Shopping in Arden-Arcade

Since 1976, the environmentally conscious staff at The Futon Shop has stocked futons, furniture, and frames built from chemical-free cotton, natural latex, and hybrid soy foam, among other virtuous ingredients. Cushy mattresses, vibrantly shaded futon covers, and platform beds preserve the earth’s bounty as effectively as they accommodate human bodies and under-the-bed monsters. Homeowners can also illuminate domiciles with eco-friendly Eangee lamps, which have a carbon footprint of nearly zero and are manufactured by workers who earn a living wage. Even little ones can enjoy the environmentalist furnishings by napping on an organic crib mattress nestled in a bunny white baby crib.

Ground Zero Clothing and Boardshop’s adroit staff has been equipping athletes with apparel and gear for skateboarding, snowboarding, and wakeboarding since 1997. Harnessing the style and proven functionality of such top-tier brands as TOMS, Volcom, Nike SB, and Burton, they swathe bodies from head to toe in shoes, jeans, and T-shirts. Their collection of Spy and Electric sunglasses protects peepers from whipping winds, and their skateboard decks by Real and Creature help guests skim across surfaces with the speed of an over-caffeinated zamboni operator. Though their selection of boards and accessories rotates frequently, they typically have skimboards, wakeboards, and snowboards in stock to help their guests defy gravity in style. Additionally, skilled staff members recalibrate scuffed boards or grant patrons a chance to test pilot new ways to commute to work with their equipment repair and rental services.

Launched more than three decades ago, Site for Sore Eyes now operates to more than 40 showrooms throughout the Bay Area. Staffers at every location share their dedication when pairing customers with head-turning eyewear and contacts. The company secures all of its products with a warranty, replacing broken frames for free and furnishing half-price replacements for glasses that are lost, stolen, or transformed into an acorn squash. In case eyes require prescription tweaks, each shop sits next door to California-licensed Sterling VisionCare doctors of optometry.

With locations in 10 states across America, Stanton Optical helps clients from Georgia to California achieve better vision with prescription glasses, sunglasses, and contacts. Its shelves are stocked with more than 3,000 frames and sunglasses from high-end brands, including Coach, Calvin Klein, and Armani. Full-service onsite labs help optometrists immediately craft glasses and clone monocles without the delay of sending eyewear elsewhere.

Since 1972, Exotic Plants has encouraged locals to improve their interior air and go green with potted plants. The business stocks a range of low-maintenance plants that thrive indoors, including palms, succulents, cacti, and evergreen chia heads. Since other plants, such as orchids and bonsais, can require a bit more effort, the store holds plant-care workshops and even makes house and office calls to keep plants well maintained. The staff helps indecisive owners select plants during design consultations, and the store offers a selection of plants and blooms for short-term event rental. As Exotic Plants also carries bright pots and natural fertilizer made with Icelandic sea kelp, customers can grab everything they need to help their leafy, spiky, and persnickety friends flourish.

“I enjoy having the opportunity to enlighten the community about the joys and wonders of art,” says Helen Jones, speaking of the eclectic gallery she curates. Here, one might find a handmade bronze frog sculpture sitting beside a post-impressionistic-style Californian landscape. The broad aesthetic range of original paintings, giclée prints, and sculptures she has assembled inspires not only the art aficionado but the everyman as well. Humor, for instance, is the hallmark of her Donald Roller Wilson prints, and the original oil paintings of Luigi Stefano Cannelli are rife with Renaissance-era allegory such as birds and really important babies. Helen's gallery also features services that help works of art survive, including custom framing, giclée printing, and photo restoration.