Retail

Neat Neighborhood Find: Millennium Decorative Arts

By Prince Of Petworth

I’m going to be honest with you all. This is my favorite store on U Street. Milliennium located at 1528 U Street is the greatest of the used furniture stores in town for a reasonable price. I got a wicked cool coffee table here a couple of years ago. So now I’m happy to share it with you. It is very unassuming and you’ve probably walked by it dozens of times. It is a basement store so that is easy to do. But the stuff they have, for the price they offer, is tops. I had the chance to talk with one of the owners, Glynn Romero, who told me that the store has been open since 1992. Glynn and his partner have owned the shop for about two and a half years. If you need anything super cool for your home I highly recommend you check it out. Prices range from $5 to $1000 depending upon what you’re looking for. I think I paid like $200 for the sickest coffee table you’ll ever see. Lots of cool photos of their wares after the jump.
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Neat Neighborhood Find: Caramel

By Prince Of Petworth

I know I’ve been finding a lot on U Street, but man, there are a lot of cool hidden places on U Street, so what I can say. At anyrate this most recent one, Caramel, is located at 1603 U Street right across the street from Stetsons and Local 16. It is very unassuming from the outside but inside there is quite a deep store with mens and womens clothing and accessories and even photographs. I spoke with owner, Sarah Watkins, who told me the that shop has now been open for almost two years. Watkins designers are both local and from LA, NY, Canada and Italy. Ed note: Further proof that the damn Canadians are taking over the world. Her store features casual pieces as well as those that “you can wear out at night”. Watkins mentioned that she is beginning to stock more pieces that are from eco friendly lines. Prices vary widely from t-shirts at around $25 to dresses at $475 and everything in between. Lots more photos of the cool interior after the jump. (more…)

Neat Neighborhood Find: El West

By Prince Of Petworth

The following post was written by our intern in Mt. Pleasant – Tina.

If you live in Mount Pleasant, you probably know of El West. Maybe you have walked past it on your way to Tonic, maybe you have noticed the ample posteriors of the mannequins in the window, maybe you were fortunate enough to catch their “racy” Valentines Day window display in which a male mannequin was holding pair of lacy panties (presumably belonging to one of those mannequin ladies), or maybe you’ve gone there in search of jeans, cowboy boots, belt buckles, leather goods, men’s every day clothes, or some women’s club attire – all of which El West offers in bountiful supply

DEKKA Grand Opening

By Prince Of Petworth

I stopped by DEKKA located at 1338 U Street on the second floor this past Saturday. The place was smashed so I, unfortunately, didn’t get to speak with the owner but from their Web site they describe themselves as “a store in the heart of U” featuring fashion, art, and music from primarily local talent. It is the first and only such Co-Op in DC.” Pretty cool. Unfortunately the place was so crowded I was unable to get a good look at the offerings. However the place was also filled with beautiful models, so that was nice. I’ll go back when it is less crowded to do a proper profile. In the meantime check out some photos of art, the crowd and some more beautiful models after the jump.  Although now that I think about it there  seems to be something forced , you know not genuine, about paying models to attend your opening.  What are your thoughts on models who are paid to attend  grand openings? (more…)

Neat Neighborhood Find For The Ladies: Moojoo Ken

By Prince Of Petworth

This is the next in the series of my walking past shops dozens of times before actually entering. Moojoo Ken means unconditional in Japanese but on 14th Street it means a pretty cool store. They design their own shoes, scarves, handbags, jewelry and more. As my knowledge of women’s boutiques is pretty limited the ladies will have to check it out and let us know what the verdict is.  Located at 1512 U Street make sure you walk up a flight of stairs to enter the shop. Some more photos after the jump. (more…)

Neat Neighborhood Find: RCKNDY

By Prince Of Petworth

It’s pronounced rock candy. I never would have got it on my own. Anyway, this is another one of the stores that I always walk by but never stop in. As many of you know I’m a huge fan of the word sweet, so when I saw “sweet decor” I had to check it out. It is located at 1515 U Street and opened up last June. I knew I made the right move checking it out when I walked in and the first thing I found were pigs for sale! So I spoke with owner, David Dennis, who actually lives in Petworth about the store. Dennis describes the store as “modern, colorful and we don’t take ourselves too seriously yet everything’s functional.” He chose to open the store in the U Street neighborhood because he wanted to be a part of a neighborhood that was “eclectic, like me”, he said. He came up with the name RCKNDY because “rock candy is colorful, bright and comes in a variety of flavors and has a little bit of an edge to it and that’s what the store’s all about.” If you are in the market for some sweet decor I highly recommend you check it out. Lots of photos after the jump, including the pigs of course. (more…)

Neat Neighborhood Find: Eco-Green Living

By Prince Of Petworth

Well, Church Street has turned out to be a pretty cool street. How come nobody told me earlier? Eco-Green living is located at 1469 Church Street. The store offers, you guessed it, eco-green living options. You can get organic coffee, organic clothes, eco-countertops, bamboo floors, eco-insulation, some pretty nice eco-toilets and lots more. Check out more photos after the jump. (more…)

Garden District Opens Second Store

By Prince Of Petworth

Did anyone know about this? I just happened to walk it by it and I was able to speak with owner, Joe Carmack, at the original store (open for 7 years) up the block at 1801 14th Street. This new location is located right at the corner of 14th and Church just a few blocks south. Carmack told me that the new store will focus on interior gardening while the original store will continue to focus on exterior gardening. The new space will feature items to decorate inside homes as well as for “outdoor rooms”. In addition to indoor plants and accessories there will also be plant based products such as candles with plant scents. Other options to be featured include picnicking items and other gifts for garden enthusiasts. Carmack says “there are always lots of people moving to new places in DC and garden items make great gifts!”. The store is currently open although when I peeked inside there was still some arranging going on. After the jump you can see a photo of the inside space. (more…)

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