Haven’t figured out what to give this holiday
season? We sent our intrepid reporters all over Springfield,
looking for interesting and offbeat gift possibilities and emphasizing,
whenever possible, local businesses and items unique to the capital city. Here’s some of what they found.
VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS
’Tis the season to indulge, and treats from
Incredibly Delicious are the perfect way to regain those calories
you’ve managed to burn off since Turkey Day. The food artists at
Springfield’s favorite spot for desserts and everything baked present
a fine list of holiday eats, including stollen, a traditional German
Christmas bread containing fruits, nuts, and marzipan ($18.95); and a
gingerbread-man kit complete with 10 cookies, icing, coconut for hair, Red
Hots for eyes, and everything else you need to create a gingerbread lad
($16.95). But the clock’s ticking: Holiday orders must be placed by
Friday, Dec. 16, and orders for pickup must be received by Tuesday, Dec.
20. Incredibly Delicious, 925 S. Seventh St.,
217-528-8548 MAKE SOME NOISE
Every year, there’s a star gift, the one that
no one forgets, either because it gets passed around and isn’t put
away until everyone’s unconscious from too much baked ham and eggnog
or because, simply stated, it’s obnoxious. So put chaos back in
Christmas this year and get the kiddies — not your own, for
heaven’s sake — some noisemakers from ErgAdoo. The store,
located next to the offices of Illinois Times, has a dandy selection of kids’ musical instruments
at reasonable prices, including “beginner band sets” featuring
your choice of xylophone, kazoo, and castanets or recorder, harmonica, and
jingle stick (think tambourine-on-a-stick) for $9.99. Add a set of maracas
or cymbals for another 10 bucks, and you’ve got a gift that will keep
on giving for hours and hours and hours and hours. Whoever said that
Christmas is all about kids got it only half-right: There are also in-laws
to consider. ErgAdoo, 1320 S. State St., 217-544-9466 TOP OF THE POPS
Somewhere along the way, tins of popcorn as holiday
gifts got a bad rap, but there’s nothing better than options, and
Del’s Popcorn gives you the choice of kettle corn, cheese, caramel,
butter-and-salt, among others. Prices for the three most popular flavors
depend, of course, on type and quantity: Butter-and-salt runs $9.90 for a
half-gallon and $10.95 for a gallon, cheese costs $11.80 per half-gallon
and $13.70 per gallon, and caramel is $13.15 per half-gallon and $14.70 per
gallon. For popcorn aficionados, one can include three flavors in larger
tins. The most popular blend — cheese, butter-and-salt, and caramel
— ranges from $21.20 for 2 gallons to $41.65 for 6-and-a-half
gallons, and Del’s other signature flavors cost a bit more. Arguably
the best popcorn around, Del’s is made fresh with central Illinois
corn. Del’s Popcorn, 213 S. Sixth St., 217-544-0037, www.delspopcorn.com CLEAN CONFECTIONS
Details in Store Ltd. indulges the fantasy of many a
girl — ice cream in the bathtub — with a yummy stocking-stuffer:
ME! Bath Ice Cream. When you drop one of these fragrant orbs into the tub,
it fizzes to produce an aromatic bath that’ll leave your skin soft.
