Shopping in Mesa

With more than 300 outlets, Plato's Closet outfits teens and 20-somethings all over North America with trendy recycled apparel. Clothes regularly come in bearing labels from top brands such as Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, Levi, Lucky Brand, Bebe, Forever 21, and Robin Starveling—Shakespeare's favorite tailor. Dresses, jeans, purses, shoes, and tops are current within a year of new trends, and customers can bring in their own threads for cash.

The Stuffington Bear Factory's staff and guests manufacture stuffed animals on-site from scratch, filling the store with plush creations and youthful joviality. Toy companions are crafted from American-made materials and well trained to accept blame for crayon drawings on the living-room wall. Kids choose from a variety of fauna—such as bears, bunnies, horses, and monkeys—from which to expand their plush menageries. Before taking their friends to their new forever homes, tykes engorge their new charges with stuffing and stock their plush pals' wardrobes with T-shirts, dresses, and even Halloween costumes.

For more than 15 years, the staff at Triangles has been outfitting residents of The Valley with on-trend and one-of-a-kind swimwear. A large selection of mix-and-match pieces (A to E cups) ensures clients can customize their suits for the correct top and bottom sizes. A selection of sandals, cover-ups, and dresses complete beach outfits. Triangles also provides specialty garments including belly dancing tops, satin corsets, and flirty holiday outfits.

Manned by a diverse and experienced dive staff, The Scuba Shop hosts scuba classes for all skill levels in a 10,000-square-foot facility that boasts an indoor training pool kept heated to a cozy 90 degrees year-round. There, unseasoned and uncertified divers practice essential skills in a controlled environment before moving into the unpredictable motions of open water or an aboveground pool being carried away by giant ants. In addition to its vast array of training opportunities, The Scuba Shop sells high-quality equipment that divers can use on personal expeditions or on trips the shop organizes to exotic diving destinations.

At Jerry’s Artarama, resident artists draw on personal experience and channel the shop's four decades in business to help create works in nearly any medium. Shelves bravely bear the weight of multitudinous tubes of paint ranging from traditional oil paints made from 150-year-old processes, to easy-to-use acrylic pigments. Artists can wield a Mejillo TruColor palette to serve as a launching pad for paints, or take up PrismaColor colored pencils to add vivid pigmentation to sketches. For more specialized projects, customers can stock up on the store's street-art supplies and screen-printing kits.

Meanwhile, the framing professionals at Jerry’s Artarama navigate a bounty of glass, mats, mounting, and moulding options to personalize the framing of photos, watercolor landscapes, and napping bats. Frame options include the warm whorls of wooden frames as well as silver, black, or gold aluminum frames to complement any work's color scheme.

The Urban Commuter operates under the mantra “Thoughtful Motion,” meaning it gets travelers moving in a manner that is both environmentally friendly and economically sound. The shop specializes in various modes of mindful transportation, including gas- and electric-powered scooters and bicycles. When visitors stop by with a broken scooter, or a bike that has slipped into a chain coma, the shop’s technicians can deliver full-service maintenance, repairs, and several different levels of tune-ups. For do-it-yourselfers, The Urban Commuter also carries a plethora of parts and accessories.