The shopping zone nobody ever told you about

This week I'm sending you to A Street between 11th & 12th Streets to a secret shopping area that I bet no-one ever told you about. I live downtown and I didn't even realize how much great stuff there is to find on this block. In case you're having trouble placing the location, the downtown post office is directly across the street from these shops and the big Wells Fargo building is about a block away on one side and the 11th Street Bridge is directly on the other. 

My goal for these blogs is to give you a reasonable daytime shopping trip where you can park in one place and see all these places at once. If you go back through the 12 Days of Shopping posts you will find each post is about a 2-3 hour shopping experience. If you did one of these trips every Saturday you'd have about 4 weeks worth of fun! Even *I* didn't realize how many cool things you can find downtown Tacoma!

My first stop was the little shop on the corner next to the 11th Street Murray Morgan Bridge. Unfortunately it was not open but I took some pictures through the window to give you some idea of what they carry.

Midcenturyville Vintage Home Furnishings 
1101 A St., Ste. 1, Tacoma, WA
http://www.midcenturyville.com

 253-777-2252

Give them a quick call to let them know you're coming
and they will open up for you: 253-777-2252

There are also more pictures of the items inside on the Midcenturyville Facebook page if you're interested.


Blue Dolfin Interiors 
1101 A St. Suite 2, Tacoma WA
http://www.bluedolfininteriors.com/
253-627-6747


This is a cute little interior design shop with lots of pretty things you can purchase or custom order. She was in the middle of a home show at another location so I caught her when she had less on display than usual but I've passed by many times and admired the home decor items through the window. By the time you get there (after this weekend) I'm sure everything will be back. In the meantime, visit her website to see some of the amazing projects she has done: http://www.bluedolfininteriors.com/. She also does custom upholstery! She told me that she used to own a restaurant inside the Old City Hall building. I wish I could have seen that!

Minuteman Press 
1111 A St., Tacoma WA 
http://www.mmptacoma.com/
253-383-4377


I've always had the best customer service from this little print shop. I use them for all my small printing projects. The only thing they don't do is large posters. The best thing is, no job is too small for them and they never make you feel like your bothering them even when the job costs less than $1. There is a huge difference between how I feel working with Kinko's and working with Minuteman. I highly recommend this print shop.
Judging by the posters on the inside wall, a lot of my colleagues feel the same.

Watermark Gifts 
1115 A Street, Tacoma WA 
http://www.watermarkgifts.com/ 
253- 383-2041



This store took me completely by surprise! I somehow never noticed it before and when I went inside I was shocked at how large it is and how much variety and selection they have! You must visit this shop. I know you'll find things to love.

I don't know how I ever overlooked this pretty doorway.

This is from a flier I found at the front counter.

Now I know where to go when I need last minute wrapping paper!

They just stocked up on a lot of Valentines Day merchandise.

 Love these leatherbound journals.

How amazing is this bracelet! I'd actually like to
see this as a necklace too. I might buy it and have my
jewelry designer friend put a longer chain on it.

This bracelet really catches the light and sparkles like crazy.
I'm sorry I couldn't capture that better in the photograph.

These heart shaped hanging decorations were also
pretty dazzling and sparkly

I love these yoga position frogs! How cute are they!

Another sparkly thing that caught my eye.

This necklace is actually twice as long as it appears here and very cool.

Cute steam-punk looking keys.

This cute little black chandelier was probably my
favorite thing I found in this store and it was very
reasonably priced.

I also felt like I needed these furry slippers. :)

Gayle Rieber Photography
1121 A Street Tacoma, Wa
http://gaylephoto.com/

The studio wasn't open when I came by but one of her neighbors spoke very highly of it. This is another one you should call before you come down: 253-627-5455.

Old West Fine Art

1123 A St, Tacoma WA

253-274-0445

 

I've been curious about this gallery for a while. It was closed when I came by there yesterday and the sign on the door says "by Appointment Only." I see this phenomenon as a symptom of the lack of foot traffic issues that plague certain sections of downtown Tacoma. Its one of the reasons I started this blog actually. From what I spied through the window, this place is worth making an appointment for. Give them a call and tell them The Duchess of Downtown sent you.

Sorry about the reflection, this is a peek inside through the window.

Another peek through the window

Another peek through the window

After shopping I headed over to the day spa I belong to. For more on that and a peek at some of the restaurants and other random shops I visited this week, check out this week's BONUS blog!  Its chalked full of AWESOME!! Just think of it as PART 2 to this blog. :)



XOXO,
Duchess of Downtown