B8 The Boston Globe FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2020 ComfortZone

UNION SQUARE

CRAIG F. WALKER/GLOBE STAFF/FILE

FRUGAL BOOKSTORE BELMONT BOOKS HENRY BEAR’S PARK

ERIN CLARK/GLOBE STAFF/FILE JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF/FILE DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF/FILE

By Kara Baskin Lilah Rose GLOBE CORRESPONDENT Locals love this Melrose spot, his year, it’s even more which is a toy store wonderland as in essential to support A local shopping days of old: shelves brimming with small, independent puzzles, classic games (Parcheesi, T businesses. It’s sooth- anyone?), Calico Critters, and more, ingly mechanical to all with curbside pickup and deliv- click over to Amazon and wait for a ery. www.lilahrosemelrose.com brown box to arrive — but that’s not going to help the thousands of guide for families The Merry Lion families around Boston who’ve This Wakefield shop sells funny poured their hopes into a small kids’ clothing (why not buy a “Pies shop, a tiny studio, a life’s passion. Boston is fortunate to have so much creative talent. Before Guys” sweatshirt for your Shop local isn’t a hashtag; it’s a life- tot?), plus toys like dinosaur play- line. It’s on us to support them this season. dough and gifts for grown-ups too. It’s not just about altruism, ei- www.shopthemerrylion.com ther. These places are genuinely amazing. Handmade bibs, 3-D ear- your gently loved books for store fault/files/diversity-catalog.pdf Nantucket Kids rings straight out of Studio 54, credit. www.book-rack.com Mom of three Andrea Romito thoughtfully curated books, on and QUIRKY & FUN owns this preppy hideout at Hing- on. We live in an area brimming Book Shop of Beverly Farms ham’s Derby Street Shops, your spot with creative people who possess At this 50-plus-year-old shop in a Best of British for matching kid-and-parent paja- outsize talent. Now it’s on us to bright-yellow house, browse by ap- If you have a child who loves tea mas, plaid seersucker bow ties (for support them. pointment, enjoy a curated list of YA more. For the full lineup, see black- parties, Best of British is a must: next year’s parties), and sea-themed In that spirit, here’s a local shop- and younger readers, and snag owned-bos.square.site/s/stories/20 This proper British sip shop in New- toys. www.nantucketkids.com ping guide for families. This list is signed copies. www.bookshopofbev- 20-holiday-collective-at-legacy-place. buryport has authentic imports from by no means exhaustive. It’s a mere erlyfarms.com the United Kingdom and Ireland, Omar’s World of Comics sampling of the wonderful, diverse Holiday Cr[EAT]or from teas to treats to proper table and Hobbies places in our area that local parents Frugal Bookstore at Boston Public Market settings. www.bestofbritishnbpt.com This cheery Lexington shop is run have recommended and loved (me This dynamic independent Rox- Visit BPM this weekend and next by Omar Masood, a young man with included). Have a favorite? Let me bury shop stocks an eclectic list of ti- to browse indie makers: Get hand- Fawn Over Me Down syndrome who absolutely know at [email protected]. tles with an eye to politics, current made baby gear at Knotted by Coco; Handmade baby accessories loves superheroes. His store is filled events, and activism. www.frugal- paintings from Erin Jackson Art crafted by maker Christine Brown in with comics, board games, and trad- BOOKS bookstore.net (proceeds provide feminine supplies her Worcester home studio, from ing cards. www.omarsworldofcom- to those in need); snuggly winter ap- bibs to organic wooden teething ics.com Belmont Books Silver Unicorn parel from Plainview Farm, knitted rings to rattles shaped like hamburg- Can’t find your favorite title? This independent bookshop an- from alpaca fur; and lots more. It’s ers. fawnoverme.squarespace.com Owen + Sage The friendly folks at Belmont Books chors West Acton Center, which is open Friday through Sunday from 10 Shop baby goods curated by local are happy to special-order it for you slowly transforming into a cute a.m. through Dec. 20. www.boston- Henry Bear’s Park mom Sarah Taylor DeHaan at a pop- (and an actual human will e-mail downtown. They offer curbside publicmarket.org Indie toy shops are getting harder up in Natick (Wednesdays through you to update you on shipping!). A pickup, free delivery to certain ZIP and harder to find these days, but Sundays) and at new brick-and-mor- kids’ book club, an in-house cafe, codes, and insightful staff picks. Of Union Square Holiday Stroll Henry Bear’s Park continues to tar Nan’s Market in Stow. The focus and a jam-packed calendar of virtu- note: a deeply curated list for teens. Visit Union Square in Somerville thrive, with locations throughout is on small makers, eco-friendly arti- al events make this shop feel like a www.silverunicornbooks.com on Saturday, Dec. 12, when local suburban Boston and . sans, and brands that give to charity. social and intellectual hub, even storefronts offer promotions and Check out their thoughtful At Home Toys? Bibs? Loungewear for mini-ac- during pandemics. www.belmont- POP-UPS giveaways: gift-making sessions for idea guides designed to stave off stir- tivists? It’s all here. Delivery books.com kids and parents at Artisan Asylum; craziness. www.henrybear.com/ throughout MetroWest is free, too. 2020 Holiday Collective peppermint stick ice cream at Gra- www.owenandsage.com Book Rack at Legacy Place cie’s; letter-writing to Santa at Joy Street Life + Home In ordinary times, this cozy Ar- This weekend and next, visit 4GoodVibes. See the full roster at This adorable storefront in West Happy shopping — and support- lington shop is perfect for a rainy Dedham’s Legacy Place for the www.unionsquaremain.org. Want Concord stocks lots of baby gifts — ing. day perusal; now they offer brows- Black-Owned Bos. Holiday Collec- even more ways to celebrate the plus a section of unicorns and mer- ing by appointment, plus curbside tive, featuring local makers with city’s indie businesses? Check out maids (jewels, puzzles, key chains). pickup and delivery. But the true tons of family-friendly treats: Fusion their Diversity Catalogue to see the Adults will enjoy the snarky 2020 Kara Baskin can be reached at distinction? A wonderful trade-in Dolls, House of Art and Craft, true breadth of the city’s offerings. memorabilia and cheeky sock collec- [email protected]. Follow her program that allows you to drop off Stinky’s Kittens & Doggies Too, and www.somervillema.gov/sites/de- tion. www.joystreetgifts.com on Twitter @kcbaskin.

