One of the things we love most about living in D.C. is the ever-growing creative community. From craft cocktail mixologists to artisan food makers to home goods designers to DIY lifestyle bloggers (uhem, uhem ….), the city is experiencing a great surge in creativity. And we want to share it with YOU. So, we decided to start a new monthly series: the local shop feature. Each month we’ll visit a great local shop and share our top ten favorite items from the store, which is going to be a hard task given the abundance of creative goodness. That is certainly the case with our first featured shop: Salt & Sundry.
Located in the recently revitalized Union Market, Salt & Sundry has been a favorite of ours since opening about a year and 1/2 ago (you might recall it was on our shop local list for Small Business Saturday) and features a beautifully curated selection of housewares, linens, gifts, artisanal foods and covetable vintage finds. The shop is gorgeous, owner Amanda McClements is so lovely, and we had an incredibly rough time narrowing our favorites down to just ten items. As we remind ourselves often when working on our cocktail of the week, it’s a hard job but someone’s got to do it.
If you are in the D.C. area, stopping in to Union Market and Salt & Sundry is a MUST — especially during the upcoming Thread at Dock 5 event, which is a curated pop-up retail event running April 4-6. And for you unlucky souls who aren’t local, as luck would have it, Salt & Sundry recently opened up an online store carrying a select set of items from the store.
Without further adieu, here’s our Salt & Sundry Top 10!
Home
1. Mint Farm Table — {R} — I tend to have a slightly more modern aesthetic, but I LOVED this gorgeous mint-colored farm table (hand-made by Amanda’s father). Maybe it’s just part of my mint phase, but this one-of-a-kind table was my favorite home piece in the shop. And I’ll take everything on it as well. {$795}
2. Moroccan Pouf — {S} — Who doesn’t love to sit back, relax, and kick up their feet? Skip the traditional ottoman and go with this gorgeous Moroccan pouf instead. I love everything about it! {$278}
Linens
3. Cheese Tea Towel — {R} — I could probably live on bread and cheese alone {and cocktails}. And this sweet tea towel has me covered with a list of cheeses made from the milk of cows, lambs, and sheep. {$26}
4. Turkish Towels — {S} — I really have a thing for Turkish towels and I love their beautifully curated selection. They’re soft, incredibly absorbent, and way more fashionable than your standard bath towel. {$20-$45}
Cocktails
5. Scrappy’s Bitters Gift Set — {S} — Take your cocktail making to the next level with these sample sets of artisan bitters. I took home a set and have already put them to good use – I’m sure you’ll be seeing a cocktail hour post (or two) using them in the near future. They come in sets of four (orange, aromatic, lavender & celery OR lime, chocolate, cardamon, grapefruit). {$26/set}
6. Homemade Gin Kit — {R} — I really wanted to just include the entire fabulous bar cart, but that’s cheating. So I narrowed it down to the locally-born gin kit that allows you to turn vodka into a small batch of homemade gin. Magic? Does it matter? {$50} (I also picked up one of those great white and steel mini cocktail shakers for my husband’s minimalist office bar tray, which were designed by Salt & Sundry and made locally).
Servingware
7. Agate Coaster — {R} — So, yes, these coasters are technically servingware for drinks. But they are just gorgeous, so I’m picking them as my favorite for this category. They are the perfect balance between rough and polished and the colors are beautiful. {$16 each}
8. Black Cake Stand — {S} — I really regret not buying this cake stand when I was at the store and I’ll definitely be heading back in the near future to buy it! The black finish takes what would be a simple cake stand and makes it a statement piece. Just imagine how stunning a simple white cake would look displayed on here! {$72}
Kiddos
9. BabyLit Books — {S} — I love these board book versions of major literary classics. The illustrations are colorful and fun and will be sure to capture any child’s attention. Skip giving your friends another copy of Good Night Moon when they have a baby and give them these instead. {$9.99/each}
10. Uncle Goose Egyptian Hieroglyphic Blocks — {R} — My son is completely obsessed with blocks and all things Egypt. He would seriously pass out if I brought this set of blocks home, so I’m going to save it for a special occasion. Uncle Goose’s blocks are beautifully crafted with non-toxic ink, so they’d work just as well for the younger kiddos too. {$56}
A Feteful Life 