Ok- I think I'm in love! Ebony Gemstone Company is a little shop where you could easily spend hours…read moredelving into the stunning celebration of earthly treasures. From land and sea, each little intricacy is elevated. I love that the small space is maximized with intentionality. You get the feeling that every piece has a story, and I can only imagine the long history these pieces have seen. From polished stones, minerals, shells, carved wood and wearable art, you're sure to find something rare and beautiful. The owner is nearby to give all the details about these amazing finds at truly excellent values. This is truly a mecca in the heart of the Flint Farmer's Market. Check it out!

Affordable art in the heart of Flint right across from my old alma mater?! Absolutely!…read more Located in the back cornerof the Flint Farmer's Market over by the AT Sweets Bakery in a permanent shop area is this petite but powerful art collective. When reading about them online, I thought the artwork was all done by one man, but it's not. It's curated by one man. The art is diverse, from sculptures to ink, to ceramic to jewelry and so much more. The pieces I bought were ceramic trinket holders and I picked up 3 for $20. That is insane. Three handmade pieces of art for $20. How can I not buy it? How can I not come back again and again?! It's the perfect place to grab a thoughtful gift without breaking the bank. This reminds me so much of the art for sale in Ferndale, but at a fraction of the price. It's an opportunity to make your home unique and quirky - on a budget. And let's be honest. That's most of us right now. I wish there was a card to tell about each artist next to their offerings. They told me a lady made the ceramics I bought as they wrapped them in bubble wrap and put them in a paper gift bag. I wish I would have asked more about her! I say "they" because two people worked in usison helping me and taking payment while talking about the art. I felt fawned upon and special. I felt truly excited when I gave the gift right in the little paper bag. It was excitedly and well received by my friend. Will I be back again? You bet! Every time I visit Michigan.

This is a cool little health food store located downtown Flint. For the size, they carry a decent…read morevariety of food selections. The fruit and veggie selection was much smaller than I had hoped for ~ not sure if this quantity is the norm. The prices are about what one would expect for organic and health food items. They have a small private lot for parking.

One of my favorite spots downtown! They have the best prepared food, supplements, groceries, and so…read moremuch more. All of the prepared food is freshly made. Some of my favorites are the buffalo barbeque sandwich, mixed veggie with avocado sandwich, and the tuna salad sandwich. I usually order mine on a spelt tortilla wrap instead of sliced spelt bread, but both of them are wonderful. They even offer sprouts too! All of the soups are amazing. They are organic and made from scratch with the alkaline ionized water, which is produced by the store as well. I love just sitting out on their porch and enjoying delicious, healthy food! I don't know if there is anything better. Their smoothies and shakes are clean and packed with real flavor. They use only organic fruit and fruit juice (no flavored syrups/concentrates, ice, or any unnecessary additives). For my fellow coffee lovers, they have organic coffee (made with alkaline water) everyday. It is so much better than any other coffee I've had! They even have soy coffee creamer! This store has a lot of grocery items that you can't find anywhere else. All kinds of delicious specialty breads, wild caught fish, and grass fed meats. They carry a lot of awesome Michigan-made products as well. The Grainery also has kombucha, natural energy drinks/shots, ginger beer, and many other awesome natural beverages in all different flavors. If you've never been here, I would strongly encourage you to give it a try! You won't be disappointed. :)

You can't win a date with the owner…read more This is more than a wine shop. They do sell wine. They also sell ice cream, soda, fancy pretzels, and a whole bunch more. In truth it's a little gourmet shop. It's centrally located in the Flint Farmer's Market. You'll see the glowing wine sign right away. Even if you don't drink, check it out. There are a bunch on non-alcoholic options. One of the non-alcoholic options was butter beer. It was butterscotch soda. If you like the butter popcorn Jelly Bellies, you will love this. If not, you won't. We also got cherry cola and this beautiful lavender soda water. They had Amy fill out a raffle ticket. Our cashier never said what she could win though, so I said loudly, "a date with the owner!" An old lady came from around the corner and looked at me like I was nuts. The fellow ringing Amy up said, "she's married.' And then Amy almost took off without paying. I told her she was the worst thief ever because he has all of her information on the raffle ticket, and we all laughed. She paid and we left with some delicious treats. But no date with the owner. Lol

