Short North shopping guide 2009

Check out our top 10 picks for places to shop in the Short North this holiday season

The holidays are nearly upon us, which marks the official start of the holiday shopping season … and the beginning of the end for many of our credit cards.

The Short North Arts District has come to define the shopping experience for the chic and sophisticated in Columbus—it’s one of the only alternatives our city has to the hellish holiday mall chaos.

In order to keep up with Easton and Polaris, the district will be banding together with later hours and discounts for the Thanksgiving Day weekend. Several shops will be hosting special weekend deals and events.

This all, of course, leads up to the pomp and circumstance that will be this year’s Short North Holiday Hop on Dec. 5, which typically draws the district’s largest crowd of the year—second only to the Pride Festival and Highball Halloween.

In order to make your shopping experience a little easier, we’ve sifted through the many Short North shops and galleries (with the help of John Angelo and his team at the Short North Business Association) to come up with our picks for the top 10 hot spots. We’ve also included a smorgasbord of gift ideas in the attached photo galleries.

I guess that leaves only one thing left to say: You’re welcome.

Studios on High Gallery

Address: 686 N. High St.
Phone: 614-461-6487
Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Holiday hours: Noon to 9 p.m. Nov. 28, Dec. 18-19

If you’ve ever been in the Short North, you’ll know it doesn’t take much time to notice there are quite a few galleries showcasing locally crafted artwork from every medium. But Studios on High Gallery is one of the only ones that guarantees a chance to meet one of the artists every time you visit.

“We always have an artist on hand demonstrating their art when you come in,” said Judy Hoberg, the gallery’s manager and client. She’s currently showcasing her line of animal sculptures from her company “Feats of Clay.”

“We pride ourselves on the fact that we’re a collective of regional artists that own and operate the gallery,” Hoberg said. “You’re buying directly from them.”

The small shop, located near the corner of Lincoln and High streets, includes installations from 18 different local artists. Items featured include sculptures and paintings to custom-made jewelry and hand-knit clothing, with prices ranging from $12 to $3,000.

“It’s like an arts festival every day of the year,” Hoberg said laughing.

New for the holidays this year, SOH is hosting the “Art of Giving.” In order to help make fine art a little more accessible during these rough economic times, each of the artists have created smaller replicas of their larger, more expensive, pieces.

“All of the miniatures are original works of art, but they’re at a much more reasonable price for those looking for a great gift on a budget,” Hoberg said.

Rowe Boutique

Address: 718 N. High St.
Phone: 614-299-ROWE
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
Holiday hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

Hip, trendy and fun—three words that certainly describe Rowe Boutique.

The chic female boutique, located near the corner of Bollinger Place and High Street, gives Kohl’s and JC Penney a posh facelift, providing signature jeans, shoes, purses and more.

The store is slightly on the pricey side, with the average item going for $150, but any man shopping for his wife can’t go wrong with a hefty gift card in the mid-scale boutique.

Maren Roth, an experienced transplant from the cut-throat New York fashion world, opened Rowe in 2006, filling the racks with her favorite innovative contemporary designers and an array of vintage and eclectic jewelry. The intimate shop might not be large, but there are quite a few “finds” here, especially among the crop of designer accessories.

Roth’s latest Rowe endeavor includes expanding her brand internationally with RoweBotique.com. If you’re doing most of your shopping online—or simply if you don’t feel like making the trek to the Short North on a cold day—take a gander at the fully comprehensive site, where you can order just about anything from the store from the comfort of your home.

For the holidays, Rowe sales rep Emily Paul said the store is planning to host a “Shop and Adopt” event supporting local animal shelters. Enjoy deals on select merchandise and donate to the shelters involved or, better yet, treat yourself to a new furry loved one.

Also for the Black Friday bonanza the day after Thanksgiving, Rowe will feature discounts on all their black-colored attired. (This might be a good time for the ladies to stock up on those black “freakum dresses.”)

PM Gallery

Address: 726 N. High St.
Phone: 614-299-0860
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday

To hear Maria Galloway tell it, PM Gallery is just the little gallery that could. But upon further review, PM is probably one of the most successful art sellers in Columbus.

