Wine and finds on boutique row
BURLINGTON, VT. --The magnet here is lively Church Street, a pedestrian walkway with the usual chain stores. But go one block west -- to St. Paul Street -- and it's a whole different scene. This row of boutiques is alive with character and individuality, and most are locally owned.
The Hempest is a hip college shop with everything from $67 sneakers and $59 jeans to $12 lipsticks, and one caveat: All of it contains cannabis hemp, a plant that is illegal to grow but not to import in the form of ready-made goods. A surprise (and an exception to the rule) is the delicate glass jewelry: $20 rings, pendants, and transparent $50 arm bracelets. (137 St. Paul St.; 802-658-4449; www.hempest.com. Daily except Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.)
Next door is Wine Works, a boutique wine store and tasting bar that stocks everything from an oaky-flavored $10 Ermitage de Pic St. Loup red to a $15 Chapel Hill Australian cabernet sauvignon, plus nifty racks, corkscrews, and sleek $7 crystal ball stoppers. The adjacent wine bar, which opens at 4:30 (except on Sundays), is a good place to reward yourself after a hard day of shopping. (133 Saint Paul St.; 802-951-9463; www.wineworks.net. Monday to Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-7.)
The next shop up is Jazza Tings, a trove of African arts: $50 gourd tambourines from Mali, $22 Ghanaian fertility dolls, $10 Zulu baskets, sensational African music on CDs, and South African bowls woven from colorful telephone wire. Owner Thembie Gamache hails from Swaziland; most of the artisans are also her friends. (131 St. Paul St.; 802-860-1894. Monday to Friday 11-6, Saturday 10-5, Sunday noon-4.)
For more art, go next door to Silver Maple Editions, a print store focused on modern art, from abstract expressionism to European classics. This is the place for top-of-the-line greeting cards and aesthetic gifts, like a $13 Mark Rothko calendar, a $23 dragonfly paperweight, and stationery on the theme of Andy Warhol's shoes. (129 St. Paul St.; 802-865-0133; www.silvermapleart.com. Monday 10-5, Tuesday to Thursday 10-6, Friday 10-7, Saturday 10-5, and Sunday noon-5.)
At the end of the block, turn left onto College Street and walk half a block to Bennington Potters North, a three-story home furnishings store teeming with tempting housewares, from Italian-made olive oil body butter for $10.95 to a tin-fronted jelly cabinet for $329. Head downstairs for the signature pottery and the sale corner, where unique finds can be had half price. (127 College St.; 802-863-2221; www.benningtonpotters.com. Monday to Thursday 10-6, Friday 10-9, Saturday 10-6, Sunday 11-5.)
When you're done, backtrack to St. Paul Street and follow it south past Maine Street one block to The Courtyard Collection for gorgeous Italian majolica. The $50 dinner plates and $189 vases are hand-painted in Umbria, Tuscany, and Sicily. And there's more: French and Portuguese pottery, French linens, Venetian glassware, cast iron accessories, and Shaker-style furniture crafted locally from cherry. (171 St. Paul St.; 802-660-0888; www.courtyardcollection.com. Daily except Sunday, 10-5.)
To get to St. Paul Street, take exit 14W from Interstate 89. Follow Main Street downhill toward Lake Champlain until you reach the business district. St. Paul Street is next to Church Street. Coming north on Route 7, follow it to the rotary. Veer left when the road splits, and you are on St. Paul Street. Follow it to Main Street. 