The guide below points you in the direction of many of Detroit's top permanent retailers and art galleries offering unique holiday shopping opportunities. While no means comprehensive, this list highlights a wide range of local retailers, including many that just opened within the last year.
Bob's Classic Kicks
Sneaker heads, meet your house of worship: Bob's Classic Kicks, located on Woodward in Midtown. Candy-colored kicks and hats are displayed like works of art in this loft-like storefront.
Busted in Detroit
Now open inside the Park Shelton, Busted in Detroit offers women's undergarments in a variety of styles for women of all body types.
More info here.
The Butcher's Daughter
Contemporary art in a newly-reopened location inside the Auburn.
More info here.
Cass Corridog
Recently relocated from Canine to Five, Woofbridge Feed & Supply pet supplies store is now Cass Corridog and is located inside the Auburn.
More info here.
City Bird
Owned by the same siblings who own Nest, City Bird (located right next door to Nest) also offers a variety of gift items and housewares, but all with a distinctly Detroit flair. City Bird is a store, gallery and studio that carries a full line of Detroit-themed housewares, accessories, jewelry, and paper goods designed and manufactured in-house. They also carry items from more than 200 area designers.
Detroit Artists Market
Shop DAM for works by local artists in all media and price points.
Detroit Gallery of Contemporary Crafts
This store has been around for nearly 30 years selling beautiful hand-made items including home goods, furniture, jewelry, and other gift items.
Detroit Human
Detroit Human is a clothing design collective located inside the Auburn Building. This boutique sells high-fashion items from a variety of local designers.
More info here.
The Detroit Mercantile Co.
Part retail store and part
de facto Detroit history museum, the Detroit Mercantile Co. stocks a collection of Detroit memorabilia which includes antique and vintage items as well as concert poster prints from local artists, clothing items from Carhatt, books, bicycle cruisers from Detroit Bicycle Co., records from Beehive Recording Co. It's like a general store of all Detroit goods.
The DIA Museum Shop
The Detroit Institute of Arts is certainly one of Detroit's cultural gems. Take a piece of it home from the exquisite museum shop, filled with beautiful art books, Pewabic pottery, hand-blown glass, hand-made jewelry and more.
Emerald
Gift items with vintage inspiration and a masculine focus.
Flo Boutique
Flo Boutique is a lifestyle clothing store for men and women located in the heart of West Willis Village in Midtown. Flo Boutique highlights the Michigan-based designer, but also brings in items from all over the country and world.
Hugh
As Detroit's original pop-up, Hugh takes its name and inspiration from one Hugh Hefner, paying homage to the classic bachelor pad style of the
Mad Men-era 1960s. Carrying a carefully-selected collection of both new and vintage items (which includes everything from crystal barware to vintage
Playboy magazines and furniture), Hugh elevates Detroit's home décor shopping options to a whole new level.
Inner State Gallery
Previously 323 East in Royal Oak, Inner State Gallery relocated to Eastern Market this year where they host exhibits featuring emerging and established artists from Detroit and all over the world.
More info here.
John King Books
John K. King Used & Rare Books is a Detroit institution. It is Michigan's largest used and rare books store, and one of the largest in the country. You can easily spend hours pouring over their tens of thousands of titles. Serious book lovers need to check out their rare book room, filled with roughly 30,000 rare titles (by appointment only).
Lo & Behold Records & Books
Stuffed full of records, books, vintage clothing and other items – like soul 45s and Communist papers from the 1930s, just to give you an idea – Lo & Behold is both a retail store and a performance space, bringing in musicians and DJs for in-store shows.
Michigan Artisans
Michigan Artisans is a collective of artists, designers, and musicians from all over Michigan. Browse their Eastern Market store for a variety of juried art pieces, photography, clothing, records, and collectibles from Michigan artists.
Nest
Selling housewares, sundries and gift items in the emerging shopping and design district at Cass and Canfield in Midtown, Nest stocks an eclectic mix of items (many locally-made) including linen napkins, dishware, aprons from Detroit Denim Co., soaps, beeswax candles, French glassware, Mrs. Meyers hand and dish soap, and so much more.
Nora
Better known as the girl next door (to Hugh, that is), Nora – located in the Auburn Building in Midtown next to Hugh, and with a shared owner to the modern man's store – Nora takes a more design-centric approach to its inventory, featuring Scandinavian housewares, Japanese pottery, Detroit jewelry, and more.
The Peacock Room
The Peacock Room inside the Park Shelton in Midtown is a wonderful women's boutique that is curated like an art gallery with its excellent collection of clothing, jewelry, and accessories. If you need something to wear to a party or just feel like looking pretty, this is the place to go.
Pewabic Pottery
Whether a small tile for a host gift or stocking stuffer, or a larger piece for the tried and true Detroit lover, you can never really go wrong with a gift from the historic Pewabic Pottery.
Polish Art Center
The Polish Art Center is one of the country's premier emporiums of Polish cultural and traditional goods. The store is chock-full of Polish imports, folk arts and crafts, books, movies, music, cards, food, home goods, keepsakes and memorabilia, religious and military items, apparel, accessories, and a host of Polish Baltic amber items.
