Bookish events, tattoos, lots of romance and dark romance books you can't find in other stores!read more

I LOVE this place! Katie, the owner and fine line tattoo artist, is amazing! She has so many great…read morebook recs and she is soooo talented as an artist. The shop has tons of great books and the cutest bookish merch (my faves are the shirts/sweatshirts), but they have totes, hats, pins, bookmarks, kindle accessories, etc. I'm so glad this place exists!

So little time and money and so many books! My life motto!…read more I adore Gardners. Yesterday they had an author signing/teacher appreciation/ Grand Opening event. It reminded me I have never written a review. Well, let me tell you something about myself. I adore books. I could never go 100 percent digital. In fact, I rarely use an apparatus for reading. I love the smell, feel, divine touch of a great book in my hand. I could spend my entire life, every day visiting books stores at author visits. Author meet and greets are my happy place. I am secretly envious of these people who put words down on paper and make them come to life. I might be quick witted with the tongue but lack the talent with the pen. Sooooooo, I bow down to them. Gardner's Book Service has been good to me and our community over the years. Many people might not be familiar with them since they are more a book service than a book store. They really are the best bunch of folks! Here you will find: knowledgeable staff, great teacher in-service classes, author visits, contests at times, a great grant program generously provided by Mr. Parks in memorial to his wonderful wife Barbara, and of course, books, books, and more books. Troy is the general manager and his staff are very good at what they do. They are open to the public so stop by and take a look. Yes, teachers you get a discount too. Happy reading.

This is the perfect place for teachers! Great selection of picture and young adult books! Even…read morebetter....discounts! The employees are super helpful and friendly. Skip the big box and head over to Gardner's!

Ugh I'm so glad I heard about this. What a spectacular event! I love that the proceeds go to…read morecharities and support the community. AND it's fully volunteer-led. It's always held Valentine's weekend so I'll never forget when to anticipate it. I decided to come around 6ish AM, and the doors open at 8 AM on Sunday. If you decide to wait early before doors open, keep in mind they don't open their indoor restrooms to the public. I did need to use the restroom while I was in line and you only have access to port-a-potties that don't have sinks to wash your hands. It wasn't very sanitary and the smell inside was putrid. I'm hoping there's a way we can use the indoor bathrooms next time. Coming in to the event, you're given a map so you don't get lost, there's a host on the mic that walks you through the process, and there are volunteers everywhere who can help you find what you're looking for and get checked out! I was blown away by all the genres they were carrying. I thought for an event like this I'd have to come super early but even with the place packed it was still breathable. I was completely shocked that the price of all the books I got came to only $30. I believe Sundays, books are half-price when they're already cheap. If I were to go to a Barnes and Noble, I would've only been able to get about 2-3 books with that price. I believe I got at least 20 books. What an amazing way to support the community while getting books at the lowest you'll probably ever be able to snag them at.

The VNSA Used Book Sale is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Picture 500,000 items (books,…read moreDVDs, records, games, puzzles, maps, magazines and more) in two huge rooms, all at incredibly low prices. There is literally something for everyone, and for pennies on the dollar. If you're picky, get in line at 5 a.m. Saturday morning to get in as soon as possible when the doors open at 8. If you're not, go on Sunday when everything is half-price except for the stuff in the Rare & Unusual section. Best of all, the sale, which has been going on since 1957, benefits local charities.

Carmen is AMAZING!! She put together a last minute basket for my company and even hand delivered it…read moreto us at our event, which was not easy to get to, in Westworld, Scottsdale. I am so impressed by her speed and attentiveness, Toro Insurance Group will for sure be using Q-tsie for client/partner gifts in the future. Give them a try, you will not be disappointed. Thank you so much Carmen, you save the day!!!

She put together a basket for us from our mortgage company to celebrate our first home! I loved the…read morepersonal touches, including the bottle of wine being engraved with our last name and a photo of our home. Thank you, Carmen, it was really the cherry on top to our home buying experience.

