Shop Local KC
I’m always looking for fun new places to visit, so I asked people to send me their favorite local Kansas City establishments. The results came in with a mix of places I know and love—as well as several places I haven’t visited yet! In no particular order, here is a list of unique, local Kansas City places to shop.
Hammerpress Design
This is a store of which I’ve heard but never actually visited. After browsing their website, I’m definitely going to have to go! They have a variety of letterpress items (which I love), including cards, calendars, stationery, etc. They even do custom printing. I love sending notes through the mail, so I want to go check out their note cards in person.
BOZZ PRINTS
Bozz Prints, featured on the cover of KC Going Places, uses inspiration from Kansas City landmarks to design prints, tshirts, posters, magnets, and mugs. Buy yours at BozzPrints.com.
5B & Co. Candles
5B&Co. is one of my favorite candle places in KC. I used to love going every time we visited Weston. Now they are in Brookside! The votives are a perfect little size (I love using them in my office), and the scents are awesome. My go-to fragrances are the burnt sugar, eucalyptus mint, fresh cut grass and peony. The seasonal scents are worth a special trip—I love their smells of fall and Christmas!
Indigo Wild Factory
Indigo Wild is the home of Zum soaps (and other fun products). While you can find Zum soaps at Hy-Vee and other local stores, I love to go straight to the source: the factory! They have a huge selection of soaps, as well as all their other products in stock (laundry detergents, face products, animal shampoo, etc.). Bargain-hunters enjoy the bin full of “misfit” soaps on discount, and some sort of sale on seasonal items usually is going on. As a warning, some peoples’ noses can’t handle the factory’s extremely strong smell! Every time we go, my husband waits for me in the car because it makes his nose run like crazy.
Charlie Hustle
Most folks probably have seen these shirts by now, and they’re made by a cool local company. One of my survey respondents nominated Charlie Hustle, and I definitely agree that it’s a great place to check out. Their shirts are fun—with a KC twist—and they’re super comfortable. Keep an eye out for their warehouse sale (I think it’s once a year). We went in 2016 and all shirts were $5! They also had hats for sale. Even Truman ended up with his own stash of Charlie Hustle. At that price, who can resist?
Savory Spice Shop
Savory Spice Shop is in Brookside, and I just recently discovered it. A friend and I took a Valentine’s truffle class and had so much fun! They offer a lot of interesting, reasonably priced classes throughout the year. Our truffle class was only $10, and we made and took home a bunch of fun, delectable chocolates.
The store is full of intriguing spices and seasonings. Making purchase selections from such an array was a challenge! I ended up buying a Greek seasoning, a citrus herb seasoning and a really awesome hickory smoked black sea salt. It is amazing—I just used it on homemade pizzas last week.
Browsing this shop for fun new spices is a blast—plus it’s a great place to find unique gifts!
Made in Kansas City
The Made in Kansas City store is another reader suggestion, with both physical locations and also a great online store. They curate all sorts of fun things made by local KC merchants in one place. I found a huge variety of fun items when I was looking around on their site.
Andrea Plunkett Ishmael is a lifelong Kansas City native with a passion for shopping local.