Details in Store stocks eight of the product’s 34 scents; the best
are Summer Rain and Land of Milk and Honey ($8). For those with an eye for
good hygiene, Details stocks Primal Elements’ Soap by the Slice. Not
only do these little slices of heaven smell good and leave your skin soft,
but they also provide a decorative touch in the bathroom. Details in Store
stocks several holiday-themed Soaps by the Slice, including Candy Cane,
Holiday, …To the World, and Holly Berry ($6.75 per slice). Details in Store Ltd., 214 S. Sixth St.,
217-523-9600, www.detailsinstore.com CHEAP AND NOT-SO-CHEAP TRICKS
Many people consider this the most magical time of
year; in fact, Christ might not have been here were it not for a little
holiday magic. Friends and loved ones will be as surprised as Joseph was on
hearing the news of his fiancee’s pregnancy when they find their very
own sword-through-the-neck magic tricks under the tree. Springfield native
and illusionist Mick Valenti, who claims that in 1977 he became the first
magician to be buried and escape (the International Brotherhood of
Magicians cannot confirm this), has opened Imagine That Magic next to his
computer repair shop just in time for the holidays. Besides his sword
trick, Valenti offers the “hand chop” and a variety of
street-magic illusions (e.g., card tricks, floating money). Prices range
from $2 for a simple card trick to $2,000 for a special-order
levitation-illusion kit, but, Valenti says, you’re really paying for
the secret. Imagine That Magic, 1016 W. Lawrence Ave.;
217-726-9440, www.imaginethatmagic.com ABE IN A BOX
No doubt friends and relatives who aren’t lucky
enough to live in the Land of Lincoln are pining for a piece of Great
Emancipator memorabilia. We found a range of possibilities, from the
kitschy to the cultivated, the somber to the sassy, the inexpensive to the
exorbitant. At the Studio on 6th, we found cool, colorful Lincoln
art created by Springfieldian Annette Curry Johnson. Her work on display at
the shop ranges from $550 for a large (27-by-40-inch) original acrylic
painting to $75 for beautifully framed limited-series prints to $6 for
infant onesies. All of it is inspired by Lincoln or local landmarks; all of
it is whimsical and humorous without being irreverent. Her painting
commemorating the rechristening (and Lincolnization) of the local airport
is our favorite. Tinsley Dry Goods sells something straight from the
heart of Illinois — statues of Honest Abe, hand-carved from Illinois
coal. A bust (about 6 inches tall) costs $10.95; the depiction of Lincoln
walking and carrying a Bible is $8.95. A variety of Lincoln tees, including
a series of dancing silhouettes called Funky Abe ($16) and a more serious
portrait by Thomas Trimborn called “Lincoln in Thought”
($24.95) — are exclusive to the store. For the feminist on your list,
don’t miss With Hearts on Fire, Peggy Dunn’s collection of stories about women in
the Civil War, published this year by the University of Illinois at
Springfield. Bound to resemble a diary, the book features beautiful
marbleized papers along with the stories of heroism.
For the ardent Lincoln-lover, consider a rare
portrait of the pre-presidential Abe. Just $250 will get you a
16-by-20-inch print of one of Alexander Hesler’s photographs,
presented in a handmade Illinois walnut frame. These prints, made from
large-format plates owned by the Illinois State Historical Society, are
also part of the benefits package for new members who join the ISHS with a
pledge of $1,000. For more information, contact ISHS at 217-525-2781 or
visit www.historyillinois.org. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Mr.
Lincoln’s Souvenirs & Gifts, where the Lincoln bobblehead
($14.95) is the first thing that catches your eye when you walk in the
door. For stocking-stuffers, check out the Lincoln spoon rest ($3.95) and
everybody’s favorite, Lincoln shot glasses ($4.95), overflowing with
potential puns. For the younger set, there are spooky T-shirts featuring
Lincoln’s home rendered in glow-in-the-dark acrylic. Of course, no place has more Lincoln loot than the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. And, yes, you may enter the gift shop
without paying $7.50 to tour the museum. Simply tell the lobby staff that
you’d like to spend all of your money, and they’ll wave you
right into the museum store. There you can buy Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln’s
dinnerware — or at least reproductions of their china —
starting at $44.99 for a single dessert plate. If you can’t afford
the John McClary statue of Lincoln made exclusively for this store ($400),
try the Lincoln Cameo Christmas ornament, set in a gold-plated frame, for
just $24.99. Other popular items include Wisconsin-made stoneware mugs
($16.99) and the stark-white Starbucksish java mug for $9.99. Staffers tell
us that the most popular items are books, especially David Herbert
Donald’s Lincoln ($20) and James C. Humes’ The
Wit & Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln ($9.99). And last, because Lincoln obviously had enough wit to
merit a book, perhaps he wouldn’t mind our mentioning a pair of
his-and-her T-shirts for those who are more fond of Lincoln than of his
adopted hometown. You know the ones — they’re at Prairie
Archives, tucked away on the side, where a row of books dead-ends into a
wall. The one featuring a standard, sober portrait of Lincoln, reads,
“They’d have to shoot me to get me back to Springfield.”
