1. Etch-a-Sketch meets Japanese calligraphy with The Buddha Board for the Namaste person in your life. $42.00

Sterling Place [352 Seventh Ave. between 10^th and 11^th Streets in Slope, (718) 499-4800].

2. The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town reissue loaded with “you can’t download it” bonus materials for $100.00 or All Things Must Pass, nostalgia for boomers or other-Beatle revelations for newbies . $20.00

Music Matters [413 Seventh Ave. between 13^th and 14^th Streets in Park Slope, (718) 369-7087].

3. Be a secret admirer with these adorable Momiji Japanese message dolls. Turn them upside down and inside every one there’s a tiny folded card for your own torrid text or loving lyrics. $18.95

Lumiere [238 Seventh Ave. between 4th^th and 5^th Streets in Park Slope, (718) 369-1082].

4. A box set of 12 assorted vintage glitter postcards of the Queen, Buckingham Palace and more Anglophilia for the Prince Will and Kate obsessed. $15.00

Lion in the Sun [232 Seventh Ave. and 5^th Street in Park Slope, (718) 369-4006].

5. Small striped suitcase with lusciously soft and tres French cotton infant onesie, hat and blankie at Petit Bateau for $25.00

Petit Bateau [219 Seventh Ave. between 3^rd and 4^th Streets in Park Slope, (718) TK].

FIFTH AVENUE

6. Take a look inside the miniature world of this light bulb terrarium with teeny tiny figurines perfect for the imaginative greeniac on your list. $20.00-$25.00

Cog and Pearl [190 Fifth  Ave. at Sackett Street in Park Slope, (718) 623-8200].

7. Eat off of Pee Wee Herman’s face on this transformed china plate made from orphaned and unloved antiques by Beatup Creations. $35.00

Urban Alchemist [190 343 Fifth Street between 5^th and 6^th Avenues in Park Slope, (718) 499-0758].

8. Mark the days on the 2011 I Love Bklyn Girls calendar, inspired by classic lesbian and gay pulp novels of the fifties and sixties, featuring hotties from Brooklyn’s queer community. $12.

Scaredy Kat [232 Fifth Avenue between President and Carroll Streets in Park Slope, (718) 623-1839].

9. Festive and sparkly black (gold and pink) slippers from Tom’s, the company that gives a pair of shoes to a child in need (for every one sold). $54.00

DNA [220 Fifth Avenue between Union and President Streets in Park Slope, (718)398-2692].

10. Give the Brooklyn Bridge and the Coney Island Cyclone with Paper New York:  Build Your Own Big Apple, 20 do-it-yourself projects with three-dimensional die-cut models ready to press out for the budding architects and city planners. $20.00

Cog and Pearl [190 Fifth  Ave. at Sackett Street in Park Slope, (718) 623-8200].

SMITH STREET

11. Solid maple Vermont-made cutting board shaped like a rooster, cow or pig. $32.

Environmental337 [337 Smith Street between between Carroll and President Streets in Carroll Gardens, (718)522-1767]. 

12. Wish upon a star and learn about constellations and planets with a celestial globe for your favorite astronomy aficionado. $15.00 – $22.00 (stand is $10.00)

Retrospect [333 Smith Street between between TK and TK in Carroll Gardens, (718)522-1767].

13. Ho Ho Hope Santa Claus can find this camouflage pattern Christmas stocking and fill it with Christmas treats. Price TK

Refinery[248 Smith Street between between Douglas and Degraw (718)643-7861].

14. Giant five pound jar of D.A. Costa Spanish olives hand stuffed with natural pimento for  those martini marathons. $50.00

Stinky Bklyn[261 Smith Street between between Douglas and DeGraw in Cobble Hill, (718) 522-7425].

15. Ceci n’est pas une pipe. It’s a vintage inspired artisan scented candle crafted by hand with 75 hour burn time that smells like a pipe. $36.00

Bird[220 Smith Street at Baltic Street in Cobble Hill, (718) 797-3774].

Shop owners welcome me, remember me from years past, show me their favorite wares, talk.

In some cases, we spoke about the difficulties of the past two years. “After 2008, sales really dropped,” one clerk shared with me. “A lot of our vendors went out of business.”

It’s sobering to hear from local businesses about the economic travails of the last few years. One local business owner told me that he had changed his merchandise since last year. “The high end items seem to sell better. The middle range. Nah.” The tough times have definitely taught many lessons.

At one store, the owner told me that he is convinced that Internet shopping has irrevocably changed the way people shop. What he’s noticed is that people come into his shop to try clothing on for size and color. Then he watches them notate the correct size, color and item number. He’s sure they’re going home to save money by buying that item on the Internet.

“That’s immoral,” I screamed out. It really made me angry. Indeed, people would rather save $10 than reinvest in their community.

“That makes me so mad,” I told him. I could tell it made him mad, too.

This store owners anecdotal observation definitely meshes with statistics and news reports that shops were crowded on Black Friday but sales were flat (though up from last year). Cyber Monday, however, was a breakthrough day for Internet sales.

The above-mentioned store owner has determined that brick and mortar shops must carry items that are so unique you could never find them on the Internet. It also helps to sell items that have price regulations (same price everywhere).

