curl in a corner whimpering for eight hours like New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. No, the worst thing about edibles is when they don’t work. Paying serious green for a buzz that never arrives is something no true cannabist wants to do.

Bhang chocolate bars solve that problem. They start with Venezuelan criollo cacao from the company’s California headquarters and then infuse it with hash oil and sell it at Harvest and other dispensaries. They look like Kit-Kats imprinted with Bhang logos and marijuana leaves. Bhang bars have a consistency in effect that others lack, and it’s easy to get the dosing right. Pick single, double, or triple strength — whatever’s right for your own needs; each is packed with a respective one, two, or three grams of hash oil — and decide how many of the four connected chocolate bars inside each wrapper to eat. Apart from some gummi candies that are sprayed with hash oil instead of made with infused oil throughout, no other edible contains as few calories for its potency, local budtenders say. Flavors include dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cookies and cream, and others we haven’t tried yet.

Novices beware: These are the real deal. You don’t want to end up like Dowd, so go cautiously at first. Ripping open the silvery inner sleeve, you won’t find a golden ticket. But satisfying and delicious, covered in chocolate and a miracle or two — that’s Bhang medicated chocolates.

www.gotbhang.com

Our Holy Grail list of hard-to-find books is a short one, but it includes a couple of impossible items. Where, we wondered, would we ever find a first-edition copy of Shirley Jackson’s Life Among the Savages, with the dust jacket, for less than a hundred clams? The Internet was no help. And would we ever cross off our list the rag-bound Ozma of Oz we’d been coveting for decades? We couldn’t afford to go to our graves without these two titles, but we also couldn’t afford to pay what most sellers (when they had copies, which was rare) were asking. Thanks to the courteous and intelligent antiquarians at By the Book, we can now die happy. Not only do we have these two rare titles in our collection now, but we also have the knowledge that, right here in our own town, we have a bookshop that will relentlessly search for what we covet until they find it. And we’ll be able to afford it, because they listen when we talk book budgets. Filled with rare and unusual titles, this tidy Camelback storefront also buys book collections, offers free search services, and sends out a cool catalog several times a year. Hard-to-find, out-of-print, and rare books are By the Book.

What’s not to like about a retail store that sells marijuana in Arizona? Before voters approved the Medical Marijuana Act in 2010, selling bulk buds and hashish was a severe felony with likely prison time for offenders. Now (if you qualify) you can walk into one of nearly 90 dispensaries in the state and walk out with a truly mind-blowing variety of marijuana products. Several factors make Harvest of Tempe better than the others. The selection is vast: At last count, the menu boasted 28 strains of pot, a smorgasbord of edibles purchased from other Valley dispensaries, a few tinctures including CBD-heavy mixtures that might be good for various medical ailments, and a cornucopia of concentrates like shatter and wax. Efficiency is the key feature at Harvest. Unlike most other dispensaries, you’re in and out in minutes. Customers usually get buzzed to the showroom immediately, and it’s not uncommon to find the sales area crowded with staff members chatting up customers with questions about the products. One wall contains shelves with jars of sample buds and edibles. It’s a more casual, urban experience than dispensaries that try to emulate a doctor’s office. Not that you’ll find black lights and Bob Marley posters here. Professionally run, clean, with knowledgeable staff members on the sales floor and cashiers behind a glass security wall, Harvest has the quick-service model others should follow.

Readers Choice: Herbal Wellness Center

If it can be smoked, Herb’n Legend in Phoenix has something classy to smoke it in. This head shop has inexpensive but decent glass and acrylic bubblers and water pipes that will get the job done. At the high end, masterpieces of glass art will impress the hell out of your pals both before and after a bong session. Prices are pretty good, too, for the average tools most smokers will need. And if you don’t have a thousand dollars handy, it’s worth it to spend a few minutes gazing at the colorful, artistic pieces on the shelves. You’ll also find fancy tobacco pipes and a huge selection of dabbing rigs for wax aficionados. Fantastic selection, friendly staff, and high art — everything we want from a head shop.

Readers Choice: Sky High Smoke Shop

A sister store to the well-stocked Tops Liquors in Tempe, Mesa’s Sun Devil Liquor matches that store in selection, ambiance, and wonderful aroma (someone get Standard Wax on a “cardboard and hops” — stat). Like Tops, the store comes complete with its own satellite bar, but the Sun Devil Wine Cellar & Pub has one advantage over Taste of Tops: It’s underground. Nothing makes you feel as though you’re slipping into a speakeasy more than descending the staircase and finding yourself in the dimly lit cellar, where exclusive tastings are held and live jazz adds to the comfort.  

