Aesha’s African Baskets
7900 Shelbyville Road, Suite D10
Good for: Home goods and accessories handmade in Senegal — to break your World Market habit.
Get: A cheery block-color sweetgrass bin for holding toys, plants, yoga mats, fruit…
After Glow Beads
3818 Shelbyville Road
Good for: The makings of a gift for mom or your BFF.
Get: More bead varieties than Bubba Blue has shrimp.
Alcott & Bentley
Alcott & Bentley
1608 Bardstown Road
Good for: Making your home magazine-worthy.
Get: A leaf chandelier, as seen in the kaleidoscopic lighting display.
American Perfumer (also pictured in cover photo above)
American Perfumer
211 Clover Lane, Suite T
Good for: Boutique, American-crafted fragrances, if you’re tired of scents from industry giants Marc Jacobs and Dolce & Gabbana.
Get: “Colorado,” the shop’s limited-edition eau de parfum that won at this year’s Art and Olfaction awards in Amsterdam. Smells like pine trees, sunshine and high-altitude air.
Baz and Bea
1433 Bardstown Road
Good for: Clothes in that flattering color you can never find.
Get: A custom hand-dyed linen shirt for your significant other’s birthday.
Block Party Handmade Boutique
560 S. Fourth St.
Good for: Locally made kitsch, if you still miss the Lynn’s Paradise Cafe gift shop.
Get: Colorful felt animal heads cuter than taxidermy.
Brewgrass Homebrew Supply
2227 S. Preston St.
Good for: Putting the craft in craft beer.
Get: A seasonal staff recipe kit, such as the High Horse IPA, with the kind of hop varieties that beer nerds salivate over.
Brilliant Bumble Bee
426 Spring St., Jeffersonville
Good for: An alternative to tablet games.
Get: Plastic-free toys, such as non-toxic finger paint and a wooden mechanical 20-minute timer, ready for assembly.
Chuck & Mike’s Tennis Shop
1321 Herr Lane, Suite 170
Good for: A tennis racket…
Get: …strung just how you like it in-store.
Clayton & Crume
217 S. Shelby St.
Good for: Louisville-made leather goods.
Get: Tech accessories, such as cord snaps and Apple Watch bands, plus custom items in colors and styles not found in the online shop.
Color Palette
11701 Main St., Middletown
Good for: Colorful pottery (the more intricate, the more expensive) imported from a town in Poland called Bolesławiec.
Get: Start small with a travel mug.
Craft(s) Gallery and Mercantile
572 S. Fourth St.
Good for: Timeless Kentucky.
Get: Works from Berea artists, such as earrings by metal-and-wire etcher Mary F. Burnley.
DeGeorge Bros. Guitars
2910 Frankfort Ave.
Good for: Hard-to-find vintage and limited-edition strings. “We call it the small-batch-bourbon model,” owner Dan DeGeorge says.
Get: A Reverend Silver Sparkle guitar.
Fresh Start Growers’ Supply
1007 E. Jefferson St.
Good for: Urban-farming ingredients.
Get: Fragrant raised beds made of cedar straight from the warehouse-sized shop, plus chicken coops, compost bags, rain barrels and more. And a few impassioned rooster crows.
Goldheart: Stones and Such
980 Barret Ave.
Good for: Self-actualization.
Get: Flower agate, a rust-colored stone that, according to its handwritten description, “encourages self-growth; can aid as a protector from your own fears and self-doubt; aids in manifesting and nurturing your dreams; great stone for those who are starting new journeys in life.”
Graymarket
810 E. Market St.
Good for: Standout patterned textiles (bandanas, quilts, scarves, etc.).
Get: Light summer scarves you’ll want to wear all year, sold at a discount if you buy them in person at the shop.
Grinny Possum Fiber Arts
201 E. Market St., New Albany
Good for: Supplies to knit your own Louisville City FC scarf to take to the supporter zone.
Get: A cozy Merino and alpaca blend — and stick around for the knitting and conversation.
Heroes Comics & Gaming
361 Baxter Ave.
Good for: Indulging your nerdy-ness by flipping through shelves stuffed with comics (or using the restroom, which looks like the TARDIS from Doctor Who).