This has been a very nice wine and beer shop in the past, but lately, the novelty of shopping here…read morehas worn off for me. As much as I've patronized this place, you would think the customer service would be better. It used to be (before they moved to the current farmers market location), but now, I hate to say this, but it's true- it sucks. The service is chilly and inattentive, even sometimes rude and unapproachable. I shop here often, have spent a chunk of change in here over the years, but the owners/clerks have just starting giving off a vibe of which that says they don't want to wait on you or be bothered with customers. This is largely a gourmet wine shop, and you would assume you would be getting a certain level of customer service, beyond the selection of gourmet wines and beer labels, etc. Well, lately that has gone out of the window and they act as if they are too busy to acknowledge anyone who stops in. They barely look up, don't acknowledge you and act as if you are bothering them if you ask for a price on something that is unmarked (there is occasionally inventory that is unmarked, especially stock where a certain bottle is the last of its label, etc). This happened just the other day. The woman behind the counter couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge my presence when I asked her about the price of an unmarked bottle. She rolled her eyes, whether intentionally or not. That's not okay. Yes, it's a nice shop, but their price gauging is getting out of hand. The markup is so extreme, it's not like they are the only game in town, which is the attitude they are projecting, at least that's how I have come to see it. With so many other options for quality wine and beer selections, why bother dealing with such abhorrent service and high prices when I can do better at another store? I like shopping locally, but this is not going to continue with such bad service. Another thing I have taken an issue with is their over-reliance on can craft beers. Everything is in a can. Really? You can't order bottles, anymore? I know a lot of nice craft beers come in cans, but it's not that many. This is silly. I don't care for beer in cans, I never have, and my wife abhors it. Plus, the selection of good, craft hard ciders, which I'm into these days, is quite lacking here.

I have fond memories of Cole's Furniture. It was family owned and was a staple of the community for…read moredecades. Unfortunately Cole's is gone now. Here is an article about the closure in 2012 https://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/2012/05/coles_furniture_store_in_mount.html I remember being 7 years old and going there with my parents. Even as a small person the aisles were narrow. We would go there after church to look around. And my parents would chat with the owners. There was so much more there than furniture. My parents weren't buying a bunch of furniture, but we went about once a month. There were toys and trinkets towards the front, like small collectibles. I remember these little brass pencil sharpeners shaped like musical instruments. There was always a little something to purchase for just a few dollars. The think that fascinated me the most were the oil lamps. Grecian bronzed women with baskets were surrounded by thin fishing wire with oil dripping down. Goodbye Cole's. It's an end of an era.

Dale's Natural Foods has been a local community store for decades. I have fond memories of shopping…read morehere with my Mom when I was in elementary school, and it was located downtown. It seems to be keeping up with the various health food options and dietary preferences. I was pleased to see some of my favorite foods, snacks, and products in stock. Most of the prices are comparable to what I'd expect for these types of items. Although I've yet to try it, the cafe and juice bar looks like a nice edition to the store since the days of being located downtown. The store is generally always neat, clean, and organized. Someone will typically say hello when you walk in. I'm glad to see that this store is still in business after many decades, and I wish the family much success in running the store for generations to come.

Great place to shop friendly staff good prices healthy foods vitamins vegan foods ectread more

I am obsessed with this little veggie stand in the middle of the Flint Farmer's Market. Why? One…read moreword- soursop. It's an incredibly expensive fruit because it has such substantial health benefits. The juices range from $8-$10 each and they are vibrant with different fruit flavors and most importantly, soursop. I've never seen fresh juices like this available anywhere else. Am I dropping $30 on juice each time I go? You bet I am! #worthit I got blueberries too and they were very sweet. The star of the show is absolutely the soursop juices though. There are multiple options - pineapple lemonade with soursop, which is the sweetest and my least favorite, but I could literally drink it all day long. My favorite was a mixed berry with soursop. The lemonade surprised me. It's fresh, vibrant and better than any I've ever had. Wait a minute! These are the same people that have the cafe on the other side of the farmer's market. The one with the lemonade stand! Yes- they have definitely perfected it. I will absolutely be back every chance I get. Thank you for this hard to find delight Steady Eddy's Veggies!

Walter (and Megan!) at Flint Trading Co hosted a private event with permanent jewelry for my best…read morefriend's birthday party. I cannot say enough good things about what a lovely event it was! The wine and charcuterie were beautiful and delicious. The chain selection for bracelets was varied and everyone found more than one that they loved! We had a fabulous time just hanging out and we all left loving our new bracelets. We started as patrons and left as friends!

I worked with Walter extensively on a jewelry remake - turning a dated necklace into a beautiful…read moreand timeless ring. He did an amazing job with the communication and design. I would recommend him to anyone, and will absolutely come back (virtually as I'm in Texas) for future projects!