Photography By Vince Lupo
All Buckled Up
The Silver Buckle owners, native North Easters and sisters Lauri Crothers and Kathy Jamison, stock their shop with a wide selection of unusual, one-of-a-kind items, like Bootie Bags, handbags made from the, um, derriere portion of blue jeans ($75-$130), complete with belts. I also like locally made chenille ponchos ($70), burnt velvet hobo bags, belts, and Pandora jewelry, a modern-day take on charm bracelets made with beads. Husbands rejoice over the for-anyone (including wives) store gift registry; it’s not just for weddings anymore. 120 S. Main St. 410-287-8821.
Dennis, Not a Menace
Gary Dennis Antiques is a small shop, but it’s filled to the brim with merchandise, mostly small household goods, all very neatly arranged. I browse a cabinet of pink Depression glass and another with green versions of the same bowls, plates, and cups. Tidy boxes of sheet music rest next to vintage postcards in an old bookcase; a pitcher holds nearly every size of knitting needle imaginable. And near the front of the store are small stone statues, some original, some reproductions. 101 S. Main St. 410-287-5711.
A North East Classic
I head to the venerable Woody’s Crab House for lunch, still chock-full at 2:30 on a weekday with families, buddies catching up over a beer, and retirees starting dinner. This is a friendly establishment—peanut shells cover the floor—which serves up a mean clam strip basket and other goodies from the sea. 29 S. Main St. 410-287-3411.
Basket Case
Day Basket Factory is slightly off of the main walking drag. When you’ve made oak baskets by hand since 1876, you ought to be able to show off a little, and shoppers can watch as the shop’s artisans plane oak boards and weave bread and sewing baskets, available in the gift shop at $23-$143. These days, owner Robert Friedrichs looks beyond the corporate market (like Campbell’s Soup, which bought thousands in the fifties) to the historic; his baskets are on display at the White House and used at Mount Vernon. Yet he perseveres with this specialized art: “Making baskets is about the most demanding thing you can do with a piece of wood,” he says. 714 S. Main St. 410-287-6100.
The Right Touch—and Price
The scent of incense and an annoying New Age rendition of Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence” greet me as I enter Victoria’s Touch. Normally, this combination would send me packing, but I’m drawn to a pale green embroidered wall-hanging near the back of the store, a sort of sub-continent-inspired take on a crazy quilt. Made in India, the piece is beautiful and…is $11.95. A bargain! In the same corner, I find conical-shaped lamp shades, Asian-themed handbags in snazzy prints, and a fabulous Arts and Craftsstyled wool floral rug (only $65). Store owner Rondi Kammerer says of her eclectic inventory: “It’s whatever I like.” She can choose for me any day. 39 S. Main St. 410-287-8432.
Up the Creek
Meredith Leopold’s Saffron Creek defines what a good gift store ought to be. Although she carries the mainstays—soaps, greeting cards, and linens—Leopold has a keen eye for the fine and uncommon. Her soaps are hand-milled in scents like rhubarb and linden; the GoGirl greeting cards sport photos of “real people” (funnies like the 1940s woman holding a rolling pin over a kneeling man); and funky knit scarves made by her mother’s best friend ($25-$30). “I look for items that are handmade or from smaller companies,” Leopold explains. “I love to meet the artists and then find out they started out in a garage.” 19 S. Main St. 410-287-0400.
