Oil and Vinegar Tasting Rooms Arrive in NOVA

Olio–1223 King St, Alexandria, (703) 299-3004

Ah love Oil and Vinegar—The Village at Shirlington, 4017B Campbell Avenue, Arlington (703) 820-2210

If you are looking for an under $20 gift for the Secret Santa exchange in your office or a safe bet gift for anyone who likes to cook, head to one of the two tasting rooms in northern Virginia for a bottle or gift set of high quality olive oil or balsamic vinegar. Ah love Oil and Vinegar in Shirlington Village in Arlington and Olio in Old Town Alexandria offer huge selections of both. Each shop is a tasting room, filled with silver urns of olive oils from Mediterranean countries in flavors such as garlic, lemon, and rosemary. Perhaps more popular than the oil are the Balsamic vinegar–sweeter than the product you might buy at the grocery store–and all available for tasting in little paper cups or on bread cubes. Most bottles are around $16.99, and a gift set of four small bottles is about $20. The two shops are unrelated to each other, but are equally appealing. Both offer tastings and special events.

Jackson Ward in Richmond a Vital Mix of Old and New Shops

The October 28 New York Times travel section featured an article “Harlem of South” Revived in Richmond, Va, by Julie Besonen, about the comeback of Jackson Ward and restoration of the Hippodrome Theatre in Richmond. Only a mile from the state capitol building, the Jackson Ward area is a hodgepoge of hip boutiques and shops, restaurants, and galleries by day, but not a safe place to be at night. Hopefully that dangerous rep will change with the Hippodrome opening. Jackson Ward is one of the downtown areas to to host First Fridays Art Walk, a once monthly event celebrating Richmond’s art and cultural scene. For a city its size, Richmond has a thriving art and music scene, largely because Virginia Commonweatlh University has a strong School of the Arts. We recently visited a couple of galleries/shops on Broad Street. Quirk, in Midtown Richmond at 311 Main has an impressive array of artistic and practical items, from handcrafted jewelry and scarves to funky sunglasses and nesting dolls, books, and children’s toys. Another interesting place to shop is Turnstyle, defined by its Web site as a store with a mission “to promote the music and lifestyle of the underground dance music movement.” Turnstyle actually sells turnstiles and a limited array of vinyl records, along with streetwear for both men and women. Designers include Manhattan Portage, ESDJCO, and a couple of Virginia-based artists–Virginia Beach’s Restless Bodies and Richmond Tattoo artist Jesse Smith Designs.

Featured Article: Old School Guitar and Amp Shop Near Charlottesville, VA

Check out this article by David Maurer from the The Daily Progress.

http://www2.dailyprogress.com/lifestyles/2011/oct/09/shop-stays-tune-musicians-ar-1367038/

Although this shop is near Charlottesville, there is no scarcity of music stores in the metro DC area. Foxes Music is the go-to shop for sheet music in Virginia and Dale Music is the place music teachers recommend in Maryland. For wind instruments the metro area is lucky to have Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center, a destination store for the entire east coast (for price and variety). String players all seem to know about two old established places: In Virginia, for 45 years, Brobst Violin has been a family owned destination store for string players. In Maryland, The Potter Violin Company in Bethesda, claims to be “the largest purveyor of bowed stringed instruments in the mid-Atlantic region.”

In addition to theses old standbys, Metro DC has some interesting small specialty music stores: Guitar players hang out at Atomic Music , which buys and sells used musical instruments, mostly guitars, amps, and equipment. It has two locations–Beltsville and Rockville–but the Beltsville store is much larger.

Another well-known store in the area is The House of Musical Traditions in Tacoma Park, MD, which has “exotic, unusual, and vintage instruments” and is so cool it’s worth a trip to Tacoma Park.

While I have don’t have firsthand knowledge of the following, these shops currently are on my radar:
The Guitar Shop on Dupont Circle, a bass player, says it’s hit or miss for basses but “guitar players seem to love it.”
The guitar Gallery in DC.
Middle C Music, a traditional community store that offers lessons, instruments, sheet music, instrument repair, and touts itself as “the only full-service music store in DC.”

Visa, MasterCard risk mom-and-pop ire with debit fee increase

By Dakin Campbell and Donal Griffin, Bloomberg News
Posted Sept. 27, 2011, at 8:15 a.m.
Last modified Sept. 27, 2011, at 1:18 p.m.

Visa, MasterCard risk mom-and-pop ire with debit fee increase

Made in America Resource Guide: Where to Find American Companies? – ABC News

Made in America Resource Guide: Where to Find American Companies? – ABC News.

I was going to create a resource page for goods made in America but Diane Sawyer and the ABC World News team has made a terrific directory and interactive map that I could never outdo!

Disappearing Mom-and-Pops in New York City

Check out this blurb by Aimee Grath at Business Insider
Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York a collection of photos by James and Karl Murray

Union Station Renovation Forces Small Businesses to Move or Close

Check out this excellent article, Small Businesses Feeling Squeezed at Union Station, by Theresa Vargas in the Sept. 12, 2012, Metro section of The Washington Post. Yet more independent stores being pushed out by chains or franchises.

Finding independent stores is an adventure

Shopping in independent stores in not only about shopping. It’s about discovering neighborhoods, architecture, street musicians, and people watching. It’s about finding a unique gift for a friend and discovering a new restaurant, bakery, or ice cream parlor in the process. And almost always, it’s about a store owner with a story–someone who maybe gave up a career as a lawyer or accountant to sell something he or she feels passionate about. Welcome to this website