What $100 Buys In... Minneapolis

Tuesday, Apr 20, 2010, 12:00 AM | Subscribe to the magazine

Source Article: What $100 Buys in...Minneapolis

$38 Wooden robot Twin Cities architect William Dohman took reclaimed wood from area construction and demolition sites to create his series of Block Bots—a nice alternative to today's high-tech toys. (This two-inch-by-four-inch model was an oak spindle in a former life.) ILikeYou, 501 1st Ave. NE, ilikeyouonline.com. (Levi Brown)
$9 Honey Ames Farm owner Brian Fredericksen considers each jar of honey a snapshot of an area's botanical identity. Varieties are produced at his 17 Minnesota hive sites, and each is named for the predominant nectar-source plant; the Basswood yields floral notes and mint. Mill City Farmers Market, 704 S. 2nd St., amesfarm.com. (Levi Brown)
$2 Key chain With over 100 kinds of beaded, fringed, and feathered footwear, Minnetonka Moccasin has cornered the market on suede slippers since 1946. Our pick: the pocket-size, 2 3/4-inch mini-moc key chain (it comes in its own tiny box!), a subtle way to sport the style. Love From Minnesota, 178 IDS Center, 80 8th St. S., lovefrommn.com . (Levi Brown)
$10 Bath soak A natural-products trailblazer since 1868, J.R. Watkins's southeastern Minnesota apothecary turns out chemical-free concoctions like this bath soak made from sea salt and lavender oil, packaged in sweet containers with old-time labels. Patina, 2305 18th Ave. NE, patinastores.com. (Levi Brown)
$22 Trivet The Swedish-American population in Minneapolis is one of the country's largest, which explains the city's bounty of Scandinavian goods, such as this playful, hand-felted-wool Dala horse trivet. Ingebretsen's, 1601 E. Lake St., ingebretsens.com. (Levi Brown)
$8 Rubber bands An eight-year fixture on the stationery scene, Russell+Hazel practically wrote the book on whimsical office wares, adding colorful patterns to everything from file folders to these supersize, 5/8-inch-wide rubber bands. Russell+Hazel, 4388 France Ave. S., russellandhazel.com. (Levi Brown)