Washington City Paper D.C Buy Guide 2014

Buy D.C. 2014 Holiday gift ideas for your friends, your lovers, their kids, their pets, and more

By Kaarin Vembar • Photos by Kaarin Vembar • December 5, 2014

Take a walk in almost any D.C. neighborhood, and you’ll find dozens of bars and restaurants—from cozy neighborhood spots to nationally ranked eateries with a line of patrons snaked around the block to elaborately themed cocktail joints—many of them opening faster than you can count.

But retail? Retail is a different story. Even a casual observer of the District’s small-business scene will have noticed that options to buy local are dwindling. (Goodbye, Pulp; goodbye, Nana.) Food is booming in D.C., while the number of boutiques shrinks and box stores and large chains storm the city.

The folks at the helm of small businesses are weathering modern economic tsunamis to stay afloat. Rents are soaring. Postal prices are increasing, which means the price of receiving goods is cutting into profit margins. As large companies merge and cut deals to make products cheaper and cheaper, these owners are taking new action to combat the forces that threaten them with extinction. Many have found that harkening back to craft—to those things that are local, handmade, and personal—plays an essential role in combatting a creeping movement to turn the District into one generic shopping mall.

While curating this guide, I visited more than 100 area stores and, in some cases, got to know the personalities behind the brands. Richard Farino and Grizzly Lambert from Urban Angler spent an hour teaching me the basics of fly fishing. (Then I was shown pictures of their latest catch.) Michael Haft and Harrison Suarez, former Marines who decided to launch Compass Coffee within the District, demonstrate an astonishing attention to detail for the life cycle of their product. I observed the entire staff of City Bikes search for a little girl’s bubble-gum-pink cardigan when she lost it in the store. (They found it.) Shannon Murry from Fine’tique proudly showed me the inscription written on a compass that’s more than 70 years old. Niko and Oana Adamopoulos from The Mediterranean Way Gourmet Market spend three or more months researching every product they carry in their store—the honey on their shelves was chosen because of its superb quality, but also because a small family farm off the coast of Greece supplies it.

This holiday shopping season, consider patronizing some of these local spots. When you’re there, say hello, introduce yourself, and ask questions. You might make some new friends.—K. V.

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