Readers Choice: Total Wine

Yes, Total Wine and BevMo are just around the corner, but it’s worth the trip to this South Scottsdale wine shop. Here, you can find great deals on bottles from all over the world, and the knowledgeable staff will be more than happy to help you pick out the perfect bottle for the occasion. There are shelves and shelves of French, Italian, and, of course, Arizona wines, and if AZ Wine Co. somehow doesn’t have what you want, it’ll be more than happy to order it. Every Thursday at 6 p.m., the store hosts weekly wine tastings, which are great gatherings for wine geeks who want to talk shop and compare notes.

Readers choice: Total Wine

Back in 2013, Arizona Distilling Company made history with the release of Copper City Bourbon, the first spirit to be made legally in the Phoenix area since Prohibition. Not long after came the Tempe distillery’s Desert Dry Gin, a distinctly Arizonan spirit made with local botanicals (it earned a double gold medal this year at the San Francisco Spirits Competition this year), and in the years since, the childhood friends behind the craft distillery haven’t let up — in fact, they’re just getting started. We love the line of limited-edition whiskeys the distillery has been making with local grains, and we can’t wait for the debut of the company’s line of tequila, made in collaboration with a distillery in Mexico. Soon they’ll be moving the whole operation to bigger digs, with room for a larger tasting room. We can only imagine what they’ll do with all that extra space.

Pardon the pun, but Press Coffee Roasters continues to im-Press us. Despite their diverse origins, Press Coffee Roasters’ offerings demonstrate the company’s unparalleled commitment to coffee clarity and balance. Each one waltzes gracefully between sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. The company’s approach to roasting is exceptionally nuanced, and it’s managed to maintain a high level of quality despite recent expansion. As a rule, we don’t want to be made to taste how a coffee’s beans were roasted. Too light and even the sweetest coffee will taste little more than grassy or sour; too dark and complex and cups become little more than ashy, bitter lumps of charcoal. Press takes great care to ensure that its coffees’ natural sugars are perfectly caramelized and that each cup is flavorful, unique, and free of overt roast influence.

Our pick for Best Iced Coffee is a newcomer to the metro Phoenix coffee scene — and we can’t wait to see where its maker takes us from here. Despite being open for less than a year, Peixoto Coffee has managed to bring delightful innovations to the table. Owner Julia Peixoto Peters imports coffee grown on her father’s farm in Brazil, which her husband, Jeff Peters, then roasts in-house. Cold brew has become boringly ubiquitous, but Peixoto’s iced coffee is — for lack of a better word — thrilling. Ground beans are steeped in cold water until the mixture is heavily concentrated. The concentrate is then diluted to a more drinkable — but still full-bodied — cold-brewed coffee. What happens next is what sets Peixoto’s iced coffee apart: It stores its cold brew in nitrous kegs and feeds it through a tap system (yup, just like beer). The resultant cup — served with or without ice in a chilled pint glass — has a silky texture, smooth, malty body, and beautiful cascading visual effect.

Giant Coffee is the sweetheart of the downtown Phoenix coffee scene. Casual, comfortable ambiance? Check. Well-crafted coffee drinks? You know it. Breakfast burritos and house-baked pastries are just the icing on the cake. The space is open and airy, with huge open windows that sweep in sunlight and fresh air (a welcome and generally unfamiliar phenomenon for the laptop crowd). It’s really the small things that make Giant so great in our eyes; its dedication to using simple, quality ingredients puts Giant a step above the rest. Local organic eggs are the heart of the breakfast burritos (warmed slowly in the oven). Giant’s tableside tea service feels luxurious but is presented free of pretense. Rich, buttery Straus Creamery “Barista Milk” is the perfect complement to Four Barrel Coffee’s espresso blend — only barely homogenized, it retains remarkable complexity of flavor and lends a creamy texture to the shop’s milk-based drinks.

Readers Choice: Cartel Coffee & Beer House

The other day we heard the Peppermint Rainbow singing “Will You Be Staying After Sunday?” on an oldies station, and we suddenly remembered we had to have it. Now! Rather than hitting the Internet or bothering to scour iTunes for an MP3 of this kind of vinyl obscurity, we jumped in the car and headed over to Record Revival. The shop had two copies, natch. We bought the mono version and, while we were at it, scored a dead-mint copy of J.D. Souther’s Black Rose, a couple of different discs by the Butterfield Blues Band, and a sealed copy of the Wind in the Willows LP on Capitol. After burning through an hour talking arcane vinyl trivia with various staff members (and making plans to come back to rummage through that nice, clean bin full of 180-gram “new” vinyl), we ran home to play our groovy new old records — and to think about how happy we are to have another good, solid vinyl shop in town.

