Best New Age Store 2024 | Fantasia Crystals | Goods & Services | Phoenix
Navigation
Support Us
Search

Best New Age Store

Fantasia Crystals

There are certain shopping experiences that are just better in person. Case in point: browsing the merch at Fantasia Crystals. The website has some items for sale, but to get the full shopping experience, you have to do it in person. The long-running New Age shop moved from midtown to north Phoenix last year, but it's worth the extra drive. Fantasia is where we go to choose just the right tiger's eye from a basket of them, to smell magickal oils and to get advice on which tarot deck is right for us. In addition to its retail operation, Fantasia Crystals offers classes, workshops and psychic readings.

Best Baking Supplies

ABC Cake Decorating Supplies

They say that people eat with their eyes first, meaning that food that looks good is far more appealing than food that doesn't. We're pretty good bakers, but the goods at ABC Cake Decorating helps elevate our cakes and cookies to the level of art. The store has rows upon rows of flavorings and food colorings in every shade of the rainbow. From there, you can pick up cookie cutters, piping tips, baking pans, and cake and cupcake toppers to make your finished product look fabulous. And because we love elegant packaging, we stock up on cute bakery bags and cake boxes to present our goodies in style.

Best Fabric Store

SAS Fabrics

Feeling creative? Whether you've got a new project in mind, or you're simply looking for inspiration to strike, SAS Fabrics should be your destination. Browse rows upon rows of delicate lace, cozy fleece, luxe satin and sturdy cotton. One you've decided on your fabric, it's time to embellish, and SAS carries buttons, zippers, trims, elastic and whatever else you need to finish a garment. The packed store can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, so don't be afraid to ask the staff to locate an item or give advice on your project. They're knowledgeable, and they're there to help. At SAS, the only limit is your imagination.

Best Antiques Mall

The Brass Armadillo

Be prepared to carve out a huge chunk of your day if you want to make it through even a fraction of one of Brass Armadillo's two Valley locations. Brass Armadillo is massive. Here, you can stumble upon an antique armoire, a Littlest Pet Shop collection, rare Pokemon cards, film cameras, CDs and artwork before you've even seen a quarter of the store. Antiques are organized into individual booths by seller, so each shop has an aura of its own, and collectibles are stored behind glass in the same manner. If you're looking to decorate your space with Arizona-themed antiques, this should be your first (and might be your only) stop.

Best Antique Store

Modern Manor

Midcentury modern devotees will lose their minds in this jam-packed showroom tucked behind Valentine, one of Phoenix's top restaurants, in the delightful Melrose District thanks to its ever-morphing stellar collection. On any given day, you might encounter sleek teak dining chairs, 1950s Broyhill dressers, an Eames lounge and ottoman, a leather patchwork sofa, boomerang coffee tables, waterfall benches, various kitschy lamps and much more. This isn't a garage sale; items are impeccably sourced, restored, reupholstered and/or refinished and in pristine condition, so prices reflect that. But it also offers a quirky and affordable mix of vintage clothing and jewelry, games, bric-a-brac, housewares and even bicycles — check out the 1970s banana-seat Schwinns. Around every corner, something is guaranteed to make you go "ooh," "ahh" or "eh?" — like the old-style bikini in a wall frame. There's even a rare, retro-futuristic 1970s-era Thomas 2001 electronic organ, unless someone snapped it up by now.

  • 4130 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, 85013 Map

Best Midcentury Modern Furniture

Red Modern Furniture

Say what you want about Jon Hamm's piercing stare or January Jones' amazing wardrobe, but for us, the best eye candy in "Mad Men" was the furniture. For top-quality, authentic midcentury modern home decor — no repros here — Red Modern Furniture is the place. The showroom near Central Avenue and Camelback Road is full of swoon-worthy pieces we can only dream of taking home. Think Eero Saarinen-designed chairs, Murano glass lamps by Alfredo Barbini, Howard Werner coffee tables and other iconic examples of midcentury design. These pieces are valuable, and the price tags are high to match. But if you're more in the market to browse and ogle, we appreciate that Red Modern Furniture's website also has a section devoted to sold items that have passed through the store, allowing us to appreciate what the midcentury era has to offer the people of today.

Best Local Art

Practical Art

We've heard it before: "I want to buy things from local artists, but I don't know where to start." And when we hear it, our answer is always the same. For more than 15 years, Practical Art has been where we go for beautiful pieces from Phoenix creatives. Prints by portraitist Antoinette Cauley, earrings by Laura Spalding Best, desert-themed works by Jake Early, sculpture, vases, mugs, shirts, books — whatever your aesthetic or budget, you can leave Practical Art with something made by a local artist. And if you really want to step up your patron game, you can join the store's Art Club. Membership gets you an exclusive item made by a different artist each month, invitations to special events and other perks.

Best Shop for Arizona Merch

The Merchantile

Looking to find a unique, local gift for an out-of-town friend? Or maybe you want to show off a little Arizona pride? The Merchantile's two Valley locations have you covered. The large stores are each filled with individual sections that display the offerings from different local vendors. One booth sells T-shirts with designs featuring disco-dancing armadillos, howling wolves and smiling saguaros. In another booth, you might find handmade cactus earrings or soaps and candles that smell like monsoon rain. The best part about shopping here — aside from all the adorable options — is that you're supporting local businesses. The items frequently celebrate Arizona, and shopping at the Merchantile helps Arizona makers. That's what we call a win-win.

  • 3965 N. Brown Ave., Scottsdale, 85251 Map

Best Indigenous-Made Goods

Native Art Market

Buying art from small, local artists keeps money and creative control in the hands of skilled craftspeople instead of corporations. Nowhere is that more important than in Indigenous art, especially in the American Southwest, where ancient cultures have lived in communion with the earth for tens of thousands of years. Native Art Market was founded in 2018 by Heather Tracy (who has Navajo roots) as a space for local artists to showcase and sell their work. Its vending project is a nonprofit and all participants must be of Native American descent. At the store's indoor market, more than 400 small businesses sell remarkable, hand-crafted goods. For quality and quantity, Native Art Market is the real deal. It also holds a seasonal outdoor market in North Scottsdale.

Best Bath and Body Goods

Strawberry Hedgehog

All the talk these days of microplastics in body scrubs and chemicals in lotion make our skin crawl. How can we stay clean and pleasant-smelling without poisoning ourselves? One answer is Strawberry Hedgehog, a local purveyor of vegan bath, body and wellness products. The coconut-almond soap leaves our hands clean, soft and smelling amazing, and the raw sugar scrub, which comes in a variety of scents, is the perfect antidote to dry skin. They say knowledge is power, and Strawberry Hedgehog owner Tracy Perkins devotes a section of the website to explaining her products' ingredients and sharing each ingredient's EWG rating, a designation given by Environmental Working Group that rates toxicity. You can order Perkins' creations online, but until we can smell things through our laptop screen, we prefer to drop by the west Phoenix storefront to inhale the goods.

Best Of Phoenix®

Best of Phoenix 2024

Best Of

Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy The Phoenix New Times may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ©2024 Phoenix New Times, LLC. All rights reserved.
Do Not Sell or Share My Information
Powered By Foundation