Tucked away in a small shop on the south end of Nashville is Crow's Nest - Handmade Gifts (at the…read moreback of the shops by the Nashville Fudge Kitchen.) I had never noticed them before today, so I decided to stop by and see what they had. The variety is pretty broad considering the size of the place. There were candles, bags and accessories, singing birthday cards, and knick knacks. There is room enough to browse and the man behind the counter greeted me (coming and going) but otherwise let me look around on my own. If you are looking for something unique, stop by this place to see what you may discover. Review #2776

One of my favorite parts about visiting Nashville is stumbling across little locally owned shops…read moreyou weren't planning to visit...and Lakehouse Candle Company was exactly that kind of find. We were staying in a nearby cabin for the weekend when I realized I'd forgotten to pack a candle from home (yes...I'm one of those people ). We stopped in hoping to grab one, and I'm so glad we did. The shop itself is absolutely adorable--bright, organized, and full of incredible scents. Mandy hand-pours every candle herself, and narrowing down my choices was honestly the hardest part of the visit. Whether you like fresh, fruity, bakery, floral, seasonal, or woodsy scents, there's something here for everyone. The real test came once we got back to the cabin. I lit one that evening, and it burned beautifully. No tunneling, no overwhelming perfume smell--just a clean, even burn with a fragrance that filled the room without overpowering it. Exactly what I was hoping for. I also picked up a few of the handmade fire starters (sadly Mother Nature had other plans, and the hot, muggy weather meant no campfire this trip), so I'm already looking forward to trying those next time. One of the coolest things in the shop is Mandy's collaboration with a local potter. You can purchase one of the handmade pottery vessels and have your candle poured directly into it, creating a one-of-a-kind piece that's both functional and beautiful. But honestly, what made this stop memorable wasn't just the candles. Take a few minutes to chat with Mandy and Andrew. They're incredibly welcoming, genuinely kind, and the kind of people who make you feel like you've known them longer than the ten minutes you've been standing in their shop. Those conversations are what make small businesses so special. Needless to say, I left with more candles than I originally planned... ...and absolutely zero regrets. The next time we're back in Nashville, Lakehouse Candle Company will be one of our first stops.

Downtown Nashville is full of cute little unique shops around every corner. One of my favorite…read moreshops is Lakehouse Candle Company, a place that specializes in candles and scented items. This is a woman-owned business, and it offers hand-crafted candles created with quality ingredients, all made with care and attention. I visited for their Pour & Restore event, which had us creating our own candle, and then enjoying a gentle yoga session in the candle shop. During the Pour & Restore event, we first got to walk around and sniff all of the candles to figure out what we wanted our candle to smell like. I like natural scents, so I chose a herbaceous, clean scent. Then, we were led through a candle-making demonstration, where we got to mix our scent, pour our own candle, and come up with a name for our new scented candle. (I chose ILY, because that combination of letters is significant to me!) While we waited for the candles to set, we were led through a restorative yoga session right there in the store. It was a wonderful experience to lie on the mat and breathe in the warm and fragrant scents that were all around us. I was lucky to participate in the inaugural Pour & Restore event at Lakehouse, but if they offer this again and you have to opportunity, I highly recommend attending! Doing yoga in a candle store is way more relaxing than I could have imagined. And even if you don't do yoga here, you need to stop in and check out the candles. There are so many wonderful scents!

Cute store but a little pricey. They do have some sale items in the back that are heavily…read morediscounted and some cute decor and clothes as well.

such cute home items and clothing at reasonable prices. I can always find something I love hereread more

They have some fun unique gifts and IU shirts. The woman at the counter was exceptionally nice.read more

It's a shop full of all that quirky, humorous swag that nobody really needs but makes great gifts…read more I bought a three-legged clay South American good-luck pig for my grandmother (who loves pigs) and left it at that, but I could have easily picked out something for each member of my whole family and several friends. Shot glasses, flasks, magnets, bumper stickers, all sorts of Anne Taintor stuff, books, greeting cards, buttons, candy, action figures...basically knick-knacks, gew-gaws, doodads, baubles, trinkets, novelties, and ephemera of all types. And an AVALANCHE of IU t-shirts, about a third of the store. Most are actual licensed t-shirts so you know that you're getting a quality shirt, but the prices range from six to ten bucks. Soft t-shirts, block-letter t-shirts, t-shirts with or without the trident symbol, "B-town" t-shirts, humorous t-shirts ("Purdouche", "Dry Campus", et al), etc etc etc, in numerous colors and several sizes. I saw t-shirts in several stores that day, and Greetings had the best prices and widest selection of all of them.

Venue Fine Arts and Gifts is located close to campus and offers a nice selection of local and other…read moreunique pieces of art, including metal sculpture (Bert Gilbert), jewelry, pottery, wall art, cards, and other cool and collectable items (as a present for you or others). Venue is located within 1 floor of a large architecturally interesting house. As you wander through the various rooms, the art is nicely curated and displayed. The owners were personable, knowledgeable in their wares, and would leave you alone if you wanted. I'm sure I'll be back the next time I visit the Bloomington area.

I love art, especially unique, handmade jewelry and pottery. So when my husband and I accident…read morestumbled across the Venue, I had to go inside. The shop was filled with paintings, pottery, hand-crafted jewelry and other beautiful items. I was particularly excited to discover jewelry pieces from one of my favorite Indiana artisans. The Venue is not a huge place but it's definitely worth the stop. The owners are worth a mention, as they are very personable. In fact, when we mentioned that we were in town on a romantic weekend getaway, they offered suggestions for some must-stops. I will definitely be returning.on future visits to Bloomington.

Just north of the Nashville Fudge Kitchen on the town's southside is this boutique of women's…read moreaccessories and home items. There were a couple rooms of items in the narrow building. I saw groupings of women's hats and bags and some jewelry. There were coasters, wall hangings, and knick knacks. The shop had a more feminine appeal than some of the other gift shops I visited during my trip. Review #2777

Great and diverse selection of visual art and functional art pieces. I bought two small morel…read moremushroom ceramic sculptures. I really appreciated the diverse array of artists from not only Nashville, but Southern Indiana, and more contemporary works. I look forward to purchasing more art from B3 in the future. Very friendly staff (and dog!), too.

This shop has a lot of interesting things and a wide variety too. We had been looking for a…read more"camping flag" on this day and had found a couple we almost bought elsewhere. But it was here we found the one that we liked the best so far. It simply said, "Happy Campers" with a picture of a little RV. The flag was $18 which is comparable to the other shops and the black iron flag pole/stand was $10, the same as everyone else. So we thought it was a good deal. The cashier was super friendly and offered to take my trash and throw it away for me which was kind of him.

Just a little bit of everything! That's what you will find in Rhonda Kay's. Whether its sports…read moreitems, seasonal items, pet, candles or ladies clothing, you can check it out here. Toys? You bet! Novelty items? sure! There's even a giant mural near the entrance by local artist Riley Bertram called "Portrait of a Town" painted back in the 1970's, but in excellent condition. I was able to make my purchase at the central checkout island. Fast and friendly service made shopping here a breeze. Review #3233