Shoppers’ Delight
Prowling boutiques & retailers is part of the fun in Gilbert
By Nora Burba Trulsson
Today, it’s oh-so-easy to shop online. A few clicks while you’re still in your jammies and—presto! Your purchases magically arrive on your doorstep. However, part of the fun of a visit to Gilbert is exploring the town’s many retail offerings. You’ll find myriad upscale local and regional shops offering everything from stylish home decor and fine jewelry to fashions, vintage vinyl, and those things you don’t know you needed until you see them. Here are just a few highlights.
Downtown Gilbert
Also known as the Heritage District, walkable downtown Gilbert features historic buildings dating to the early 1900s and a plethora of restaurants and cultural attractions—not to mention retailers.
Inside sunny Forever French, a Gilbert-founded boutique, you’ll find adorable clothes, blankies, and accessories for le bébé in natural fabrics and muted hues, plus stylish diaper bags, fashions for maman, and home decor. Nearby, State Forty Eight celebrates the fact that Arizona became the 48th state to join the union with a selection of clothing for men, women, and children. Look for tees, sweatshirts, hoodies, and caps that bear Arizona-centric designs. A short drive south of Downtown Gilbert, Apricot Lane Boutique is jammed with women’s fashions, including jumpsuits, sundresses, jeans, bralettes, and exercise wear; plus there’s a cute photo backdrop for Instagramming or modeling looks for besties.
Epicenter at Agritopia
Opened in 2023, Epicenter at Agritopia is the more urban residential and retail sister to the farm-centric Agritopia community next door. At Epicenter, most restaurants and stores are Arizona-based.
Make a beeline to UrbAna for carefully curated, design-forward home goods like Kelly Wearstler salad bowls, artful charcuterie boards and dinnerware, home scents, cookbooks, and more. Kids in tow? There’s a corner stocked with Brio toys so they play while you shop. Since its founding in 2007, Bunky Boutique has been the go-to place for local and indie designers’ fashions for men and women in subtle desert tones and easy-breezy fabrics. Look also for a great selection of handbags, greeting cards, and gift items with a humorous zing. At Why I Love Where I Live, Gilbert and the rest of Arizona get lots of love with everything from magnets, stickers, pins, and patches to tees, caps, and greeting cards that celebrate local. Look for area travel and history books, then show everyone your affection for Gilbert by posing in front of the Instagram wall, loaded with images of town scenes. Around the corner, Vintage Home offers carefully culled furniture and accessories such as dressers and tableware perfect for farmhouse or cottagecore looks, with a few midcentury mod pieces woven in. At Manor, the spotlight shines on streetwear-inspired footware, alongside unique apparel and accessories.
Verde At Cooley Station
Also new on the Gilbert shopping scene is Verde at Cooley Station (named for a long-time local farming family), a live/work/shop community featuring a huge lawn space, performance pavilion, and murals by local artists.
Some 50 local female-centric vendors share space in vast Sip & Shop, where you can find things like bawdy gifts, home decor, jewelry, tees, and more. The bar serves wine, champagne, bellinis, and local beer so you can indulge while you browse. At Pixie Sticks Dog Boutique, you’ll find fashions, accessories, toys, and treats—not for you, but for your fur baby. The dog boutique has everything you didn’t know you needed for your Fifi or Fido, plus grooming services. Decadent Macaron is an airy, pastel pleasure palace where you can indulge in dozens of unique flavors, such as spiced honey chai, mango, raspberry rose, lavender, cake batter, and churro. Be sure to scope out the macaron merch, such as candles, tees, and jewelry. Sophie May Boutique—named for the owner’s doggie—is a jewel-box setting filled with women’s fashions like rompers, jeans, cute tops, and sparkly party dresses.
SanTan Village
Most like a traditional shopping center, SanTan Village, which opened in 2007, is vast but walkable, with retailers lining small streets. Look for familiar national names like Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Apple interspersed with smaller gems that beg exploration.
Hipsters of a certain age will find Janis Ian, Tom Paxton, and Tom Rush albums at Grace Records, while a younger generation might be drawn to Imagine Dragons, Hozier, and Machine Gun Kelly. This vintage vinyl shop—which also sells new records—carries all musical genres, in addition to turntables, rock posters, and tees, as well as CDs and cassettes, making you forget streaming exists. Look for some sparkly stuff at Maya Caroleena Jewelers, a family-owned business offering fashion pieces and the real stuff—diamonds, silver, gold, and platinum. The master goldsmith on staff can craft a custom design for you too. Bring out your inner artiste with boho women’s fashions from Creations Boutique. Think: casual, flowy resort wear such as sundresses, wide-leg pants, kimonos, and rompers, plus hats and sunglasses, all perfect for poolside or patio parties. Your kids or your inner child will love Slimeatory, where you can mix your own slime with fragrance and add-ins, creating an oddly calming, ooey-gooey concoction. Make it at the store, take home ingredients to make your own, or buy a tub ready-made.
Calling all Makers
What better memento of your trip to Gilbert than something you make yourself? Here are some places that will guide you into crafting something fabulous.
In the Downtown Gilbert area Candle Chemistry lets you belly up to the long bar not for drinks, but to make your own candle. Pick your container, choose a scent, and you’ll be led through the process. Nearby, at Studio 223’s historic storefront location, you can learn to make everything from loofah soap and faux succulent gardens to perfecting your hand-lettering skills and decorating cookies, all while seated under a paintbrush chandelier. In addition, you’ll find some great local shopping gems here.
Located in a vintage black-and-white bungalow just south of downtown, The Art House Gilbert has instructors who will teach you how to paint a desert scene, make a charm necklace, perfect your embroidery technique, decorate a cake, or master other arts. A bit farther south, Board & Brush offers workshops in making wooden signs, porch planters, charcuterie boards, and even cornhole sets. Yes, wine is served, but the studio also offers kid-friendly classes.
Wine (and other adult beverages) are on the menu at Sip & Shop, located in Verde at Cooley Station, where you can take classes in wine-glass painting, floral arranging, making a charcuterie board, crafting a personalized door sign, and more.
At SanTan Village, The Gem Studio has a silversmith to help you craft a ring, bracelet, earrings, bolo tie, key chain, or even a pet collar. Pick your piece, made of sterling silver, find a semi-precious stone as the center of attention, then learn to work the tools of the trade to make your own signature jewelry.
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