The small store—filled with quirky fine-art pieces from local and national artists—started with a man, a woman, their art and their dogs, way back when Michael Secrest and Maria Galloway opened their store in 1980. Two children and three dogs later, PM is the longest-running gallery in the Short North, filled with pieces by 300 artists from all over the country and Canada.

The couple was a major part of cleaning up the Short North. The area was filled with violence and crime before the artsy crew came in and spruced it up, making it what it is today. The Galloway-Secrests were also very instrumental in starting the Short North Gallery Hop in 1984.

Pottery and decorative glass are the main focus of the Galloway’s artistic attention. When you first walk in (after stepping over their dog, Logan), you’re accosted by a sea of shimmering light reflected off the glass art hanging in the window.

From handmade candles to metal work, finding a gift here shouldn’t be difficult.

“Every year we have a pretty great window display that catches everyone’s eye,” Galloway said. “But around this time we get a lot of people who collect ornaments because of our large selection.”

Be sure to check out the PM Gallery Web site, which features online ordering for their many products, plus blogs and gift ideas.

On Paper

Address: 737 N. High St.
Phone: 614-424-6617
Hours: 10 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday

Take charge and send your friends and family holiday cards that are sure to stand out—with On Paper‘s bevy of personalized stationary options, it’s impossible to be anything but unique.

“We’re the perfect place for any paper file,” store manager Dara Wiggins said. “We’re an emporium of beautiful stationery, with papers for arts making, invitations and letter writing.”

Opened in 1997 by Joan Schnee as a way to combine her 20-year retail career and her two hobbies (papermaking and collage), the store is literally your one-stop-shop for anything that can be written or drawn on, so to speak.

However, paper isn’t their only specialty. The store is filled with great (and inexpensive) gift ideas including candles, picture frames, lotions, bath salts, perfumes and much more.

“The prices range from 25 cents on up to $1,000,” Wiggins said. “But we can work with you and definitely cater something to your budget.”

Also, as a pre-holiday sale, the store is offering 10 percent off all personalized holiday greetings until Nov. 30. And their typically gorgeous window display won’t be the only visual draw for the shop, either. They’ll be hosting their annual gift-wrapping demonstration seminar soon. Call or check their Web site for more information.

Tree-killing never looked so good. (In all fairness, they’ve got the recycled stuff too.)

Posh Pets

Address: 743 N. High St.
Phone: 614-299-7387
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

Come New Years, Jo Johnson, the down-to-earth owner of the Short North’s über popular Posh Pets, has a few resolutions she’s ready to take on.

“I’m changing the tag line,” she said after mentioning she’d heard quite a few people were turned off by the ”posh” part of her store’s moniker. “People think ‘posh’ means expensive, and my stuff is often times cheaper than some of what you get at Wal-Mart.”

The store’s popular saying, “A truly unique experience,” may soon become “Posh doesn’t have to mean pricey.” And, for the most part, she’s right.

“I try to keep the majority of my product under $19.95,” she said.

A part of the Short North landscape for the last seven years, Posh Pets has made a name for itself, becoming an inevitable stop for anyone walking their dog along the Short North walkway near the corner of Warren and High streets. But don’t get it in your mind that dogs are the store’s only clientele.

“We get dogs, cats, snakes, monkeys and even pot-bellied pigs,” she said. “Make sure and bring your pets—don’t think you have to leave them at home; we are very pet-friendly.”

Come Holiday Hop (the first Saturday of December), the storefront is transformed into a pet-loving winter wonderland.

“We always have a great selection of holiday specifics, and we do both Hanukah and Christmas,” she said. “We have interactive toys, enrichment toys and lots of stuff that always makes for cute Christmas pictures.”

Johnson even features a line of custom-made holiday costumes ($39.95) by local bridal seamstress Linda Hines.

The store carries everything from 50-cent treats to $200 couture pet carriers.

Undone Lingerie

Address: 772 N. High St.
Phone: 614-299-8636
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

The holidays can be the most romantic (and intimate) time of year next to Valentine’s Day. (They don’t call it “the most wonderful time of the year” for nothing.) If you’re looking for a gift for that special someone, the Undone Lingerie & Shoe Boutique has you covered.

