Shopping in BloomingtonMn

Scrawled across shirts, pint glasses, and stationery, 30 Watt's collection of humorous quips and phrases elicit laughs by playing to the cynics inside all of us. Someecards' distinctive greeting cards feature pencil drawings of genteel men and women declaring such truisms as "If we were snow monkeys, I'd pick dead skin and insects off your fur even if I wasn't looking for a mate." These offbeat sentiments also grace pint glasses, mugs, and holiday cards featuring apathetic santas. 30 Watt rounds out its eclectic offerings with hats, shirts, and apparel for the golf course that might not fit every country club's dress code.

The gem gurus at EverGreene Jewelers have dispensed, crafted, and repaired an abundant array of jewelry out of fine gold and silver, pearls, and diamonds for more than 27 years. Past the building’s green awning, adornment aficionados individually guide patrons through EverGreene Jewelers’ collection of chunky, multicolored Rebecca rings, hand-assembled Citizen Watches, and Tin Cup pearl pendants, made popular by Renee Russo’s breakout role as the necklace in the movie Tin Cup. Bauble beautifiers spruce up jewels during complimentary cleanings, an award-winning jewelry artist fashions personalized accouterments at the in-house shop, and a certified gemologist inspects patrons' pieces during appraisals. Visitors to EverGreene Jewelers can also swap pieces of unwanted silver or gold in exchange for cash or kiddie pools filled with Ring Pops.

For more than 50 years, Tonka Cycle and Ski has paired bikers, skiers, and winter athletes of all stripes with equipment and maintenance services. The shop's team members not only specialize in equipping customers with properly fitting apparel, they also fine-tune skis and cycles to suit individual needs. With a Montana Stone Grinder, the specialists flatten and structure the base of each ski and snowboard before hand-beveling each edge. Bicycle-maintenance services provide two-wheeled steeds with similar care, along with a level of service perfected during the shop's initial years as Tonka Schwinn in Glen Lake. In addition to carrying new items from select manufacturers, the shop hosts a children's trade-in program for skis and boards that refuse to grow along with their owners.

Since 1976, the staffers at Sports World USA have worked with a dedication as strong as their Minnesotan accents to equip coaches and athletes with the necessities for playing soccer, hockey, baseball, and lacrosse. In addition to supplying competitors of all ages with an expansive stock of athletic gear, they perform custom fittings to ensure a glove-like fit for pads and skates. With their X-Act 5 skate-sharpening system, skaters can select one of five blade depths for enhanced speed, control, and precision when forced into tiebreaking tomato slice-offs. They also offer embroidery and screen-printing services, emblazoning jerseys with custom graphics, names, and numbers to help teams to distinguish themselves from the other troupes named the Spartans and actual Spartans. Further personalizing gear, custom lacrosse stringing is available to accommodate handling preferences.

At Golf USA of Eden Prairie, golf shoes and gear line the walls, and seemingly endless rows of clubs stand like soldiers at the ready. The shop's experienced staffers match golfers with the optimal equipment during personalized club fittings, and employ a computerized swing analysis to provide objective feedback. They can also re-grip or repair clubs bent from too much hacking at interfering pine trees.

On a secluded ranch near the Cotopaxi volcano, the powerful Ecuadorian sun nourishes Las Rosas' rose bushes before they are carefully harvested and shipped to the Minneapolis store. Rare rose varieties, grown in the ranch's temperature- and humidity-regulated greenhouses, range from 45 centimeters to six feet in length, so customers can use them to measure a kiddie pool to the depth of a fathom. Their flowery palette in hand, the shop's resident floral artists can craft arrangements or bouquets for weddings, holidays, and other events.