A shirt featuring a portrait of Mary Todd reads, “I’d have to
be crazy to live in Springfield.” Priced at $16 and available only in
adult sizes, these shirts sell by the hundreds each year. The Studio on 6th, 215 S. Sixth St., 217-522-8006 Tinsley Dry Goods, 209 S. Sixth St., 217-525-1825 Mr. Lincoln’s Souvenirs & Gifts, 603 S.
Seventh St., 217-525-2060 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, 212
N. Sixth St., 217-558-8844, www.alincoln-library.com Prairie Archives, 522 E. Adams St., 217-522-9742 SPICE UP YOUR LIFE
A foodie’s fantasy and McCormick Spice
Co.’s worst nightmare, Wild Thymes spices are abundant and fresh. For
the cook on your list, or anyone who likes a little zip in his or her food,
consider Gumbo File ($1.96, 1 oz.) or Hawaiian Sea Salt ($4.33, 3 oz.).
Wild Thymes creates seven concoctions of its own, including owner Sue
Lionberger’s favorite, It’s the Pits, a barbecue rub. Wild
Thymes offers custom-made baskets for an extra $5 charge, which includes
wrapping. As always, the smells are free. Note: We don’t recommend free
smells as a gift. Wild Thyme Spices, 2625 W. White Oaks Dr.,
217-698-0029 RELIVE THE ME DECADE
The editor said to keep it tasteful, so we’ll
skip the sex toys on the second floor of Penny Lane, especially the Glass
Pleasure Wand by Don Wands ($17-$20, depending on design). Walk right past
the assorted glass pipes (remember — even though they’re really
small, they’re actually for tobacco) in every shape, size and hue
imaginable, ignoring completely the handmade ones made in the forms of
dragons, snakes, scorpions, butterflies, and other animals ($46-$61)
displayed right next to the sex toys. No, what the person who has
everything really needs is a portable disco ball! Found in the section on
the first floor devoted to black-light posters, these table-top mirrored
balls ($24.95-$31.95) will fill any room with swirling dots of light
guaranteed to bring back fond memories of prom night or the time you puked
at a distant cousin’s wedding. Any occasion becomes a party with one
of these puppies: Just add Donna Summer, and it’s 1977 all over
again. Plus, they’re portable enough to stash under a bed —
perhaps next to your glass pipes and sex toys — when respectable
company arrives. Penny Lane, 2901 S. MacArthur Blvd., 217-787-2996,
www.pennylanegifts.com PAGE-TURNERS
Just pointing a bookish friend in the direction of
Prairie Archives is gift enough, but a present from the fiction or
literature section of Springfield’s literary treasure will really be appreciated. A 1926
nearly first edition of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses ($400) would cause any
serious book collector to break out in goose bumps. In addition to the
Archives’ specialty sections — the Civil War, Illinois history,
and Abraham Lincoln — the store is teeming with great finds. Old
Hardy Boys books go for $5 a pop, but more contemporary titles, such as a
hardcover copy of Jonathan Franzen’s The
Corrections priced at $8, are also
stocked. Unearthing good books at Prairie Archives is like finding a needle
in a stack of needles. Prairie Archives, 522 E. Adams St., 217-522-9742,
www.abebooks.com/home/PRAIRIEA POLYVINYL
Even if the intended recipient doesn’t own a
turntable, a gift from Recycled Records is always appreciated. Shopping for
an Air Supply or Jackson Browne fan? You can get out of the store having
spent as little as $2 — or you could drop $1,000 on a Buddy Holly 45
that includes four songs (“That’ll Be the Day,”
“I’m Looking for Someone to Love,” “Oh, Boy,”
and “Not Fade Away”) in a mint-condition paper sleeve featuring
a picture of the legend from Lubbock along with the Crickets. Rolling
Stones, Beatles, Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, Moby Grape, 1910 Fruitgum Company
— there’s a wayback artist to fit every taste here. If your
music lover is a CD-only type, throw in a record-album frame ($15) to make
wall display a snap. Recycled Records, 625 E. Adams, 217-522-5122,
www.recycledrecords.com FEET TREATS
By the time the big day comes around, most everyone
is dead tired from Christmas shopping, Christmas baking, Christmas