Get: Dice the kids from Stranger Things would love.
Him Gentleman’s Boutique
2352 Frankfort Ave.
314 Pearl St., New Albany
Good for: Refreshing your closet after being inspired by Queer Eye.
Get: That button-up you’re now French-tucking.
Home Skateshop
1553 Bardstown Road
Good for: A new board before hitting up Breslin Park Skate Spot.
Get: The Derby edition skate deck, in collaboration with the Often Seen Rarely Spoken art collective, with a monocle-wearing knight chess piece as the horse.
Honest Home
133 Breckenridge Lane
Good for: Sustainable and unconventional materials for your remodel — no exhausting trips to the Depot required.
Get: Cork flooring and quartz countertops.
Hound Dog Press
1000 Barret Ave.
Good for: Making Gutenberg great again.
Get: A dramatic, retro-looking print illustration of the Big Four Bridge, one of many collection-worthy pieces on Kentucky landmarks.
Hubcaps Galore
Hubcaps Galore & Custom Wheels
311 W. Main St., New Albany
Good for: “A few” hubcaps, says the guy behind the counter.
Get: Monstrous Dropstars wheels to fit the lift on your Ram truck.
Idlewild Butterfly Farm
Idlewild Butterfly Farm
1100 Logan St.
Good for: Beautiful bugs, whether they’re flying around in the “butterfly house” out back or pinned up in a frame, all creepy-chic.
Get: Earrings that look like pieces of insect wings.
The Inner Warrior
600 Distillery Commons, Suite 250
Good for: Cooohmfortable clothing.
Get: Colorful bolsters, cork yoga mats and stretchy tops that’ll make you say “namaste,” plus Louisville-made Idle Minds Co. pants.
Karem’s Bait & Beverage
10402 Taylorsville Road
Good for: A chat and a beer before dropping a line in Taylorsville Lake.
Get: Crickets, which the owners fatten up with smashed Cheerios.
King’s Shoe Repair
3026 Hunsinger Lane
Good for: A steal as good as what you’ll find in Von Maur’s glorious shoe-sale room, with a huge selection of high-end men’s brands.
Get: Brand-new Donald J. Pliner block heels — at a fraction of the price.
KMAC gift shop
715 W. Main St.
Good for: Crafts for your kids and conversation-starting accessories for that gallery opening you’re thinking of attending.
Get: Torn between the Keith Haring-print bag, Julius Friedman’s book of pictures of books or the necklace that looks like a bunch of little jellyfish.
Little Bit of Bybee
11617 Main St., Middletown
Good for: Pottery made the same way since the 1800s: with clay from Bybee, about 30 miles southeast of Lexington.
Get: The bowl with holes in the bottom, for draining water after rinsing fruit.
LOUaBULL
1015 E. Main St.
Good for: Forgetting the demise of WHY Louisville and its T-shirts. (OK, almost forgetting.)
Get: The Slugger-inspired “Snuggler” T-shirt for kids, or the Cherokee Park one that looks like the Jurassic Park logo.
Louisville Paddlesports
11511 Shelbyville Road, Suite A
Good for: Your own vessel for exploring local waterways — the Ohio River if you’re feeling adventurous.
Get: A kayak. In the store you can book a guided fishing trip on nearby Harrods Creek or Floyds Fork.
Louisville Sports Cards
11519 Shelbyville Road, Suite C
Good for: The nostalgic sound of tearing open a pack of baseball cards.
Get: Trading cards of pro athletes who went to UK (plenty of De’Aaron Fox) or U of L (ditto Donovan Mitchell).
Louisville Tea Company
9305 New La Grange Road
Good for: A break from your sad tea bags.
Get: Free sniffs of the zillion different loose-leaf varieties, plus a bag of S’mores Fireside chai, vanilla rose oolong or Louisville breakfast, a take on English breakfast black tea. There are even herbal varieties, such as Allergies Away, for those seasonal sniffles.
Mabel & Moss
601B S. Fourth St.
Good for: Slow fashion.
