Best Shopping Co-op 2014 | Double Nickels Collective | Shopping & Services | Phoenix
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Best Shopping Co-op

Double Nickels Collective

Double Nickels Collective is a one-stop shop for things you had no idea you needed. And that makes the record store/vintage boutique/comic book shop/stereo equipment emporium one of our favorite places to swing by on a mellow weekend afternoon. Not just a destination for browse-happy shoppers, it's also home to one of the Valley's most beloved indie music institutions: Ghost of Eastside Records. Stinkweeds, Stereophonic High Fidelity, and some of the Valley's most avid record collectors also stock shelves at the collective, which is just a few doors down from Yucca Tap Room. Apart from audio selections, shoppers will find Ben Funke's funky throwback fashion under the Meat Market Vintage banner and book selections from Ash Avenue Comics.

Best Multimedia Resale

Zia Record Exchange

Open less than a year, the spacious Zia on Mill Avenue and Southern — one of four locations in the Phoenix area, including a new one in the East Valley — is our favorite purveyor of new and used games, DVDs, books, magazines, toys, CDs, and vinyl. With thousands of square feet to roam, plus a fine selection of pop culture tchotchkes and bins full of cheap books, it's the place for one-stop holiday shopping. It's also a great place to while away the afternoon, flipping through albums you used to like, finding new music you didn't know you liked, and comparing notes on upcoming shows and releases with the friendly staff.

Best Bookstore

Changing Hands Bookstore

Call us shallow or impossibly snotty — we always judge a book by its cover and a city by its bookstore. Portland has Powell's, New York's got The Strand, even Venice Beach has an amazing independent bookstore, Small World Books, right on the main drag between the T-shirt shops and the henna stands. But when it comes to our town, things have been awkward: For many years, the city of Phoenix really didn't have a bookstore, not a legit indie with new titles and author events. Finally, the day came — in late May, to be exact — and we learned we are not alone in our sentiments, as eager customers flooded the new Changing Hands, housed in a gorgeous space in a development called The Newton in the space formerly occupied by the legendary restaurant Beefeaters. And with that, Phoenix had arrived. Tempe remains lucky as ever — the East Valley outpost of CHB is still running strong and the bookstore will continue to host events all over town.

Best Comic Book Shop

All About Books and Comics

Forgive us for how nerdy this is going to sound, but the employees of this place are like matchmakers. Tell them you want something really gory and, in a few seconds, you'll be looking at a two-page color illustration of human intestines and other innards strewn across the pages. Sold. (That was Warren Ellis' No Hero, by the way.) The employees are what make this place great, but that's not to downplay the selection. All About has wall-to-wall comics, from the newest releases to collectible classics. There's even a little room in the back with nudie material, if you're into that kind of thing.

Best Used Bookstore

The Bookshop

Tucked into a sweet little strip mall at 16th Street and Bethany Home, this charming shop is our idea of old-school bookstore. Open seven days a week, The Bookshop is a great place for collectors of rare books and those of us just looking for our next good read. (We recently snagged one of each: an early hardcover printing of The Bell Jar and a signed copy of Anne Tyler's Noah's Compass — both for under 20 bucks!) Affordable prices, monthly deals, and local author events are the order of the day here, and the management is quick to talk up whatever it's reading at the moment or suggest something that you might like better, based on your own current favorites. You'll want to come back often, not just because this is such a great place for book lovers, but because The Bookshop features work by a different local artist every month. We're in love!

Best Magazine Rack

Bookmans Entertainment Exchange

You've come a long way, Phoenix. Except when it comes to that urban mainstay, the magazine rack. A few spots around town have a decent selection, but, really, this is one of the few Best of Phoenix categories that punts. Unless you find yourself at Bookmans. Technically speaking, Bookmans' magazine rack isn't legit: These are not new magazines. They are used, as is the lion's share of the merchandise at this mini-chain. But on many occasions, we've scored the latest issues of The New Yorker or Vogue (at a big discount!), and there are always a few periodicals with titles we don't recognize, which makes for fun browsing. You're on notice, Phoenix: We want a giant, legit, indie magazine rack. We just wish someone else did, too, or rather, a whole bunch of someones, because we know how expensive that kind of endeavor is. For now, you'll find us at Bookmans.

Best Adult Clothing Resale

Buffalo Exchange

Whether it's "vintage," "used," or "resale," there are three qualities common to great secondhand clothing stores, all on display here. First is interesting stuff on the racks, thanks to buyers who aren't just going for labels and trends. You'll find a range of options, from club festive to period pieces to classics you could wear to court if you had to. Second: deals, like $35 for a pair of new J Brand jeans that retail for $150 and up. And third: conviviality (not to be confused with fake friendliness). Sure, the buyers will reject most of what you bring in to sell, but they won't be rude about it, and their pickiness is what keeps the selection strong. Bonus: good music to shop to.

Best Kid Clothing Resale

Love Child Style Exchange

It seems we can barely get new clothes home before the kids have outgrown them. Luckily, we found Love Child. The staff is friendly, the prices are super-reasonable, and the selection is amazing and always changing. You can outfit kids for ski season, find just the right dress for the junior high dance, and walk out in a teeny-tiny pair of sparkling Toms. Bring your own piles for resale, and anything Love Child doesn't take, it will donate to charity so you don't have to haul the rejects in the back of your car waiting for a Goodwill to come along.

Best Kids' Clothing

Baby Teith

That designer Tiffe Fermaint recently had a daughter is a style blessing for babies everywhere. Known for her club-ready wearables, Fermaint has shifted her focus to dressing her kid in cool duds. We're talking onesies bedecked with Morrissey's face, T-shirts that read "I am the future," headbands, bandanna bibs, and leggings in such prints as purple lightning, gemstones, galaxies, and black-and-white punk studs. All Baby Teith items are made in Phoenix and in Fermaint's spectacular style. Because your kids should be as well dressed as you, right? 

Best Jewelry

Mother of Gideon

Charis Elliott and Seth Fainkujen approach jewelry differently than your average bauble-makers. Instead of creating one ring to rule all, the duo specializes in designing and creating bespoke pieces with ethically sourced stones. Named for the Biblical warrior, the company's intricate pieces of jewelry look not unlike pieces of armor. Hefty rings, angular necklaces, and naturalistic materials combine for a collection that's a little intimidating but totally covetable. Try the wearable art on for size at the brand's pop-up shop at Biltmore's Union.

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