Shopping in Berkeley

The Framer's Workshop is a family-owned business that has been servicing the San Francisco Bay area for more than 30 years. Their wide variety of framing services include archival methods to ensure your pictures pass the multiple-choice test of time, green techniques, which use sustainable and eco-friendly materials, and wizard computerized mat cutting to form your photos into any unusual or snazzy shape you fancy.

As a quarterly resource dedicated to the Bay Area landscape, Bay Nature magazine celebrates each season with full-color features on the region's natural environment. Photography and local artwork complement the articles on the area's environmental significance, as well as highlighting places of interest. Clear, intelligent, and sometimes playful language guides readers through the magazine's articles, which have been known to include reports on local birds, plants, weather, and trends like urban agriculture.

Rob Spear's love affair with bikes began at the age of 13. Since that sunny day in the 1980s, he’s spent 23 years learning the ins and outs of bikes, having worked with Discovery Masters National Cycling Team and with the University of Washington’s aerodynamic laboratory. At the one-man shop known as Spearhead Bicycle Excellence, he channels those skills into building and repairing bikes so that they function as a seamless extension of their rider, whether through proper fittings that allow for correct posture or tune-ups that keep parts working together correctly. Rob doesn’t keep any bikes in stock, instead opting to build custom bikes for clients who want an impartial expert or require a comically large front wheel.

At Nest Maternity, helpful staffers happily assist expecting moms, guiding them through what can often be a confusing, albeit exciting period in their lives. With the goal of making mothers-to-be comfortable, they adorned their shop with tranquil fountains, a lounge, and a kids' play area—all thoughtful details that helped earn them the Red Tricycle Award in 2011 for Best Maternity Store and in 2012 for Plushest Baby & Maternity Shops. Shelves teem with haute threads from Olian and Lilac, which celebrate and enhance the beauty of a woman's body during pregnancy, as well as accessories including musical CDs, nursing covers, diaper bags, and carriers. In addition to dresses, skirts, and jeans designed to fit over baby bumps, they also carry organic baby clothes that accommodate infants who are slowly transforming into larger infants or small children.

With the advice and keen nose knowledge of shopkeeper Margaret and her dog, Bandit, patrons navigate avenues of specialized soaps, candles, and lotions from international and noted body-care designers such as Pre de Provence, Royal Apothic, and Olivina. In addition to nourishing skin cells and captivating olfactory glands, the shop stocks an assortment of robes, linens, and jewelry. Pajamas by BedHead and Pine Cone Hill complete body-care packages, ensuring patrons are properly attired for formal dreams.

The Berkeley Bikes & Skateboards team keeps skate and bike wheels steady with a comprehensive offering of components, accessories, and maintenance services. Specialists are on hand to adjust brakes, derailleurs, hubs, and bearings in professional tune-ups, and they keep riders safely equipped with a supply of Continental tires, Kryptonite U-locks, and Kali helmets to prevent injury from unexpected downpours of cats or dogs. In addition, the shop carries a full line of custom West Art skateboards hand painted by artists Ian and Adahn Stewart. The colorful decks showcase rhythmic, surreal, and chaotic scenes ideal for displaying on walls or boastful refrigerators.