Setting up shop in the Short North just six months ago, the intimate boutique—near the corner of High and Warren streets—carries designer undergarments, nightgowns, perfume and designer shoes.

Their signature items are, of course, lingerie and camisoles, but they mostly come from French and European designers that co-owner Kate Wessendorf said aren’t really being offered in Columbus.

“In Columbus there aren’t really a lot of options when it comes down to lingerie,” Wessendorf said. “Certain people weren’t being accommodated, from the plus size to the really smaller sizes.”

Wessendorf considers her store a place for every type of female, and she said the lingerie is reasonably priced, with most pieces going for an average of $50 to $60. They’re also offering a buy-one-bra-get-the-second-half-off sale, with many other holiday deals to come.

“We do offer a lot of great gift ideas form perfumes and jewelry to pajamas, robes and slippers,” she said. “There are many things you’ll find here that you won’t find elsewhere in Columbus.”

Grand View Mercantile

Address: 873 N. High St.
Phone: 614-421-7000
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

When you say the word ‘antique store,’ thoughts of your grandmother’s musty furniture might come to mind, but Sharron O’Brien is sure that after you visit Grand View Mercantile, you’ll never think of antique furnishings the same way again.

“We’re much more updated than your typical antique marketplace,” O’Brien said. “We get a lot interesting, funky things you wouldn’t expect … the fine, fun and unexpected—we’re definitely not the norm.”

The funky furniture gallery is cut off into sections featuring a horde of distinctly different rooms, which represents their more than 80 dealers. But that’s only half of the store. Mercantile also includes a full-fledged consignment shop where pieces come in from 650 consigners on the regular.

“We don’t cater to one type of shopper,” O’Brien said. “You can walk in here and buy an interesting $5 stocking stuffer or a $5,000 painting. No matter what you are looking for in whatever price range, you can find it here.”

The store arrived in the Short North via Grandview five years ago. Many people weren’t exactly sure of O’Brien’s decision to move an antique shop into one of the largest venues in the Short North (a massive 20,000-squre-foot structure near the corner of First Avenue and High Street).

“Yes, it’s pretty big,” O’Brien said laughing. “People thought I was crazy.” Now they’re biting their tongues, as the store caters to clients all over the country and has a steady stream of patrons.

“I’m not presumptuous enough to say we’re the largest store of this kind in the country, but we’re definitely the largest in the Midwest,” she said. “I hear people from all over continue to tell me this place is nothing like they’ve seen before.”

With that said, O’Brien often issues patrons this warning:

“If you see something you like, be sure to get it right away,” she said. “It might not be here when you come back.”

Flower Child

Address: 989 N. High St.
Phone: 614-297-8006
Hours: Closed Monday; noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday; noon to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

After stepping over Flower Child‘s threshold, things might become a little disorienting—you might feel as if you’ve been transported back to the 1950s. According to Flower Child’s owners, you have.

The “vintage 20th century superstore” is beautifully (and often hilariously) cluttered with furniture, clothes and memorabilia from the 1930s through the 1970s. A plastic flower-power couch, the quintessentially 1960s egg chair and a horde of ‘50s-style outfits (from that old-school movie glamour to the hippie-inspired fringe) is just a sampling of what the store has to offer.

“We’re the premiere retro, vintage shop in the region, with an amazing fashion collection,” said Joe Valenti, owner of the Short North store and their second 11-year-old venue in Cleveland.

If you’re looking to re-create the holidays from your parents’ childhood (or even your grandparents’), Flower Child is a godsend. For the holiday season they’ve buried the store in vintage holiday decorations and ornaments. Their front window is often an attraction in and of itself, featuring a sexy Winter Wonderland of yesteryear, complete with Santa’s sleigh.

“We give you the chance to step back into your past,” Valenti said. “We’ve got stuff from your grandparents’ era or stuff for your crazy Aunt Becky. Everyone’s got that aunt with the quirky, outdated sense of style.

“I love to hear my customers laughing and saying things like, ‘That’s really ugly!’ or ‘Oh my God, I wore that to my prom,’ ” he said. “The tackier it is, the more fun it is for us.”

