DON’T LET CARDBOARD cartons pile up on your doorstep this holiday season. This list just scratches the surface of Lakewood’s robust retail scene. Before you click to buy, try cruising through an IRL shopping site for a gift that’s meaningful in more ways than one.

Photography by Jessica Turner.

From carnival chalkware to chunky bakelite jewelry and retro lunchboxes, Curiosities sells antiques and oddities to suit any interest. 

Coffee Co. has been sourcing and roasting coffee beans from around the world for over 40 years. The small shop, tucked out of sight on La Vista, also carries loose-leaf tea like lapsang souchong and green Chinese gunpowder (or zhu cha or pearl tea). Produce, locally made Lakewood Chocolates and European goods are sold.  

Sasha Kirkpatrick, a former professor, started making chapsticks with fewer filler ingredients and more shea butter, fair trade organic coconut oil and local beeswax in her Old East Dallas home. She started with lip balm and has expanded to include deodorant, lotion, body wash and other products. The Immaculate Beard, a men’s facial grooming line, launched after Kirkpatrick formulated a smoothing recipe after someone asked about beard products. A vendor at the state fair, Kirkpatrick blends seasonal fragrances that range from spearmint eucalyptus to State Fair Cotton Candy.

T Shop, a floral and gift store in Lakewood Shopping Center, sells floral arrangements, seasonal holiday decor, candles, cocktail-in-a-jar concoctions and jewelry. 

After spending years traveling through the Southwest, neighbor Elizabeth Dryden moved into her loft studio in Lakewood. The southwestern inspiration is evident in the blue buffalo, multicolored cacti and cowboys in her artwork. Original and custom pieces are available. Prints, like the “Hare Raiser” above, start at $150 a piece. 

Back in 1987, Field Day records released a 10-track album of hits from Dallas bands like the New Bohemians, The Trees and End Over End. The Sound of Deep Ellum was reissued in 2017 with 500 limited-edition vinyl records with new album art. Growing up in East Dallas and playing on Lower Greenville and Deep Ellum, Clay Pendergrass’ East Dallas Mix Tape is our neighborhood in a CD. Titles on the album include “Old Monk,” “I.30 Lullabye” and “Dubliner.”