Takoma Park offers unique stores for holiday shopping

Notoriously bad gift-givers, take heart: The gifts bound to win over your friends and family this holiday season aren't waiting for you at a local shopping mall. Just a 15-minute drive from the campus or four Metro stops away, Takoma Park has multiple small shops that feature affordable and unique gifts guaranteed to impress loved ones.

The combination of a busy lifestyle and tight budget often leads to college students giving lackluster gifts during the holidays.

"I'm never good at giving any gifts," senior communication major Ashley Beller said. Takoma Park solves boring gift dilemmas with stores like Now and Then, an eclectic gift store that offers everything from clothing and toys to household items.

"It's like you can come in here and find something for everyone," store owner Jude Garrett said.

Now and Then sells items suitable for parents and relatives, such as hand-painted ceramic dishes made by local artists, unique scarves, jewelry and house decorations.

The store, however, targets all ages — the entire back half is devoted to children and babies, featuring unusual gag gifts and clear boxes full of toys to buy in bulk.

The goal of such a multi-purpose store, Garrett said, is to cater to those who shop there.

"I've just constantly evolved as the neighborhood has changed," she said.

Next door is S&A Beads, a jewelry store with a distinct twist. If you're short on time, you can buy one of its unique pieces of jewelry. However, the main concept of the shop is to choose from a multitude of beads in the center of the room to string your own necklace or bracelet.

"You can make a lot of things yourself, so it makes it more sentimental," store manager Zoe Stern said.

The store features virtually every type of bead imaginable: hand-painted enamel, pewter, sterling silver, ethnic or alphabet letters — all sold for between 20 cents and $3.

In addition, if you lack adequate bead-stringing skills, one of the store workers will string your creation for an additional fee.

"It's kind of a one-stop shop," Stern said. "You're going to get much more unusual and unique gifts here than you would at the mall."

Two doors down is The Magic Carpet, a store mainly for globally inspired home decor, including Turkish throw pillows and Brazilian stones.

"I would describe [the store] as eclectic, unique and unusual gifts from around the world," said store owner Deniz Kanter, who promised to give a student discount to anyone who mentioned this article's author's name.

If you walk one block down the road, you'll reach Amano, a house converted into a store that features hand-crafted jewelry and clothing. Although not all of the products featured are made by local artists, none of the items are likely to be found at Macy's.

"It's a sort of mini-department store for people who don't like to shop," said Jeff McCandless, who co-owns the store with his wife, Veronica. "It's a convenience where [shoppers] can find a lot of their needs in one place without having to travel."

The affordable and unique gifts the Takoma Park stores offer for the holidays are intriguing to students looking for special items.

"If you get someone something unique, it's like you put a lot of thought into it," senior bioengineering major Tanya Saleh said.

Other students agreed.

"It's something no one's going to have," junior economics major Jimmy Parsells added. "I'd definitely consider going if it's that close."

ga@umdbk.com