Get: Organic cotton and other sustainable materials from independent clothing labels, made in places like California, Canada, Brooklyn and sometimes Louisville.
Mahonia
822 E. Market St.
Good for: The sweet floral scent that greets you at the door to this home store and floral design studio.
Get: Cacti you’ll want to hug. (Please don’t; they’re expensive.)
Matt Anthony’s Record Shop
536 Baxter Ave.
Good for: A robust local music section, and ear X-tacy nostalgia. (The shop has the old adding machine from the still-mourned music store.)
Get: Joan Shelley’s Rivers and Vessels on vinyl.
The Olivet
The Olivet
137 E. Market St., Suite 103, New Albany
Good for: Blood-orange olive oil, or cranberry-walnut olive oil, or Sonoma smoked olive oil, or…
Get: Anything here will make that plastic jug in your cabinet embarrassing. Bonus: This is the only local retail spot you can find much-missed Ghyslain chocolates.
Peach Soul Streetwear
805 E. Market St.
Good for: Looking fly as hell.
Get: The loudest Nike kicks you’ve ever seen, unless that Street Fighter II T-shirt in the window is for sale, in which case: Hadouken, fools!
The Plant Kingdom
4101 Westport Road
Good for: A garden refresh — from the shelves of colorful planters and orbs to the sustainable plant products.
Get: A friendly hedgehog planter that’ll make your succulents really live up to your calling them pets.
Preslar’s Western Shop
3299 Fern Valley Road
Good for: Permission to say, “Howdy!”
Get: A pair of exotic-skin boots, like ostrich or Caiman alligator.
Preston Arts Center
3048 Bardstown Road
Good for: Supplies you won’t even think to look for on Amazon. As one customer recently said while perusing the store, “I know I need a bunch of stuff, but I can’t think of what.”
Get: Who are we to say that watercolor paints are any more exciting than sculpting clay or decorative paper? It’s not what you buy here; it’s what you make with it.
Quest Outdoors
4600 Shelbyville Road
Good for: Outdoorsy types…or those who want to appear outdoorsy.
Get: Overwhelmed realizing this much fly fishing gear exists. And, yes, they still sell those Climb Every Mountain T-shirts.
Scale Reproductions Hobby Shop
3073 Breckenridge Lane
Good for: If it has an engine, there’s a model kit for it.
Get: Baggies of moss, to liven up the setting for your model railroad.
Scout
720 E. Market St.
Good for: Knocking out your Christmas shopping.
Get: A charming Troll doll citrus reamer (the “hair” being the juicer, of course) for the party host.
Shirts Ties N Links
1321 Herr Lane, Suite 190
Good for: Everything in the store’s name, plus blazers, fedoras, colorful socks and more.
Get: Your purchase tailored by store manager Moe Harris.
Shively Sporting Goods
4006 Dixie Hwy.
Good for: Gear and customized embroidered attire for the whole team.
Get: More styles and colors of Louisville Slugger bats than we even knew existed.
Soul Man Clothing
2600 W. Broadway
Good for: Winning the best-dressed award for your track suit
Get: A graphic Golden State Warriors set, as you hold out for Louisville to get its own NBA franchise.
Underpinnings Lingerie
9414 Norton Commons Blvd.
Good for: An excuse to finally throw that ill-fitting bra in the garbage.
Get: Floral silk kimonos, barely there modal thongs and (amen!) sizes for all.
Unorthodox
1710 Frankfort Ave.
Good for: Dead stuff. Seriously. This is Morticia’s idea of home decor.
Get: We can’t say we recommend buying a mummified fetal pig in a gray Victorian frame, but you could do that here.
Work the Metal
1201 Story Ave.
Good for: Procrastinators.
Get: A last-minute wedding gift that feels more personal than Target bath towels. And, OK, some earrings to wear to the reception. And some pun-y tea towels, just because. And — oooh! — horse coasters! OK, get us out of here.
This originally appeared in the June 2019 issue of Louisville Magazine under the headline "50 Things and Where to Find Them." To subscribe to Louisville Magazine, click here. To find us on newsstands, click here.
Photos by Joon Kim, studiojoon.com