Pure Detroit
If you really want to show your Detroit, wear it. Pure Detroit first opened in 1998 and has grown into three retail locations along with three cafes (Stella Good Coffee in both the Fisher and the Guardian and the Rowland Café in the Guardian) and a women's specialty store (Vera Jane inside the Fisher). Pure Detroit is more than just a clothing store: it is a lifestyle brand, and it has come to represent the city itself.
Red Bull House of Art
Buy original works from up-and-coming artists who work in residence inside this Eastern Market location.
Run Detroit
Detroit runners finally have a store to call their own. Run Detroit inside Willys Overland Lofts stocks shoes, clothing, and other gear and accessories for runners, and also acts as a community hub for Detroit runners.
More info here.
Salt and Cedar
Salt and Cedar is a letterpress studio in Eastern Market that designs and prints booklets, broadsides, invitations, posters, stationary and more.
Savvy Chic
This specialty girlie vintage store in Eastern Market carries items like French cookware, table linens, stemware, vases, home accents, and aromatic candles.
Shinola
The new Shinola store inside Willys Overland Lofts is the flagship store for the recently-launched luxury brand of American-made watches, bikes, and leather and paper goods. The store itself is part retail store, part museum, and part gallery, with a carefully curated collection of other vintage and hand-made items that help tell the Shinola story.
More info here.
Signal-Return
Another letterpress studio located in Eastern Market (the first of the independent letterpress studios that have recently opened in the city), Signal-Return is a 3,000-square-foot storefront that merges workshops, galleries, exhibition space, archives and retail operations. In addition to posters, prints, and paper goods designed and printed in-house, they also offer a number of different workshops on letterpress printing.
Source Booksellers
Recently relocated to the Auburn Building in Midtown, Source Booksellers has been specializing in niche market nonfiction titles since 1989. Major categories carried in-store include history and culture, health and well-being, books by and about women, and metaphysical and spiritual. They also host readings with authors, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, yoga, and other community events.
More info here.
Trinosophes
Eastern Market coffee shop and art gallery.
More info here.
Turquoise Boutique
The newly-opened Turquoise Boutique in Midtown sells upscale women's apparel and accessories.
More info here.
Workshop
Furnish your home with items made from wood reclaimed from deconstructed Detroit homes sourced through Reclaim Detroit.
And, some more pop-up and special event holiday retail happenings below:
Events
2013 Holiday Marketplace at Campus Martius
The Holiday Marketplace at Campus Martius will be held every weekend up until Christmas, featuring wares from local and regional artists, food producers, crafters, and vintage and antique items.
Pop-ups
The Grand + Woodward Holiday Stop - 6558 Woodward
Vanguard Community Development Corporation is hosting The Grand + Woodward Holiday Stop, a pop-up holiday experience in two previously vacant storefronts on Woodward just south of Grand Boulevard (6560 and 6558 Woodward Ave.). The Holiday Stop features more than 20 Detroit-based entrepreneurs selling goods ranging from handmade gift items, clothing, jewelry, and home décor in addition to food. The community space next door is serving as a temporary studio for artists of the Untitled Botegga and on the weekends, is a space for children to do arts and crafts and visit Santa. This project was funded by ProsperUS Detroit, Detroit LISC, as part of its Building Sustainable Communities Initiative and Henry Ford Hospital Systems. The event is taking place now until December 22nd. Times are weekdays from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Wheelhouse Detroit + Detroit Bikes at Eastern Market
Wheelhouse Detroit and Detroit Bikes have launched a retail residency running now through March 17 inside a shipping container in Shed 4 of Eastern Market. Hours are Friday and Monday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Bicycle rental and drop-off repair service is also available.
1701 Bespoke -- 660 Woodward Avenue
Get suited up at 1701 Bespoke, a custom suit shop located inside the lobby of the First National Building that uses fine wools, linens, and silks from Italian fabric mills.
The Detroit Shoppe – 1201 Woodward Avenue
Showcasing people, places and products that have shaped Detroit. Open Tuesdays – Saturdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; now through Saturday, Dec. 21.
Rock Paper Scissors – 1213 Woodward Avenue
Personalized Stationery, paper, home goods and gift store. Open Tuesdays – Saturdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; now through Saturday, Dec. 21.
The Hand Made Company – 1219 Woodward Avenue
Showcases a wide-variety of Michigan-made products from Detroit retailers. Open Tuesdays – Saturdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; now through Saturday, Dec. 21.
Spielhaus Toys – 1249 Woodward Avenue
Hand-made specialty toy shop - read more about them
here. Open Tuesdays – Saturdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; now through Saturday, Dec. 21.
Somerset Collection CityLoft – 1261 Woodward Avenue
Your favorite Somerset Collection retailers in the heart of Detroit. Open Thursdays – Saturdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dec. 19-21.
Moosejaw - 1275 Woodward Avenue
Popular national outdoor retailer (retailer in downtown Detroit for more than a year). Open Wednesday – Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; also open Tuesdays.
Nicole Rupersburg is Model D's Development News editor.