Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
including crafts and games. Particularly good outlets include those at the
Museum of
Fine Arts,
the
Museum of Science,
the
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum,
the
Institute of Contemporary Art,
the
Concord Museum,
and the
Peabody Essex
Museum
in Salem. The online-only merchandise of the
Boston Public Library
(www.bpl.org) incorporates images from the library's vast holdings, including historic
maps, photos, and even sports memorabilia—and you don't have to take up space in
your carry-on to get your souvenirs home.
Aunt Sadie's
Brimming with perhaps the most miscellaneous merchandise in the
South End (which is saying something), Aunt Sadie's started out as a candle shop and
now carries inventive gifts and accessories for home, bath, kitchen, adults, children,
pets, and maybe even your own Aunt Sadie.
18 Union Park St. (off Tremont St.).
&
617/
357-7117.
www.auntsadiesinc.com. T: Orange Line to Back Bay.
Black Ink
The wacky wares here defy categorization, but they all fit comfort-
ably under the umbrella of “oh, cool.” Rubber stamps, stuffed animals, and doll fig-
urines from Japan caught my eye recently; greeting cards, desktop accessories, and
retro toys are equally appealing. Under the same management, the
Museum of Use-
ful Things,
49 Brattle St. (
&
617/576-3322;
www.themut.com), up the street from
the Harvard Square location, is a festival of industrial design for home and office.
101
Charles St.
&
617/723-3883.
www.blackinkboston.com. T: Red Line to Charles/MGH. 5 Brattle St., Cam-
bridge.
&
866/497-1221
or 617/497-1221. T: Red Line to Harvard.
Buckaroo's Mercantile
Proclaiming your business a “pop culture superstore”
might sound like overreaching, but this place delivers. The wild selection of vintage
and retro-style contemporary gifts, home accessories, clothing, and gadgets—there's a
nun candle in my living room, and I have my eye on a mirror with mermaid drawings
arranged around it—changes regularly.
5 Brookline St., Cambridge.
&
617/492-4792.
www.buckmerc.com. T: Red Line to Central.
Copley Flair
Late for a party, unwilling to give the birthday girl an unwrapped
book or resort to the drugstore card aisle
again,
I realized for the umpteenth time how
great these little shops are. Both are crammed with high-quality greeting cards, wrap-
ping paper, ribbons and bows, stationery, and unusual gifts and novelty items.
11 School
St.
&
617/367-7170.
www.copleyflair.com. T: Orange or Blue Line to State. 583 Boylston St.
&
617/247-1648.
T: Green Line to Copley.
Cross
The Rhode Island-based pen company's first retail outlet proves that good
things come in small packages. The tiny store carries a surprisingly large selection of
beautiful stationery and cards, gift items such as journals and picture frames, and
office accessories. Oh, right—pens, too.
Zero Brattle St., Cambridge.
&
617/868-7020.
www.cross.com. T: Red Line to Harvard.
Joie de Vivre
When I'm stumped for a present for a person who has
everything, I head to this delightful little shop, which has been here since 1984. Joie
de Vivre's constantly changing selection of gifts and toys for adults and sophisticated
children is beyond compare. The kaleidoscope collection alone is worth the trip; you'll
also find jewelry, note cards, puzzles, music boxes, clocks, stuffed animals, and even
salt and pepper shakers.
1792 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge.
&
617/864-8188.
www.joiede
vivre.net. T: Red Line to Porter.
Museum of Fine Arts Gift Shop
For those without the time or inclination to
visit the museum, the satellite shop carries posters, prints, cards and stationery, books,
educational toys, scarves, mugs, T-shirts, and reproductions of jewelry in the
Finds
