Shopping in Palm Desert

In a way, Mo Karimi stumbled upon the idea for San Diego Bike Shop. In early 1998, Mo opened a pedi-cab business. At the time, pedi-cabs were starting to be seen as an alternative to cars, buses, and pogo sticks for getting around congested downtown streets. However, as Mo soon found out, there was an even greater demand for bicycle services and parts. So he quickly converted his space into San Diego Bike Shop, connecting with a neighborhood that needed a bicycling business. Ever since then, Mo and his staff have set customers into motion with bicycle sales and rentals, as well as tune-ups, repairs, and friendly, expert advice.

Glasses frames have come a long way from the clunky, squarish black frames that were originally used to punish children for squinting in church. Choice Vision offers a plethora of sophisticated, stylish, and comfortable frames from designer brands such as Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Dior, Gucci, and the guiding light of global fashion, SpongeBob SquarePants. Ladies will find the perfect design to adjective their vocation of choice with "hip," while dudes can score some retro frames that surround their head in a glittering haze of irony. Frames range from $75 to more than $500.

Mission Hills Nursery draws from a long tradition of horticulture, as it was founded in 1910 by renowned green thumb and urban-green-space advocate Kate Sessions. Year after year, rows of roses, shrubs, and vegetables have sprung up under the staff's doting hands and dangled morsels of plant food. A section for gardening accessories equips yard workers with trowels, thorn strippers, and organic fertilizers to motivate crops without scourging them with caustic chemicals. In addition to tending to its plants, Mission Hills Nursery's staff arranges landscapes with garden-design services and teaches clients to arrange their own through gardening classes.

Specializing in outdoor products, Adventure 16 provides daring travelers with a large selection of high-quality apparel and gear that is not only built to last, but also designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Trailblazers can charge confidently through cactus fields or scorpion pits with a pair of durable The North Face Paramount convertible pants ($65), which can be morphed from pants into shorts. Protect built-in binoculars with a pair of Native polarized sunglasses ($89) and further deflect UV rays with a fashionable Tilley Airflo hat ($76). Spelunkers will be glad for the company of a Nalgene Tritan water bottle ($9.50) that keeps thirst quenchers tightly bottled, as well as a Black Diamond Cosmo headlamp ($29.95) to light the way out of any cave, dense rainforest, or haunted house.

Since 1977, Running Center has attested that no one should have to "break in" new shoes. Staff members endeavor to find pairs that suit sprints immediately, adjusting their picks based on the size, width, and pronation—a joint's habit of rotating past a neutral position—of each client's feet. They haven't learned this science simply by training; the employees are all athletes themselves, and they rely on a common passion for fitness rather than a commission goal as they recommend footwear. They help customers avoid injuries by answering questions on the shop's stock and on running in general, addressing common topics such as gait and how to stave off coffee spills on your morning jog.

Specialty shoes range from trail-running sneakers to racing flats and cross-country spikes. With choices from Nike, New Balance, Asics, and other brands, customers can experiment with different support systems that align with their body and lifestyle.

The Art of Framing's skilled craftspeople protect and prolong the life of treasured paintings, photographs, and three-dimensional artifacts by encasing them behind thousands of frame designs. Outside of their standard framing services, technicians also stretch mats and fabrics; heat-mount delicate documents; and mend scratched, chipped, and shrink-rayed framework. More than merely preserving personal collections of photos and posters, The Art of Framing promotes the area's thriving art community, hosting a show once a year as well as selling local artists' work in the gift shop.