Cottage by the Creek is now available Valley West Mall at the 35th street I-235 exit at the…read moresouthwest entrance. This is still a fabulous shop even though it is no longer in a cottage by the creek... my go-to place to buy home accents, wedding gifts, holiday ornaments, and gifts for girls and women. The owner is filled with creative ideas.

In a charming neighborhood, you will find Cottage by the Creek, in Des Moines, Iowa…read more It is a quaint cottage surrounded by a flower-filled yard and trees. When you open the door, you meet a perfectly delightful and friendly shop owner. There is a wonderful variety of merchandise that would please a diverse array of shoppers....jewelry, clothing, kitchen items, large assortment of beautiful French tablecloths, home decor and much more. I bought two great necklaces made from Tagua seeds from Ecuador. I just love them and have received many compliments when I wear them. They are so attractive and unique. I also purchased a gorgeous rectangular French tablecloth in blues and yellows and some cute kitchen towels. In my shopping I also acquired a stylish top with a lacy edge and a fishnet type top to go with it. The shopkeeper also has many artistic wind chimes for your patio. Mine has a metallic dragonfly and colorful beads. If you can't make it to her shop, she also has a stall at the awesome Des Moines Farmers Market every Saturday for 6 months of the year. That's another thing that you should definitely experience! What a great little shop, full of such interesting things! Wish it was in my city!

This is one of my favorite store in Iowa - they have all kinds of great gifts and novelties ! The…read moreowner is so nice - this is a family business and they are so kind ! Be sure to visit the dog before you leave

What an awesome gift shop! It's located on a charming street full of shops. The store was filled…read morewith books, puzzles, games, funny stuff, stickers, great gift items. The employees were friendly and helpful. There is also a shop dog, Penny!! Adorable!! Highly recommend checking this place out!

I'm obsessed with this store and already want to go back even though I was just there yesterday…read more The postcard selection alone will knock your socks off! So, so many great options and all affordable prices so I actually spent some money! Don't miss it.

It's cute! It's kitsch! It's cottage core and homemade. Definitely a spot for someone looking to…read moremake their space cozy and cute. Local business that sells local goods. Nothing will be cheap, but you'll look and feel nice and have supported a small business. I'm partial to the homemade soaps and plant vibes.

Best-in-class service! They immediately jumped at the opportunity to support our team, who were in…read moretown for a conference, with very little notice. Despite the tight timeline, they delivered adorable and highly functional snack boxes for 13 people with an impressive same-day turnaround. The boxes were thoughtfully put together and made a huge impact--truly a highlight of our team's day. Everything was executed seamlessly and with great attention to detail. We really appreciated the responsiveness, creativity, and care that went into making this happen!

Heat Of Iowa is a cute store filled with many great gifts for yourself or others…read more Located on a bustling street filled with shops, this place offers a lot. Home decor, trinkets, chocolate cow patties and homemade fudge fill the room. My friend purchased a beautiful wooden cutting board in the shape of Iowa. The woman working did her job but wasn't too friendly. That's ok, it did not change our experience.

Unique shop located in West Des Moines. Lots of fun home decor options for different seasons!…read more They offer a punch card and you receive certain punches for the dollar amount that you spend in the store. Once you reach so many, you get a cash discount off your purchase! As soon as I walked in the store I was greeted with a warm smile and welcome. They mentioned the daily sale and asked if I had something particular in mind I was looking for. Luckily, they had a few gems to add to my wedding decor collection!

I had a friend tell me I should stop by the store because it had some really adorable things for…read moreyour home. I didn't make it a priority, but I have recently had the most amazing experience by being in the store. It is affordable unique, and the options to choose from were fantastic. They have some candles and some wax melt options that were amazing and when I got them home, they had some really good room fill of the scent without having to wait for hours. I will definitely be going back because there were at least a dozen other things I wanted to buy, but couldn't afford because of the purchase I had already made I think anyone that walks in there will find something to purchase that they absolutely have to have or is perfect for gifts for others and if you miss this, it's on you because you've missed some thing that is absolutely fantastic. Great job to the owners for making a store be an adventure. Thank you.

First of all store is huge! It goes way back and is 2 store fronts wide. It's filled with…read moreeverything from antiques to artwork and metalwork. Some of the items that are sold from a vendor you can get customized, like metal sports team sizes. The layout is like a bunch of little shops in one large store. Really unique. Another nice feature is they offer lay away. The Staff is so friendly and very knowledgeable if you are looking for something in particular!

Very nice Antique store with room after room of, "memories"! This would probably be a 3 1/2 star to…read more4 so I will round up, the staff was very very nice asking if we needed anything and small chatting but not bugging us. Lots of fun stuff here, baseball Starting Line Up's I had as a kid, fun furniture, little toy pianos, a whole section of Elvis stuff, records galore, nick nacks, toys, etc. I found a bunch of stuff I though was fun and interesting and the prices were pretty good, but I didn't end up leaving with anything today, but now that I have been here I will probably go back! I love room after room of Memories waiting to be someone else's memories! Take a Sunday afternoon and head to Valley Junction looking for treasures! Lots of good Antique shopping in the Junction.

Such a cute store! It has EVERYTHING. We're from Cedar Rapids and stopped here because we saw this…read moreshop on Yelp. It's a big space with LOTS of things to look at: seasonal, furniture, wall decor, candles, towels, clothing, jewelry, trinkets, baby items, art...this store has SO many gift options. I bought some things for myself and some for others. I will definitely be back again soon! So happy to see so many local vendors supported in this shop.

A true Ankeny classic with excellent gift selection and the most fun, welcoming staff around.read more

What a cool boutique and mall concept into one! Had a great…read moretime shopping here and I love the whole idea of Small Business owners connecting into one mall. Lovely layout of different small businesses. Lots of unique stores and items. I love certain shops and have bought several items several times now. So many Iowa/Iowa State shops, Christian brands, home goods, home made items, candles, clothing, 3D printed items. Always something unique to find. There was one time I purchased an item and didn't know it was broken till I got home. I went back to the store and the manager called the small businesses owner. The owner was very kind to allow a refund. Typically they don't but I was so thankful that this owner really cared about her product and customer. I would highly recommend Painted Tree for unique shopping. I'm looking to go back for a Christmas shopping spree. This place is packed out every week so be prepared for lots of people and a little bit of crowds. And rightfully so, it's such a cool shopping mall and experience!

The location has been and will continue to be poorly managed. There seems to be a lack of vendor…read morecommunication and complaint resolution and overall business ethics. They hired a well experience manager who started addressing the issues and apparently her experience level and ethics didn't align with how the company wants to handle customers/vendors so they quickly let her go. I would not rent a booth here, I wouldn't shop here, and they probably need to be investigated for their business practices.