Readers Choice: Zia Record Exchange

We started going to Revolver for vinyl — the selection of vintage rock and jazz LPs there is amazing — but ended up relying on this downtown record shop (now with a second location in Tempe) for our digital music needs, too. It started when we couldn’t find a domestic copy of Blondie’s first album on CD. A quick phone call to Revolver revealed not only this apparently hard-to-find midline, but a surprisingly refined selection of rock, easy listening, and country CDs. Ricky Skaggs’ third album used to be on our compact disc Holy Grail list, but no more — we found it at Revolver. We also found friendly, knowledgeable help and willingness by Revolver’s staff to seek out the difficult-to-find imports we can’t seem to score on eBay or find in an MP3 file anywhere.

Readers choice: Zia Record Exchange

Kitsch and craft meet quasi-creepy at Mill Avenue’s Moonage Tempe. Owned by Kelli Vanyek and Tyler Greene, the boutique is filled with locally made jewelry, art, and home goods. It’s the perfect pit stop for bolstering your unironic crystal collection that’s just a gemstone’s throw from ASU’s Tempe campus. Also up for grabs are Two Trees Botanicals animal figurine planters, artsy cow skulls by Supreme Souls, cutesy cross-stitch works, and Southwest-inspired jewelry from All the Tiny Pieces. It’s kinda like the home and accessories section of Urban Outfitters — if the chain store had a reverence for makers and artists.

Readers Choice: Hippie Gypsy

MADE Art Boutique has been around for a decade. Traditionally, 10-year anniversaries call for gifts of tin and aluminum, but that sounds crappy given the shop’s status as a Roosevelt Row mainstay. Perhaps it would be more fitting, then, to pop in and pick out a few things from the bungalow store’s stock. You’ll find assorted handmade cards, Alex Ozers’ jewelry, and SighFoo wool toys. Aside from gifts for yourself, the shop spotlights rotating small-works exhibitions on its mantel, with fresh art going up from creatives like Roy Wasson Valle and Laura Spalding Best every Third Friday. Happy birthday to MADE. Happy shopping to us.

Readers choice: Bud’s Glass Joint

11th Monk3y Industries is emblematic of Grand Avenue’s decidedly organic appeal. On the sidewalk outside the shop’s brick walls and mint-colored metal barred windows, the demand to “Get excited and make things” is spray-painted in white. It’s a philosophy that’s evident in the small shop. Run by multifaceted maker Ruben Gonzales, the shop carries his screen-printed wearables like T-shirts and snapbacks. But Gonzales isn’t some run-of-the-mill shirt purveyor. He’s the go-to guy for lifestyle brands Baby Teith and Lookwood51, in addition to consistently taking up new ways of making things — whether it’s metalworking or embroidery. Looking for an added dose of handmade goodness? Swing by on Third Fridays for rotating pop-up gallery shows from The Lab.

Readers Choice: ThirdSpace

It’s hard to think of a reason to not go to Scottsdale Quarter. The North Scottsdale shopping center keeps adding high-end shops that have us trekking north more often than we’d like to admit. The mileage is worth it for access to West Elm, Intermix, Vince, Restoration Hardware, and Suitsupply — stores with serious style that can’t be found anywhere else in the Valley. And we head to the Quarter for more than just retail. The open-air complex is also home to a Drybar, one of the few Dolce spas, and what feels like an extra-large Sephora. For refueling, Press Coffee is the easiest go-to, but sit-down places including True Food Kitchen and Dominick’s Steakhouse round out the upper echelon of dining options.

We’ve all been there. It’s 2 p.m. the day before Halloween and you’ve just gotten a last-minute invitation to a costume party. You were planning to stay home and pass out candy this year, but now you need a costume that looks as though you’d planned it for weeks. Obviously, you’re headed to Easley’s Fun Shop. With the best selection of adult and children’s costumes in the Valley, Easley’s has just the thing for you. Maybe you decided to be crafty and make your own costume this year? Stop by Easley’s to get some killer makeup that will put your look over the top. Of course, Easley’s is there for more than just your Halloween needs. Got a ’70s-themed birthday party next week? You know where to go.

Whether you aspire to do stand-up or simply want to step out of your comfort zone, Torch Theatre is your ticket for taking socialization to the next level. In addition to serving up its own weekly shows, the small Phoenix improv space offers a variety of drop-in classes and eight-week courses that range from beginner to advanced. Butcher, baker, or candlestick maker, you’ll find all walks of life learning to let it all out on the stage. While learning to be funny doesn’t come free, students do get an all-access pass to the Torch’s regularly scheduled programming to see how professional antics are done. Meeting new people, making stuff up, and marking another activity off your bucket list? Sounds a heck of a lot better than speed-dating, if you ask us.