cleaning, and Christmas drinking. Pssst, guys: There’s no better way to revive that special
someone’s strength and spirits than with a trip to BJ Grand Salon
& Spa, where gift certificates are available for any service. Prices
top out at $542 for a full day that includes facial, hair, massage, makeup,
lunch and optional limousine service. That may be a bit over the top, but
there’s something here to fit every budget. A pedicure is always
appreciated; prices start at $40 and go to $85 for the Seascape Pedicure,
featuring moisturizing salts and oils plus foot and calf massage. Spend as
much as you can afford — from the moment she walks in the door and
inhales that frou-frou smell, she’ll love you for going all-out on
her feet. Under no circumstances give her a gift certificate for anything
having to do with her face, no matter how much she may need it. Although
she may truly covet the Age Defiance package ($145-$155 for a
bust-to-forehead treatment featuring self-heating mud), she doesn’t
want to get it from you. BJ Grand Salon & Spa, 3300 Robbins Rd.,
217-787-7770; 3055 Professional Dr., 217-753-8880, www.bjgrandsalon.com COLOR YOUR WORLD
GelGems could very well be the perfect gift, in any
season, for almost anyone, but they’re particularly useful during the
holiday season. With the hues and hand of gelatin, more staying power than
window clings, and design possibilities limited only by your imagination,
they’re a colorful and creative way to decorate any glass or metal
surface. You could even use the small ones to mark wineglasses at a party.
As most locals know, they’re made in a factory right here in our
town. Several Springfield stores carry GelGems; Serendipity on Sixth Street
offers a nice selection. Serendipity, 221 S. Sixth St., 217-528-0630 FOR A GOOD CAUSE
If someone you know needs a touch of Norman Rockwell
(or maybe Tennessee Williams?) in their abode, sally south to the old Room
Works store, now occupied by Phoenix Center’s Marketplace. Open only
a few weeks, the shop features premium used furniture and knickknacks,
handmade holiday ornaments and jewelry, and gifties running the gamut from
candles and baking mixes to mirrors and chandeliers. Trees and wreathes,
too, on your way out the door. And of course, because we’re talking
about the Phoenix Center, which is using this market as an ongoing
fundraiser, everything is guaranteed tasteful instead of tacky. Plus
it’s all for a good cause. Phoenix Center’s Marketplace, 3425 S. Old
Chatham Rd. HALE’S ANGELS
If you want it fast, go to Things Remembered, but for
quality glass etching, go to Hale on Glass. According to Springfield
natives Carol and David Hale, who studied their craft in New Mexico, most
projects take a few hours but are completed with much more personal care
and attention to detail than the mall store can render. Engraved smooth
stones ($10), coasters ($27), and vases ($25-$50) make great gifts. Of
course, religious-themed products, such as a carved likeness of the King of
Kings ($130), are particularly popular this time of year. Hale on Glass, 217-638-0180, www.haleonglass.com BOUTIQUE BOOTY
You menfolk walk past them, oblivious to their
existence, until the day a lover drags you to a halt in front of a store
window and then jerks you inside. Even more frightening is the day on which
you must enter of your own volition — alone. We’re talking
about boutiques — those shops in which feathers and sequins are glued
to three-quarters of the merchandise. Case in point: The Studio on 6th. The
store’s fuzzy can and bottle cozies ($10-$12), obviously designed
with ladies in mind (most guys, you know, will gulp down a Bud Light in
less time than it takes to maneuver a bottle into the neon animal-print
foam and zip it up). Feathered yet cool are the album-cover tote bags
featuring Johnny Cash, Tina Turner, B.B. King, and Bruce Springsteen
($35-$38). The Studio on 6th, 215 S. Sixth St., 217-522-8006 SIX SUDS
Let’s face it: The problem with Christmas is
there never seems to be enough beer. Rectify this sad situation with a gift
of make-your-own-six-pack from Friar Tuck Beverage. For just $7.99, you can
choose from dozens of orphan beers to make up a one-in-a-million six-pack.