Sad to say, even in Park Slope people don’t get how important it is to reinvest in the community. Spending money in the neighborhood is a great way to support the quality of life around here. If people keep shopping on the Internet, the only stores that will be able to afford to be here are national chains. And then we’ll be sorry because all of the character, local color and uniqueness of our neighborhood shopping experience will be gone.

Here’s what I think: spend a few dollars more to keep our shopkeepers in business.

*note: store owners generally don’t like to be quoted about hard times so all quotes are anonymous. Sorry.

Everyone with hair needs a haircut once in a while (or at least just about everyone), and Park Slope has a huge assortment of barber shops and salons. Where do you go for a haircut? Who’s the best barber around? How much money are you willing to drop on a cut? Leave your thoughts in the comments section; the most popular shop will be featured on this site

What to get for the person who has everything? If one, two, or five discerning loved ones on your list have you wrestling with that very question, a trip to the holiday market at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue next Sunday, November 21st, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. might prove worthwhile.

The eclectic selection of wares, meticulously hand-picked by curator/event planner Andrea Perlman, is shaping up to be as one-stop as it gets. “This time of year, holiday markets are as common as tourists in Midtown,” says Andrea. “So we wanted to separate our market from the rest by offering a truly unique collection of hand-crafted gifts at all price points.”

Expect to find plenty of wearable handcrafts, ranging from A Charmed Life’s gem-stoned baubles to Tiki Girl Shop’s pop-art silk shifts for women and girls—and for those who want to wear their love of the borough on their sleeves or backs Table-top enthusiasts can choose from Bongenre’s old world china–inspired melamine table ware or go for the real thing, hand-built by graphics artist–turned–ceramacist Sabina Magnus. Home-brew kits and confected offerings from Brooklyn artisanal stalwarts the Brooklyn Brew Shop and Liddabet Sweets may inspire you to take a different tack with someone on your list as might a stop at the “gifts that give” table. Heifers International will be on hand to accept donations you can make in a loved one’s name toward the purchase of livestock for families and communities who are in a daily battle with hunger. For more details, visit the synagogue’s website.

Then there was Cyber Monday, a day devoted to online shopping.

Now there’s Small Business Saturday, a timely acknowledgement of the importance of small businesses and shops in our fair cities (sponsored by Amex).

SBS is part of a nationwide campaign to support small business and encourage shoppers to shop local on Saturday, November 27. New York City is actually the first city to issue an official proclamation.

Amex will give the first 10,000 business owners that sign-up $100 of free Facebook advertising. So if you have a small business you might be interested.

Small business is certainly the engine of many Brooklyn communities. It’s also what makes a neighborhood like Park Slope special. What would this neighborhood be without its small, special shops?

Small businesses are also critical to the nation’s overall economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there were nearly 28 million small businesses in the United States last year, and over the past two decades, they’ve created 65 percent of net new jobs.

And maybe you’ve seen this statistic: for every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures (according to the small business advocacy group The 350 Project).

Good bye to:

Artesana Home, the imported rug, furniture and jewelry store, has been a fixture on the corner of 2nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Park Slope for 11 years. Fare thee well.

Long Tan, the longtime Thai eatery on Fifth Avenue between Union and Berkeley is leaving its spot. Fare thee well.

Total Wine Bar on Fifth Avenue between St. Marks and Warren Street, seems to be totally gone. Fare thee well.

Paper xoxo, the card, stationery and specialty design shop is closed. Her online business is still OPEN.

Zana, the cafe/pastry shop right near the Seventh Avenue F train station on Seventh Avenue is gone, gone, gone. Fare thee well.

Hello:
Taro Sushi on Flatbush Avenue at St. Marks Place is open and looking good. Welcome neighbor!

Naruto Rame on Fifth Avenue between 1st Street and Garfield Place is open and serving very tasty soup! Welcome neighbor!

An exspresso cafe is replacing Zana, the above-mentioned cafe/pastry shop near the F Train station. Welcome neighbor whoever  you are!

Interesting how these chains are doing pop-up shops in Brooklyn. A Toys-R-Us Express shop went into a vacant space on Fifth Avenue near 11th Street in Park Slope recently.

I guess these retailers are figuring: don’t need to do any decoration or renovation, just put some shelves in and merch and we’re good to go.

Interesting turn of events.

Musician Aleksandar Torovic, who harks from Belgrade originally, lived and worked as a musician in LA for ten years but moved to Brooklyn because “I was looking for a change of seasons,” he told me.

He plans to get back into the music in Brooklyn but for now is enjoying his brand new stint as the owner of a woman’s clothing store.

“I like making someone look good for not a lot of money. They’ll come back because they look better. Everybody wins,” he said.

The shop, which opened two days ago, currently has a nice variety of cotton sundresses and skirts for under $80. Torovic and his partner designed the space on a shoe string with lots of style. They plan to have an opening party and possibly some musical events coming up.

What could be better – clothing store by day, musical salon in the evening? For now, Torovic will be serenading shoppers with his guitar. It certainly adds to the atmosphere of his tiny clothing shop.

Just a guess.

Lulu Cuts and Toys, which started on Fifth Avenue and 2nd Street, is really building herself an empire on that northern end of Fifth Avenue.