I really enjoy visiting Hazel & Violet Letterpress. I always make sure to stop here when I attend…read moreFirst Fridays downtown. This shop is a great place for ones special, vintage feel, letterpress printed items like invitations, stationary or posters. It also has unique, vintage press created postcards and art for sale. I especially enjoy on First Fridays they show you how to operate the letterpress and print that month's artistic quote poster for free.

My friends and I were enjoing Grand Ave's art galleries on a Friday night and there were having…read moreprinting demos here! There was a century old American printing press, a 1960's German press, and a handheld press. We were allowed to use the handheld one and crank it which was so neat! We were also allowed to take the prints we made home. Such a cool experience. They also have greeting cards and art for sale all made here!

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I'm a big believer in shopping local. The Spirit Box is owned by…read morea local artist who is talented and attentive to her craft. Her pieces are one of a kind. I would describe them as organic. She can design custom pieces for any occasion. Check her catalog out on Facebook catalog or browse at http://thespiritbox.com. If you sign up to be a fan of the FaceBook page, you'll be privy to private sales. Favorite place both, for those special occasions and holidays!

For my last anniversary, I couldn't decide what to get my wife. We had already done a ton of cool…read morestuff and exchanged great gifts in the years before. That's when I thought I should contact Debbie, a local artist who I trust to recommend something great from her jewelry collection. Sure enough, she produced a great necklace/earrings set almost immediately, and Catherine (my wife) was totally impressed. Thanks, Debbie, for your wonderful creation. Catherine still wears the set frequently; order #2 is on the way soon.

If I could give six stars I would. My experience was with Britt. There was so much selection and…read morethe thing that keyed me into the quality of the jewelry is they don't have multiples of the same exact thing in any size you want. It's custom jewelry. I had been on the hunt for the perfect turquoise ring for about a year. Everything online (mostly Etsy) showed what had to be fake given the price and sheer availability, as mentioned above. When I found LaLady Designs, I could see the difference. I needed a ring that was a certain size, both in ring size and stone. The color was important to me and I wanted a simple setting I have arthritis in the knuckle of the finger I want to wear the ring so that was a factor. Turns out, La Lady Designs has some adjustable rings! And not a cheap kind where you can see the sliding part--it's concealed under the stone. Britt was super patient with me. I think I vacillated between four rings before settling on the one I purchased. She took photos, put it on her finger for comparison, everything I needed. And she shipped it super fast!! I couldn't be more pleased :-)

Cute boutique with lots of cute items inside…read more Finally found a stadium approved pouch!!! The owner is very nice and shared some of the background information on things offered in the store. There's plenty of parking but you guys look for the location. We found it walking pass. Perhaps GPS ON YOUR PHONE might take you to its front door. Yes, I'll ship here again if I need any last min gifts or items that are usually hard to find elsewhere. The only drawback for me is that the receipt doesn't list its location but only list shopping online. Bravo to this store and it's Owner.

We had a great date night at candle chemistry!…read more The workers are extremely helpful with providing suggestions on mixtures of scents. We made a candle and a diffuser. It is our favorite candle in our home

Candle chemistry is a place where you can not only craft your own candles, but can also make a…read moreperfume roller, aromatic mist, reed diffuser, fragrance odor, hand soap, and bottled lotion. What's amazing is that they have over 50 scents to sniff out. It takes awhile and there are a bunch of really cool and unique scents such as Fruit Loops, gun powder, marijuana, leather, pink sands, clothesline, creme brulee, fruit loops, honey crisp, and rain. The employees are helpful with suggesting combinations once you write down your favorite scents. I decided to get hand soap and the perfume roller. The scents are quite amazing but they are quite ephemeral. After reviewing everything, I realized that they lied about the prices. I got overcharged $11 so I'm pretty upset by being lied to and overcharged by a lot.