Shopping in Scottsdale

Get the message off your chest and onto it with today’s Groupon. For $15, you’ll get $35 toward create-your-own design services at Brand X Custom T-Shirts, a personalized t-shirt company with endless font, shirt, and graphic customization. Prices start at around $20 for a shirt and design, and go up to $35 depending on the style of the shirt. Use your Groupon to pay for one shirt and part of another, or cover the cost of one of the highest-quality options.

To give your home a forested, prehistoric feel, a well-placed five-gallon hibiscus ($25) provides an affordable alternative to renting dozens of velociraptors. Pick up a five-gallon bougainvillea or a 15-gallon young sissoo, mesquite, or ficus tree ($70) to establish a wood-based clique unseen since roving gangs of marionettes ruled the streets. Complete the yard with a one-gallon asparagus fern ($5).

The company's 8,000-square-foot space brims with apparel and accessories by more than 80 designer brands, including 7 For All Mankind, True Religion, and Big Star. New inventory arrives daily, replenishing racks with classic, casual clothing as well as on-trend attire bedecked in freshly inked timestamps.

Family-friendly amenities and helpful employees help the shop keep its high-fashion stock accessible. Throughout the store, staff members stand ready to recommend fits and styles that complement each customer's body type. Eight dressing rooms invite visitors to slip into a pair of jeans, and the walk-in mirror room allows them to inspect the fit from every possible angle. To make shopping easier for parents, the boutique also features a play area where children can entertain themselves while their parents shop.

Countless repairs and home-remodeling projects can undoubtedly trace their lineage back to Paul's Ace Hardware, which began doling out DIY equipment and home-improvement supplies in 1956. Founded by Paul E. Dauwalder, the shop quickly expanded from its original 1,800-square-foot space, branching out to five shops that now operate beneath the expert eye of Paul's granddaughter. Cleaning products, outdoor equipment, and pool supplies are just a fragment of the stores' inventory, with power tools awaiting steady hands, fishing gear beckoning lake dwellers, and building materials—including the Tempe location's 56,000 square feet of lumber—standing poised and ready to be assembled into dams by handy beavers. Still in the city of its founding, the Scottsdale location has moved and upgraded to its own building.

In 1975, Jay Kogan's parents opened up a store that was literally a hall of frames—just a small store stacked with thousands of frames. At the time, they had no idea that that tiny corridor would expand to 12 locations throughout the greater Phoenix area, all still run by the Kogan family. Today, their shops have more than 4,500 custom frame options along with mats of all colors and textures, as well as seven glazing choices and expert assembly. They can answer framing questions and frame everything from documents and artwork to posters and small 3-D objects such as sports memorabilia and very still grandmothers.

When they custom-produce frames, the family cuts their mats exactly, miters frame corners precisely, and installs flawless glass. Or, since the stores' walls are lined with ready-made frames, customers can walk in and find what they're looking for quickly. Since installing framed art is an art unto itself, they also offer hanging services with an eye for placement and ability to install in difficult spaces.

The mechanics of Bikes Direct and Bike Masters treat cycles to the repairs and tune-ups that keep life rolling along. They also pair riders with brand-specific bike clothing and accessories such as carriages that give kids, dogs, or stuffed animal collections a place to ride with you. Their armada of bikes spans all cycling varieties, helping customers begin their two-wheeled adventures on bikes ranging from mountain and road to BMX and beach cruisers. Anyone who purchases one of these rides also pedals away with lifetime complimentary tune-ups, a 30-day price match guarantee, and a basic bike fitting.