Shopping in St. Catharines

Linda Van Buskirk and Dorathy Gallo, the jewelry-making duo behind Beaded Finery, ornament wardrobes with eye-catching accouterments and edify students with the skills to do the same. The talented ladies incorporate glass beads, Swarovski crystals, and semiprecious stones into a lengthy list of handcrafted products that range from draping necklaces and moroccan-tile bracelets to satin handbags. A rotating schedule of classes instills amateur jewelers with the bead-stringing and clasping skills needed to express their style through colorful, sparkly accessories similar to those populating Linda and Dorathy’s shop. Each functional item is forged in Beaded Finery's private studio, ensuring one-of-a-kind craftsmanship and a safe place to vent one’s anger at the lack of crystal-encrusted medals presented at the Olympics.

Mattress Mattress of WNY Inc. promotes sweet dreams with a gallery of quality sleeping surfaces. Mattresses from top brands such as Sealy and Stearns & Foster come outfitted with features such as an extra-firm feel, Posturepedic pillow-tops, and pre-inserted peas to determine the legitimacy of a supposed princess.

Each edition of the award-winning Buffalo Spree magazine delivers a full month of event calendars, local feature stories, and articles showcasing art, design, and culture across Western New York. Dining guides highlight the best local eateries, and profiles of the area's movers and shakers introduce notable businesspeople and do-gooders. Shopping guides and reviews of designers and stylists keep readers up to date on the latest trends. Home and garden coverage bores a peephole into area abodes through photographic tours of residential interiors, exteriors, and laundry rooms.

When it comes to using fashion as a way to illustrate personality, Peach Berserk owner Kingi believes people can push their creativity further. At her fabric and fashion showroom, she designs prints, makes silkscreens, and hand-paints fabrics, which anyone can use to commission custom clothing cut and sewn on-site. Kingi’s silk party dresses are among her most popular pieces, which range from retro-inspired styles such as the Ladies Who Lunch cocktail dress to the all-out glam of the floor-length Glamour Girl. She also encourages clients to embrace their own creative energies—during her silkscreen workshops, you can learn to print an original design on tees, fabric, each other’s faces, and of course, dresses.

After years sewing funky, girly clothing for her young daughter, Lisa Jamieson began to sell her creations online, founding the business that would become The Tutu Boutik. Colorful leg warmers, flowered headbands, and the boutique's namesake tutus line shelves and fill racks throughout the boutique's pink and zebra-striped space inside the Boulevard Mall. A licensed cosmetologist, Jamieson also makes over petite patrons' hair, faces, and nails alongside staff in the spa, forgoing techniques such as cuticle trimming that might be unsafe for tiny digits. A make-your-own-lip-gloss station grants visitors the chance to craft their own sparkly solutions, and a pink catwalk mural encourages two-dimensional guests to work the runway.

Cyclemotive houses an expansive stock of bicycles from brands such as Giant, Raleigh, and Electra, as well as gear and accessories. Its racks of products include helmets from Bern and Louis Garneau, gloves from Dakine, and saddles from Brooks, all awaiting the chance to feel the wind rush over them as their owners' cycles speed down city streets or over rocky trails. Transports in need of mechanical TLC find solace in the expert hands of an on-staff technician, who gladly lubricates moving parts and tightens loose bolts to prevent riders from accidentally unicycling.