At $18 a pop, the School of Ballet Arizona is not the cheapest place in town to pick up an adult ballet class — but we stopped whining about the price as soon as we tried it out. The school, home to Ballet Arizona, the state’s foremost professional ballet company, features beautiful studios with plenty of room to leap and high-quality flooring that makes turning a dream. It offers a dozen different classes — all danced out to live piano music — in the morning and evening, so it’s easy to find something to fit your schedule. With three levels to choose from, the school is one of the only places in town that has something for every adult dancer, from the ballet-curious looking to take a first lesson to the experienced ballerina. The teachers do a great job of catering to the needs of individual students within the class, keeping everyone sweating. Good thing the school offers discount passes for frequent buyers.

Earlier this year, Amanda Rose led the dance company she directs, the Raqs Sharki Movement Collective, to first place in the Belly Dancer of the Universe Competition (the universe!). That should give you some idea of the sheer awesomeness you can expect from her Tuesday night class at Toolbox Dance Studio. As a dancer, Rose has a playful sense of musicality and a natural talent for stringing together shimmies and hip lifts in an organic way. Her instruction is on the cutting edge of modern belly dance trends, but it still manages, somehow, to maintain the authenticity of the centuries-old dance form. She keeps beginners comfortable and experienced dancers challenged.

We stumbled into this place once, desperate for cold coffee while driving around north Central Phoenix on a busy weekday, our eyes caught by the “espresso” sign on a window. “What’s this, a bike cafe? C’mon . . .,” we remember thinking skeptically. Then we went inside and fell in love with the place. We saw right away that it truly was both things it advertised — there’s the counter for sandwiches and drinks, there’s the rows of new bicycles for sale, there’s the stands hoisting bicycles in for repair. The place even smells like coffee, new bicycles, and bicycle grease, an aroma that blends together well, believe it or not. Ever since that first magical trip — yes, the iced mocha kicked ass — we’ve been back to look at the bikes and bought equipment including gloves, a helmet, and biking shorts. Be careful about going to lunch there — it may cost you $2,000, but you’ll be leaving with a sweet steed.

Readers Choice: Slippery Pig

We didn’t think a pair of socks could change our lives. That is, until we went to Runner’s Den and the staff pointed us toward a pair of running socks that since have become a fitness wardrobe staple. See, the people who work at Runner’s Den are runners themselves, which means they know what you need even if you didn’t know you needed it. Since 1978, this locally owned store has been a haven for both casual and serious runners. The knowledgeable staff go through a full fitting process before even suggesting you purchase a new pair of shoes, and if you’re struggling with a nagging hamstring injury, they’ve got bi-monthly free injury clinics. We also suggest signing up for one of the Good Form Running class. These free 70-minute clinics will help you perfect your form for faster, safer running. With all these resources in one place, the only thing left to do is finally sign up for that race.

When the name of the region in which your state is located is a mix between the South and the Old West, cowboy boots are bound to be a given in the attire of the populace. But you’d better believe that just because these boots are worn more for fashion or comfort than assisting in wrangling a herd of cattle, it still matters where they are made. If they are the best of the best, those boots came from Espinoza Boot Maker. David Espinoza channels all 40 years of his experience working with leather into the boots he makes, and each pair is truly a piece of art. The boots start at $699, but we say splurge and go for a completely custom pair. After all, can you put a price on wearing art handmade specifically for you?

Check the tags on a few of your favorite pieces of clothing and chances are good that none of them will read “Made in America.” Creating clothing that people want to wear is one thing. Creating that clothing ethically is a whole other. It costs more time, money, and energy — and Scottsdale denim brand Diego Milano is all about it. The line of rock ‘n’ roll-inspired jeans is more than boundary-pushing fashion, with its 3-D pockets and curve-enhancing piping. It’s about creating clothes that people can feel good about wearing. We can’t think of a better trend to get behind.

www.diegomilano.com

Though we generally agree that being a stylish dude is easier than being a stylish lady, we concede that finding menswear that is neither douchey nor bro-ish does prove more challenging than, say, finding clothing that one would not find on a Kardashian. That’s not the case, however, when it comes to HUB. With an emphasis on elevated basics like super-soft T-shirts and designer denim, it’s hard to go wrong at the Central Phoenix clotherie. With brands including Red Wing, Nudie, and Gant, the curated boutique could send even the most clueless guy out into the world with an easy, breezy look, like a model in an Esquire spread.