The ghosts of Bradlees, Spag’s, and Whalom Park have returned from the great beyond, in T-shirt form

By Christopher Muther MEMORIES TO WEAR Q. Do you get a lot of requests for specif- GLOBE STAFF ic stores or venues? or those of us who grew up in A. We do get a lot of requests. When we New England, looking at T- cal pride. The T-shirts are priced on the have customer service interactions, it’s F shirts from Jamaica Plain- higher side ($32), which is something often “Hey, can I exchange this T-shirt based Local Vyntage is unex- customers frequently point out to Win- for a different size,” and then “Here’s 19 pectedly thrilling. They remind us of a nicki. other ideas for shirts that you should do lost era when discount department “I always hear about the irony that in this area.” There’s also a lot of “Thank stores were not all national chains and I’m selling shirts that feature discount you so much for starting this business. amusement parks possessed local fla- stores like Bradlees on them, but Bra- It means so much to my family.” vor, and probably more than a few un- dlees never would have sold such an ex- safe rides. Local Vyntage produces pensive tee,” he said. Q. You know, I looked you up on the site shirts featuring logos of stores where We rang Winnicki to reminisce to see if you had purchased anything, you might have purchased your first about the many fine New England insti- and I noticed you bought a shirt VCR (Lechmere), your first pair of acid tutions, such as , Paragon Park, last summer. Why did you pick that wash jeans (Caldor), or gone to your the Worcester Centrum, and Spag’s, shirt in particular? first concert (Great Woods). that are no longer with us, but now live A. I bought it because I used to buy re- Extra points if you remember Mrs. on through his T-shirts. cords there when I was a kid, and I was B. always a fan of that 1970s logo. “We have oddly nostalgic feelings Q. What was the inspiration to start about department stores of all things,” this? Q. What kind of reactions have you got- LOCAL VYNTAGE said Chet Winnicki, who started Local A. I’m still part of the T-shirt wearing ten when you wear it? New England names from the past like Whalom Park, Caldor, and Vyntage after he lost his job in health demographic, the generation that A. I thought I was the one doing the in- Bradlees are memorialized on T-shirts from Local Vyntage. care. “There’s just something about it wears tees all the time, and I was think- terview here. Reactions to the shirt def- that feels warm and nice about the ing about things that should be on T- initely skew older. People under 30 short answer is that every design has its ways? We always try to do the right memories of these places.” shirts that I couldn’t find as a consum- probably just think Caldor is the name own history. We look at each one, one- thing. We want to make sure the histo- Winnicki, a native, er. I think when you’re in your thirties of a new indie band. by-one, and make a determination if ry of these places is preserved properly. fondly recalls his great aunt giving him feelings of nostalgia start getting stron- this is something we can or can’t move a few dollars to buy toys at Caldor, and ger [Winnicki is 39], and so these were Q. Speaking of names and logos, do you forward with. And if we are going to Christopher Muther can be reached at he hears similar stories from customers some of the things I wanted to wear. ever run into any copyright issues? move forward, you know, how do we [email protected]. Follow who are excited to show their retro lo- And then it started growing. A. There’s a long answer to that, but the move forward? What are the right him on Twitter @Chris_Muther.