The 2025 Shop-Local Gift Guide, Part 2

Shopping online is boring! Shopping in person is fun! While compiling these posts, I have a ball chatting with shopkeepers—that kind of interaction is something we could all use more of (and you’re not going to get online, unless you find bots amusing). In part 2 of the Shop-Local Gift Guide: Diani (above), Folly, Lighthouse Skate Shop, Field Trip, and The Crafter’s Library. And of course there’s far more at these shops—and all over town!—than whatever catches my eye.

Previously:
••• Part 1: Domecíl, The Daisy, Chicken Little, Italian Pottery Outlet, Art Essentials

First up, Diani in Arlington Plaza:

Snazzy, gilt-edged editions of classics like Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Emma, Wuthering Heights, and Little Women ($25). What, no Persuasion? “I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul….”

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Beaded collars for your dog or lover ($60-ish).

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A bit of humor goes a long way in interior design ($175).

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Antonio Mattei biscotti in a handsome green tin ($32); chocolate-covered ones are also available in a blue bag—less gifty, but possibly more delectable.

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Christmas ornaments depicting Anna Wintour chewing up and spitting out someone’s disappointing spring 2026 collection ($26).

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And a few doors down at Folly:

A stuffed animal for my fellow Scorpios ($74). Also available for other, lesser signs.

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Ceramic birds to keep a watchful eye on things ($120 for one on the left).

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Tactile, organic candle holders ($42 and $48).

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And in Folly’s recent home-and-apparel expansion: espadrilles in various colors ($36).

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For something completely different, Lighthouse Skate Shop:

Someday, this T-shirt commemorating Lighthouse’s old Funk Zone location ($25) will be a collector’s item; the staffer I spoke with said that artist DJ Javier is working on a new one for the State Street shop.

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From the Sunman Marine website: “usually pronounced ‘sunmin,’ a sunman or woman is a sneaky, off-beat human prone to spending hours in the sun or on the ocean without care or awareness for the regular happenings of society” ($42).

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And Field Trip in La Arcada Plaza:

Bandanas for your dog or lover ($27).

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The Edison Light Stick ($90) can function as a lantern or flashlight, and it has a magnet at one end for handy placement.

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These little hands ($22) are intended as place card holders, but they can be used to display anything—a photo, a postcard, a note to self….

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The Coloring Santa Barbara book features illustrations by the city’s top architects ($18). You’re going to need the big box of Crayolas to do Jeff Shelton’s.

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Define “adventure” any way you like ($47).

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A cuddly Steiff Snoopy ($54)—”because he’s one of the few things we can all agree on these days,” as someone at the shop said.

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And finally, The Crafter’s Library:

Who knew this was a thing ($17)?

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I’d suggest the Pisa puzzle ($20), because you can mess it up and claim it’s supposed to be that way.

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Be prepared ($17)…

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…and a little judgy (enamel pins $5).

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