Shopping in View Park-Windsor Hills

When Stephanie Elhayani answered a help-wanted sign at her neighborhood flower shop as a high-school sophomore, she hardly imagined that floral arrangements would become her life's work. Several years and scores of bouquets later, Stephanie’s Seed Floral Couture artfully nestles local and organic blossoms into unique vessels-—such as teacups, wooden boxes, and overturned tricorn hats—to celebrate weddings, parties, and other special events. Custom centerpieces and tablescapes situate objects such as coral and fruit amid lush bouquets of orchids, hydrangeas, dahlias, and chrysanthemums. The boutique also hosts a series of classes designed to equip novice florists with a wealth of firsthand botanical knowledge. Lessons cover the vast spectrum of seasonal blooms, review complimentary colors and species, and demonstrate how to fend off jealous honeybees in a relaxed classroom setting.

Hossein Silani began a legacy when he opened his first eye-care facility in Beverly Hills more than 30 years ago. Today, he operates multiple stores with his sons, Kambiz and Kamran, including Super Vision Optical, a Beverly Hills eyewear staple for more than 60 years. Rows of modern frames from Gucci, Armani, and Carrera line the shop’s shelves and contrast with vintage aviators from Ray-Ban, which invite patrons to switch their cell phones to flight mode before they try on a pair. To ensure that frames fit both faces and prescriptions, the dynamic optometrist duo of Dr. Bita Shokouh and Dr. Tina Patel performs eye exams, as well as more advanced procedures such as LASIK vision correction, sports vision testing, and glaucoma treatments.

Born after founder and clothing designer Renee Claire recognized a need for well-tailored sleepwear, BedHead Pajamas fills online and boutique stores with evening accouterment and accessories for children, teens, and adults. Men's and women's cotton-knit and flannel pajama sets vie for the attention of balloons craving static charges alongside loungewear, underwear, and robes. Many garments bear animal prints and seasonal designs, and print patterns by guest artists serve as camouflage during games of hide-and-seek in high-class paint stores. On gleefully crowded shelves, accessories such as candles and hot water bottles beg to complement bedroom décor and lure in the aloof sandman. Bedhead's boutique locations feature playful window displays and outdoor gardens, and the company works with charities including Inner-City Arts and Esperanza, a nonprofit benefitting communities and workers in the garment industry.

Since lighting its first candlewicks in Berkeley in the 1960s, Stone Candles has crafted a colorful array of bright-hued and delicately scented candles. In the shop’s new Culver City location, Stone’s father-son team imbues candle pillars and wax-free luminaries, with scents ranging from cucumber-melon and red currant to jasmine and vanilla. Here, you can find candles ranging in size from hefty 6-by-12 inches to petite 3-by-3’s, an ideal size for illuminating one’s miniature model of Thomas Edison’s house.

The shop’s special environmentally sustainable COCO candle collection comes in pleasant scents such as gardenia, green tea and fig, and lavender. Pick up one of the shop’s candle holders, hewn from slices of ebony wood or slices of agate, to help display individual candles.

Just like the organism from which it takes its name, Amoeba Music’s stock of tunes has no definite form. At each location, expert music gurus amass thousands of new and used CDs and LPs from the most mainstream artists to the most obscure underground bands around. LPs, posters, and memorabilia surround the musical inventory, which, like Ringo Starr’s pants, changes every day. Amoeba buys goods from customers, meaning that on any given day the store might usher in a rare vinyl LP, DVD, VHS, or even LaserDisc. Visitors can sign up for any number of contests while admiring Amoeba’s enduring dedication to its green practices and community outreach. Amoeba couples its huge selection of entertainment with visits from the artists themselves, welcoming past guests such as Paul McCartney, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords, and Elvis Costello to play in-store.

The fashion aficionados at Sportie LA San Diego stock exclusive sneakers and threads in rare and hard to find styles and colors from brands such as Adidas, Clarks, Asics, Fila, Lacoste, Puma, and Sperry Top Sider. Their cache of cool clothes extends to items such as select track jackets, old-school flat-bill hats, and retro wear such as fedoras and suspenders that keep shoelaces from dragging.