Best Antique Shop for Gardening Supplies 2012 | Qcumberz | Shopping & Services | Phoenix
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Best Antique Shop for Gardening Supplies

Qcumberz

We didn't know we needed a vintage hand rake until we saw a nicely weathered green one hanging on the wall at Qcumberz, a longtime favorite of local antique fans. We bought it and, as we were leaving, the nice guy behind the counter mentioned that he had several similar rakes and hoes and gardening tools, as well — and suddenly, a new collection was born.

Best Vintage Lighting Fixtures

Stuff Antiques

Staring at the ceiling is a good idea at Stuff Antiques, a place that's really all about the best in period lighting. Joe, the owner, clearly is obsessed with fine examples of exceptional period lamps and light fixtures; his place is filled to the rafters with stunning examples of Victorian, Arts and Crafts, Art Deco, and Midcentury Modern pieces. The stuff is pricey (and none of it is priced, which means having to have a conversation with Joe, which is a good thing — he's a blast!), but you won't find a better selection anywhere of fully restored lights and lamps. As much an homage to the history of electric lighting as a shop, Stuff also offers antique furniture and vintage medical cabinets for sale, as well as restoration services. You'll think of Stuff and of Joe every time you flick the switch on the fabulous lamp you bought at this Phoenix perennial.

Best Place to Buy an Antique Bathtub

Antique Trove

We wanted an old claw-foot tub, and we looked in all the usual places. Pretty much every antique dealer rolled his eyes and wrung his hands and sent us away, empty-handed. And then we went to Antique Trove, which lives up to its name, always. Treasures everywhere, and all of it so nicely displayed and lit. This is one of the few antique malls where one can buy not only a gorgeous old wooden tea tray but also the necessary ointments to keep it healthy and well-oiled. It's also the only place in town where we were able to find a claw-foot bathtub — and we were thrilled. The price was right, the nice Trove staff was helpful with suggestions about the best places to buy old-time bathtub hardware, and the delivery price was reasonable. We almost wish we needed another bathtub — but we're happy to return to Trove to plumb its many wonderful dealer spaces for other treasures. Come dig with us!

Best Vintage Furniture Reupholstering

UFO

We spend a lot of time on our sofa — often fast asleep in front of some '60s rerun marathon. And so every couple of years, we drag the couch down to UFO, where the magic upholstery elves who toil there can work their magic on it. There may be no better or more affordable upholsterer in town, but even if there is, there isn't one that offers such wacky fabric offerings as this fun place. Even better than its keen reupholstery and furniture restoration services are UFO's vintage furniture store and art gallery, up front, filled to the rafter with things (antiques, art by local talent, kitschy new stuff) that owner Leonardo loves, and knows you will, too!

Best Vintage Textiles

Retro Ranch

Ramie. Baft. Bombazine. We're addicted to reading the labels on vintage clothing, and some of the best label-reading (not to mention shopping) that we've done lately is at Retro Ranch, one of Seventh Avenue's best-known vintage stores. Sure, you can find broadcloth and dungaree at most vintage shops that sell clothing, but what is it about these guys that even their throw pillows are made of decades-old Gloria? Swing coats made of Shaker flannel and midi skirts made of landsdown — nowhere else but at Retro Ranch, baby.

Best Vintage Christmas Stuff

Zinnias at Melrose

We didn't used to own a set of Santa Claus salt-and-pepper shakers or a Frosty the Snowman slushy maker, but we do now, thanks to Zinnias at Melrose, our favorite spot in town for vintage holiday gewgaws and all things Christmas. There, we've seen boxes of 60-year-old Shiny Brite glass tree ornaments stacked alongside mint-in-package tinsel, bags of still-glossy garland strings, and even an ancient card full of brightly painted jingle bells. We bought as much as we could and dragged it all ho-ho-home. Next time we were back at Zinnias, there was even more Christmas stuff, right where we couldn't miss it, just inside the door. It's remained there, year-round — well, most of it, anyway. We keep going back and buying more red-and-green holiday stuff from the '50s and '60s. And you can, too.

Best Antique Shop for Vintage Carnival Chalkware

Antique Centre

Lots of people go to Scottsdale for its better restaurants and uptown department store shopping, but we go there for plaster Kewpie dolls. Antique Centre is the best place to find vintage carnival chalkware, those oddly painted statues that were given away as prizes at carnival dime-tosses in the '30s and '40s. At Centre, we've scored two 10-inch marching majorettes, a tiny Pinocchio, and a really gigantic Betty Boop. And that's just this year! We've seen a lot of animal chalkware from the '50s here, too, but we're into the dolls and figurative statues, and we never leave Scottsdale's better antique mall without at least one of them.

Best Thrift Store for Plaster Deities

Salvation Army

Last time we were here, we got a Virgin of Guadalupe with a chipped ear and an Infant of Prague whose index fingers were gone. The time before that, we got a plaster Jesus with real vinyl hair. And although we sometimes see religious statues in other thrift stores, this is the only place in town where we always find them — and good ones, too. They may not always be in mint condition, but the prices are so good that we feel blessed. We're on the lookout for another melamine Jesus-on-the-Cross wall plaque, like the one our mom found here last summer. We have faith it'll be here, eventually.

Best Thrift Store for Collectible Books

Goodwill

When we decided we wanted an old set of encyclopedias, we thought it would be a piece of cake to find one — because any thrift store must have at least one set, right? Wrong. We visited a half-dozen of them before we headed to this west-side Goodwill, where we snagged a 33-volume set in mint condition for $20. And after poking around, we found that this place is a veritable treasure trove of nice old books — and some better new ones, besides. We found a second edition printing of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a pair of John Irving novels with their dust covers intact, and the rather more unusual Hygiene of the Breasts, a 1920s hardcover about nursing one's baby. We've made going to this particular Goodwill a weekly habit, and we never leave without a new stash of reading material.

Best Thrift Store for Vintage Furniture

White Dove Thrift

Outside of a plain old antiques store, this is the place where the best local collection of slightly tarnished vintage furniture resides. Every stick of Stickley is waiting for you to discover it and bring it home; and next time you drive past this Seventh Avenue destination and see a moving van out front, pull in! Nonstop deliveries to this popular thrift means that the vintage stuff just keeps arriving — and flying out the door, too, because local pickers love this joint. We do, as well — our most recent finds at this super-chic furniture emporium include a blond book shelf with built-in lamp (a steal at only $29), a well-loved handmade side table ($24), and a rather large ottoman that, while not strictly an antique, was still too good a deal to pass up. Go find one of your own at White Dove.

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