Shops to Swoon Over

Unique Gift Ideas from Small Businesses

Local Shopkeepers Share Their Favorites Right Now

Online shopping may be convenient, but it can never fully replace the experience of being in a thoughtfully curated store where you can see and touch items up close, chat with friendly staff, and learn the story behind unique products. Seattle Southside is home to some charming boutiques, which stock high-quality artisanal goods that make wonderful gifts (or treats for yourself). We spoke to the owners and buyers of three shops in Seattle Southside about some of their favorite items on their shelves right now.

Vivero Zenith Holland
Marina Mercantil
Iris y Peonía

Zenith Holland Nursery

Jennifer, the buyer at Zenith Holland Nursery in Des Moines, loves stocking items made by small artisans and makers. The items she picks out for the gift shop include far more than gardening accessories (though there are plenty of those, too). You'll find everything from apparel and accessories to luxury home goods and decor to toys and baby items. She's also enthusiastic about helping people in the store and was happy to show us some items she loves that they tend to have year-round.

Stoll & Heart jewelry is handmade and curated in Seattle. Zenith stocks dozens of the brand's unique earrings, some delicate and dangling, some neutral and geometric, and some bright and beaded. The simplistic, elegant designs incorporate natural materials such as nickel-free brass and wood.

Pictured: Stoll & Heart earings at Zenith Holland Nursery

Will Leather Goods, a family-owned company based in Eugene, Oregon, makes a wide variety of luxury leather goods, including gender-neutral bags and wallets. Jennifer loves how soft and supple the leather is, as well as the fact the company offers a lifetime guarantee on products if you need to send something in for repair. The family-owned and operated company works with artisans worldwide to incorporate hand-woven textiles into some of its designs, which you can also find at Zenith.

Pictured: A bag made by Will Leather Goods at Zenith Holland Nursery

Marina Mercantil

It's hard to choose one or even a few items to feature at Des Moines' Marina Mercantile, as the store is stocked with so many beautiful items, including locally made goods and specialty food items imported from Europe and other places across the globe. It's an easy choice if you want to impress a foodie in your life, but there are some select home goods as well. Brenda Sutherland, who founded the shop in 2022 with her husband, showed us some of her favorite items.

Like Sutherland's store, Seattle Candle Company is a husband-and-wife operation born out of a passion project. The couple who runs it was looking for a way to give loved ones beautiful gifts on a budget, so they started making candles in their kitchen in downtown Seattle. Today, their line of luxury candles are a successful business, but they still make them in small batches in their studio in Seattle, using perfume-grade fragrance oils, 100% US-grown soy wax, coconut oil, and cotton and paper wicks. Their products are also free of dyes, parabens, and phthalates.

Pictured: Seattle Candle Company candles at Marina Mercantile

Tinned fish might not seem like an obvious gift choice, but when you see the shelves at Marina Mercantile, you'll suddenly want to buy ten. The colorful, beautifully packaged tins of gourmet seafood imported from across the globe would make delightful host gifts or stocking stuffers, especially for those who love a good artisanal food product they haven't seen in a typical grocery store. There are tins of squid ink, cod, sardines, and more. Sutherland loves the items they stock from Wildfish Cannery in Klawock, Alaska. The Pacific Cod Pepperonata contains fish cooked in a rich, aromatic sauce of roasted red peppers, tomato, onions, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and anchovies. Toss it onto plain pasta, and presto, you have a gourmet dinner on the table.

Pictured: Brenda Sutherland, owner of Marina Mercantile, holds a tin of Pacific Cod from Wildfish Cannery

Iris y Peonía

Iris & Peony has long had a reputation as one of the finest florists and gift shops in Seattle Southside. They recently relocated to downtown Des Moines, behind Marina Mercantile. The shop is filled to the brim with luxury seasonal decor that's fully turned over and restocked before major holidays. As far as items they tend to have all the time, owner Robyn Desimone points to one of their most popular gift items: luxury candles and skincare from Lucia, a small business in Montreal. In addition to using natural ingredients, the products have beautiful packaging, making them an eye-catching, elegant gift for the holidays, Mother's Day, or any occasion.

Pictured: Lucia candles and skincare at Iris & Peony in downtown Des Moines

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