I recently got really into building LEGO sets for the first time ever and have been curious about…read morefinding more to put together. I have a couple issues with this - first of all, the big LEGO sets (1,000+ pieces) that I want to do are so expensive if you buy them new. I'm talking like $300+. The other issue I have is that I don't necessarily want or need to have multiple LEGO sets in my house, either completed or in pieces. I don't have the time or interest to create my own builds using various pieces. So, I started to do some looking around for some local spots that might be useful and found DNA Brix. Nate and I went to check it out recently and did end up buying a new set there. They also have used sets and loose LEGO pieces that you can buy by the bag. You can sell your LEGO sets and/or pieces or get store credit for them too. The employee working was really nice and explained some things about how they work and mentioned that they would have some new sets in the next couple weeks since they just bought a ton of LEGO from someone recently. I imagine it takes a bit of time for them to sort through and categorize everything! I even noticed a sign that indicated they were hiring at-home sorters and counters. I think ultimately what would be best for me is a rental program where I could rent a set, put it together, and then return it. I don't think anything like this exists locally, but I did find an online business for this. In the meantime, I've already started the NYC Architecture kit we got at DNA Brix and have been having a blast. If you're in to LEGO or want to sell some, definitely check them out.

Changing Thymes ⁣ ⁣ I…read morefeel that the best way to describe Changing Thymes is that it's like a daily artisan market that you don't have to pay admission to! ⁣ ⁣ Vendors get to rent out a "booth" inside and can display their work and goodies without having to stand there all day. It's the cutest. Every couple steps there's a new beautiful theme from vendors that put their work on display. ⁣ ⁣ Booths filled with preloved items, home decor, antiques, new items, repurposed, handmade and even furniture! It's such a fun adventure and truly feels like you are entering a craft show or market event! ⁣ ⁣ There are many treasures in here ⁣ ⁣ So many, that Changing Thyme has 2 locations right next to each other (ish ).⁣ ⁣ *4187 Chicago Dr SW⁣ *2900 Wilson ⁣

I go here frequently and love shopping here, but the customer service absolutely sucks. The vendors…read moreare great and there's a pretty wide selection of household items/decor and furniture, but every time i've gone there, i've never had a good experience with any of the employees. As someone that has worked in customer service for years, they don't even try! I just went there today and had another horrible experience getting checked out. Extremely unhelpful. I definitely recommend checking it out, but don't expect anyone to be kind to you at the register.

So many items! Nice affordable pricing! Love going in there every once in a while to check out what…read morethey have in stock!

Pretty cool place lots of funds will definitely check it out again for sure wonderful pricesread more

I absolutely love wandering in Vault of Midnight and coming in for little gifts for my friends!…read moreIt's a bit overwhelming to try and find something if you're not a big comic book or graphic novel enthusiast but even as someone who appreciates it, you can ask the staff at any point and they will be more than happy to provide recommendations or point you in the right direction. I've never gone wrong with purchasing a gift here and I definitely will come back. They even have a punch card for loyalty which is amazing. Parking is a little tough since it's right on Monroe Center and street parking but I haven't had a big issue. I'm a huge fan overall and encourage people to stop in if they haven't!

Vault of Midnight has been one of my go-to stores for years now! I grew up a comic book and graphic…read morenovel fan so to have a nice store right in the middle of downtown is great! They have comics, graphic novels, manga, board games, blind boxes, and some ttrpgs and trading cards. The staff are always incredibly helpful and kind and will definitely help give you a recommendation based on what you like. I love the area in the front with self-published and local zines. It really is a small gesture but shows an effort to uplift and platform the local community and creatives. This location is definitely smaller than the other I visited, but there's still so much to find! There are several other stores along the street as well as the Art Museum, so it's a great place to stop by on a day out!

I absolutely adore this store and it's right downtown, so very very walkable! I'm seriously just a…read moresucker for all things cute, and Oh Hello really does the best with providing local artist and curated items that every time I go, I cannot help but buy something! Even if it's just a little sticker, a pin or something more. It's the perfect shop for a small gift for a loved one and if you are interested, you should join the locker club! It's a monthly club and I finally got a sneak peek inside.. absolutely ADORABLE!! What a great way to support a local business and artists.

Oh Hello is one of my favorite places to go to! It's right downtown in the middle of so many nice…read morethings. If you have any time to kill before a concert, it's a third Thursday, or you're just wanting to browse, this is definitely the place for you. The store specializes in cute fun gifts and trinkets. They have everything from cookbooks to baby toys to stickers. There are gifts for almost every age and demographic. There are often goods from local artists and creatives which is really nice. One of my favorite features is the monthly art locker. For a one-time cost, you get a physical key with access to a locker with monthly goodies! The staff may be some of the kindest I've met. You can always talk about your day or learn about what's been going on downtown. There is a shop cat named Yuki who is soooooo cute and is my personal "where's waldo" whenever I'm in the store. Their marketing and promotions are really fun and the videos often make me laugh. They offer some free and paid events, making it a nice place to meet new people and engage in creativity. One of these days I need to make their cloud workshop!

Target 44th St., Southwest in Wyoming. Thought I would run…read moreinto the store and get some shaving cream and I found this really cool comforter that was on sale. You don't find very many men's pattern comforters so I grabbed this one and promptly ran up to the checkout. So there are two people ahead of me in the checkout line. The first person had a cart load of groceries and of course there was something that wasn't scanning so we all waited for five minutes and nothing apparently got fixed. I finally asked the checkout person if she could call somebody else to open up another line. Another five minutes later, so this is a total of 10 minute standing in line with three people ahead of me by now there's five people behind me. Nobody else has coming up to open up any checkout lanes. Again, I asked the cashier is somebody coming only to get snapped at finally I asked for a manager and they said something about they only have so much staff and this is they're doing the best that they can why find this to be BS target can do better target has good products. Nice clean store but their customer service is very disappointing The sad thing is it doesn't ever seem to improve no matter what time of the day you're going to the store that's always gonna be a line and not enough cash register is open. I'm pretty much done with target

3rd Target today, and while it's the best in area, still failing at all points…read more 3 of six self check outs out of order. Your choice is huge cashier line or huge self check out line. So much time in lines!!! Out of all product I went to get again. Was listed in stock online but any employee was too busy to stop and help. 3 employees was all I saw, and 2 were chatting at register. Once again, management outside smoking because they were unavailable. Zero value. Store has nothing to offer you cant get 50 percent cheaper at Meijer. Unless you support the bare minimum a store could do, shop anywhere else.

Not interested in those new to the hobby. Multiple stores in town have a better selection and…read moreservice. No reason to go there and the employees hope you dont.

Went for some Pokemon cards and the packs were definitely resealed. Probably bought around 10-15…read morepacks and the cards were in the wrong order, they ripped too easily or in weird spots, and they overall just looked funky and messed with. No full arts in 10-15 packs can happen, but pretty suspicious when the packs are already looking and feeling weird. You could tell they tried to replace the hit cards with cheap half art EX's. The best piece of evidence was when another person bought some packs before me and came right back because some of the packs were already opened. Don't know about the comics but huge scam for cards.