Shop in the City’s decision to move to 50th & France seemed like a blow to 48th and Chicago in Minneapolis, a commercial area with so much promise that never quite gains momentum. But the departure of the longtime indie retailer—on the heels of Spruce's decision to close its retail shop on the same block—made room for a new gift store, 14Hill, and it's exactly the update this corner needed.
Owner Julie Stamps wasn’t planning to open a store so soon after leaving the lead buyer position at Patina, where she worked for 20 years. But when she saw the vacancy right in her own neighborhood, she knew it was meant to be. Stamps took half of the Shop in the City space and gutted it to give 14Hill a modern industrial feel with cement floors, exposed pipes and an open floor plan.
The merchandise ranges from home accents to cookbooks, candles, cards, games, and funky socks. Stamps' years with Patina are evident in her merchandising and grouping of objects to make gift buying a cinch.
“I really wanted to come back to something smaller,” Stamps says. “Our tag line says it all: ‘Your neighborhood gift shop.’”
The store will host a book launch this week for Sera Toujours: A Daddy’s Love Will Always Be by local author Tim Pearson along with trunk shows by local artists Jupi Designs, which makes up-cycled cashmere scarves, mittens and hats, and 12-year-old Leandor Sheridan, who designed and created a coloring calendar. The event happens Thursday, 5:30 to 8 p.m. 4737 Chicago Ave. S., Mpls., 612-866-3606, 14hill.com