At this price, why not splurge and give a half-rack? The wise
six-pack-maker will start with a few tried-and-trues — it being
winter, eschew lagers and go for Anchor Steam or Sierra Nevada, name stouts
being scarce in this section — before venturing into the unknown with
such weirdness as Fuel Cafe Coffee Flavored Stout (not at all bad combined
with a caraway-seed-infused Cheddar cheese atop wheat crackers) or Blue
Ridge Sublimator Dopplebock (who cares how it tastes — it’s got
an alcohol content of 7.3 percent). Urp. Friar Tuck Beverage, 2930 Constitution Dr.,
217-698-1116 WATER WORLD
Artist Barbara Mason has spent the last 20 years
working as an ultrasound specialist, which might explain the radiant use of
colors in her watercolor paintings, a medium oft criticized as drab and
colorless. The mastermind behind Dragonfly Studio Creations, Mason has had
artwork on display around Springfield at Illinois Department of
Transportation, the Prairie Art Alliance, the Old Capitol Art Fair, Barnes
& Noble, the City Arts Venue, the Illinois State Library, and the
Springfield Art Association. She’s also exhibited in Chicago,
Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Mason, one of few African-American
watercolorists, and her reluctant-artist husband, James, approach art as a
ministry from God, and their calling is particularly evident in two of
Mason’s more popular pieces: “Praise Is What We Do” and
“Beckoning.”
217-585-1323, www.dragonflystudiocreations.com SUITABLE
Professional b-ballers might, but Terry Lawrence
doesn’t consider an old-school NBA jersey business attire, even if
the ensemble is topped off with a color-coordinated do-rag. All guys should
own at least one suit, says Lawrence, owner of Terry’s Men’s
World. Lawrence sells casual clothes and hats but specializes in suits
— both traditional and the stylish, sometimes colorful (at times really colorful) Stacy
Adams and Giorgio Brutini shoes and suits worn by comedy kings Steve Harvey
and Cedric the Entertainer. Expressing one’s individuality is great,
Lawrence says, but there’s a time and place for everything.
“Kids today need to learn to dress professionally,” he says.
“You can wear blue jeans, but you need to be professional when you go
certain places — you wouldn’t wear a throwback jersey to a
wedding, would you?”
Terry’s Men’s World, 3049 S. Dirksen
Parkway; 217-529-2230 THE WRIGHT STUFF
Immediately upon walking into the Sumac Shop at the
Dana-Thomas House, we knew that there would be a parting of the ways: Our
money would go one way, and we’d go the other. Where to begin? Obviously there are
plenty of books about the house’s designer, renowned architect Frank
Lloyd Wright, including guidebooks to other Wright-designed properties. One
title that caught our eye was Frank Lloyd
Wright’s Stained Glass & Lightscreens (Thomas Heinz, $19.95), which includes a fair number of
photographs of the beautiful and unique glasswork at the Springfield
landmark. Susan Lawrence Dana, of course, was partial to butterflies
— and they show up throughout the property, including the ornate
chandeliers. The shop sells glass panels — the kind you hang in a
window — with Wright-inspired designs. One beauty, new in stock,
features a gingko pattern; it sells for $98. And it’s not just glasswork. You can buy
neckties with Wright-inspired patterns (we caught ’em on sale for $25
when we visited last week), there are silk scarves made in Ashikaga, Japan
($48), and, new this year, candles in varying sizes, decorated with Wright
art-glass patterns (one we liked, “Tree of Life,” was taken
from a 1905 home in Buffalo and sells for $48). One item of interest is a
pewter weed holder — that’s right, an elongated rectangular
vase for dried-out prairie weeds. Wright, we were told, believed that even
a lowly weed has beauty. But with the vase priced at $135, we decided to
leave all those beautiful weeds, for now, by the side of I-55. The Dana-Thomas House marked its centennial in 2004,
and the shop still has plenty of leftover commemorative cookbooks (A House for Susan Lawrence Dana, $18.95) and small stained-glass ornaments ($25) that
incorporate the sumac-plant design prevalent throughout the house. Schlepping away goodies from the gift shop is fun,
but the best part of the visit is actually touring the residence. During
the holidays, there’s a Country Store, where craft-oriented items and
food products are available for sale, in the basement. Stop by for a taste
of hot cider. Sumac Shop at the Dana-Thomas House, 301 E. Lawrence
Ave., 217-744-3598, www.sumacshop.com
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2005.