Valenti’s original plan was to open his second store in Chicago, but after participating in his first Gallery Hop a few years ago, he decided Columbus was where he needed to be.

“The Short North just fit our vibe perfectly,” he said. “The artistic atmosphere just plays into exactly what the store is about.”

Flower Child has a few deals on the shelf for the holidays. Right now all of their furniture and general lighting (excluding Christmas lights) are 20 percent off. Also, as a bit of an inside tip, if you’re interested in an item that’s over $39, ask them, “Is this your best price,” and they’ll knock it down 10 percent.

“But you have to ask,” Valenti stressed. The deal excludes all seasonal merchandise.

Byzantium

Address: 1088 N. High St.
Phone: 614-291-3130
Hours: Noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday

Byzantium is known to many as “The Bead Store,” with millions of beads lining the store’s walls. It’s the place where you can make a sensible pair of earrings for less than 1 cent per bead.

But beads aren’t the only thing Byzantium is becoming known for.

“We pride ourselves for having quality things at reasonable prices,” said Joyce Griffith, the store’s owner. “We have an eccentric mix of jewelry, home décor, ethnic art, natural wonders and, of course, our millions of beads.”

Byzantium is the perfect place to get jewelry on a budget. Their finished sterling silver rings start at $12 and go up to $150; their pendants go from $10 to $300; and the sterling silver bracelets start at $40 and go up to $300.

“We’re still the bead shop,” Griffith said. “But we’ve started to get a reputation for having good finished jewelry as well.”

Keeping with the bead theme, the store will continue to offer their popular bead-making demonstrations throughout the holiday season. They’ll be hosting their next one Saturday, Nov. 28, during all of the Thanksgiving weekend hoopla.

“The Short North will be doing an experimental theme for the holidays this year, so they want the stores to do some sort of participatory activity,” Griffith said. “During the Holiday Hop will also have a nice spread of food, and we’re planning to be open later.”

For details on the bead-making workshops, Holiday Hop or the store’s holiday hours, call the store or visit their Web site, Griffith said.

The store’s been in the city for 25 years, moving to the Short North in 2000. Aside from jewelry, they have a full section of incenses, including their “Gift of the Magi” box set. It includes the “original Christmas gift of Frankincense and Myrrh,” Griffith said. The gift set is made so that you can burn them on your own in your home, and it costs only $10.50.

“It’s the perfect gift—classic, yet unique,” she said.

Rivet

Address: 1200 N. High St.
Phone: 614-294-8697
Hours: Noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

Rivet has always prided itself on being a little bit different.

“We’re a designer vinyl toy store and art gallery that focuses on pop surrealism,” said Laura Kuenzli, one of the store’s managers.

That’s definitely not a description you hear every day.

The intimate gallery—located at the far north end of the Short North, near the corner of High Street and 5th Avenue—features mini-exhibits of local and national artists and a gaggle of collectors’ items, perfect for any toy-collecting fanatic.

Though focused on a pretty specific genre of art and collectors’ items, Kuenzli said there’s something in the store for everyone.

“We have a lot of items that would fall in the stocking-stuffer category,” she said. “There’s quite a large price range and wide selection. I think anyone could find something here for everyone on their list.”

Prices for the toys and clothing could cost anywhere from $3 to $300 dollars, while the artwork the gallery features goes for $30 to $800.

Rivet will host huge discounts on items during Thanksgiving weekend, so this is perfect time to pick up a few of those Blind Box toys.

The gallery has quite a few events planned throughout the holiday season, including a “Cookies and Beer” gathering from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 13. Patrons will be able to create their own artwork using one of the store’s D.I.Y. toys (avg. $35), which you’ll be able to paint and personalize.

Rivet’s third annual plush show, “Stuff This III,” opens Dec. 5, featuring 3-D plush creations from more than 30 artists from around the world. The show kicks off with an opening party from 7 to 9 p.m.

For more information on the Short North Arts District, visit the Short North Business Association Web site. Be sure to tell us your favorite places to shop in the Short North and suggestions for gift ideas in the comments below!

~from Metromix.com

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