Shopping in Davis

Since its inception in the early 1980s, Underglass Framing has crafted custom frames that have housed pictures, paintings, and even flags. Made up of artists and experienced framers alike, Underglass's staff uses their expert judgment to accent any artwork with custom woodwork, conservation acrylics, or museum-quality frames. Underglass makes decisions easy with mat-board samples and a wide selection of framed examples, and they strive to integrate the work of art into each client's home design, whether it's art deco or an art-deco-giraffe-print fusion.

A native of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, George Georgiou brings classy yet effortless European style to his line of women's clothing, which he conceived three decades ago after a stint in the corporate world. Elegant sheaths and interchangeable tops and bottoms reflect a range of sizes, while eye-catching jewelry transitions a casual ensemble from day to night. Patrons can peruse racks of apparel in eye-popping colors and textiles, bedecked in lace, studs, or buttons that easily create a fissure in the time continuum.

Sunshine International founder and native Colombian Patricia Valencia fills her shop with freshly trimmed flowers ranging from roses to carnations, hydrangeas, and mini callas, all imported from Colombia or Ecuador within 48 hours of being plucked. Flowers start their life cycle at a South American farm, where workers pick them according to the buyer's specific requirements. From there, the plants are stored in a cooler before hopping a cargo plane to Miami and San Francisco, then flagging down a truck for a ride to Sunshine's San Francisco Flower Mart location. Before being sold, workers inspect the flowers to ensure optimum quality and confirm that each bloom is free of stowaway guerrilla bees.

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, co-owner Angie Ansanelli called Treasure Island Flea "an upscale urban marketplace,” adding, “We curate all the vendors." She and her husband Charles devoted two years to scouring the region for unique merchants, including dealers of vintage goods and antiques, local wineries, and gourmet food trucks. It was the natural culmination of a 25-year marriage and business partnership spent manning a string of entertainment and retail shops on Pier 39.

Those early businesses gave way to a line of patriotic sportswear just in time for the 1994 Olympics, an endeavor that ultimately inspired Treasure Island Flea: the pair wanted to market their new duds at an open-air market, but, unable to find one or lift the roof off one of their existing shops, they created their own. Today, Treasure Island Flea harbors finds such as furniture crafted from recycled ship wood, hand-stitched bags, and pinball machines. Breaks in shopping and eating are filled with live music, scavenger hunts, and do-it-yourself workshops.

Sharing a deep passion for the outdoors, the staff at Demo Sport engineers aquatic and alpine fun with an inventory of high-performance sporting equipment for seasons both hot and cold. In the summer months, customers can prepare for riding ocean waves or churning placid lakes into giant whirlpools with standup paddleboards, Suftech and Ronix wakeboards, and accessories such as gloves, boots, and life jackets. Once snow has blanketed nearby peaks, athletes carve the powdery slope atop skis from Rossignol or Völkl and snowboards from Burton and K2, Demo Sport also carries bikes and inline skates, both great methods for exploring urban environments without paying pigeons' outrageous tour prices.

The staff at Windsor Bicycle Center is composed almost entirely of avid cyclists of all backgrounds, from a sales guru with more than 20 years of industry experience to several members of the local racing circuit. As such, the team helps customers navigate the wide assortment of bikes and parts by Cannondale, Electra, Giant, Pearl Izumi, Shimano, and Giro to find the perfect fit for their stature and style. To keep existing bikes in shape, Windsor's mechanics perform services such as complete tune-ups and repairs, which include everything from complete drivetrain cleanings to installing new tires to replace worn-out 12" pizzas.