Shopping – Page 169 – Beyond the Creek

Pop Up Alert – Toss Designs Opens in Broadway Plaza (Walnut Creek)

September 18, 2012 8:30 am

Last week I noted that Diane’s Beach Wear had moved a couple of stores down in Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek, and now Toss Designs, a “San Francisco Bay Area design house” featuring “totes, travel bags and all accessories in between” has opened up a temporary pop up store in this location until late January. Apparently they are testing the Walnut Creek waters and may permanently relocate somewhere in Broadway Plaza if they like what they see.

Toss Designs has locations in San Francisco and San Anselmo in Marin as well as being carried by retailers around the country. They have a fresh design aesthetic and the accessories displayed throughout the store make for a fun browsing experience. You may notice an alphabetical letter on their bags. Those are actually monograms that can be customized and they also sell stick-on letters for a less expensive option.

Check out some of their cool designs:

Toss Designs is located in Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek right next to Nordstrom until late January.

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Venture Men’s Goods Opens in Lafayette

September 17, 2012 8:30 am

Venture Men’s Goods, a new men’s clothing store in downtown Lafayette whose name was only unmasked recently opened its doors last week. They focus on higher end California designed brands such as Tellason, Talyor Stitch, Marmot and more. You can check out the rest of the brands they carry here. Everything really looks amazing, the layout is clean (a fresh pine scent is evident thanks to the pine tables in the middle of the store), and they even carry local designers such as dapper beaux ties.

If you stop by today, be sure to enter your name for a chance to win a pair of SeaVees baja slip on shoes. The grand opening daily giveaway runs until tomorrow.

The space looks great:

Check out the modern lounge area near the dressing rooms:

They have an iPad available at the table to use while you’re waiting. The attention to detail is incredible. That map in the background is a custom designed screenprint using a United States Geological Survey map. (Available for sale as well.)

Venture Men’s Goods is located at 3571 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette, next to Radio Shack.

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Judging Men’s Boutiques – Atlas in Walnut Creek

September 13, 2012 8:30 am

With the recent attention being given to men’s fashion in Walnut Creek and beyond, I think it’s appropriate to point out that the men’s store Atlas is celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year. Located in downtown Walnut Creek at 1356 N. Main St, it garnered the store sign sculpture of the day back in February. I finally had a chance to check out the inside recently and was amazed at how hip it is inside. This is the kind of store that wouldn’t be out of place in SoHo or the East Village in Manhattan so it’s good to see this in Walnut Creek. They also have a store in Squaw valley.

Check out the inside as you walk in:

Here is one eclectic part of the store:

Apparently the store is getting a makeover soon so look for an updated post with the new design. This is a really fun store to browse around so if you girlfriend or wife wants to shop at Anthropologie tell her you’ll be checking out the latest fashion at Atlas.

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Anthropologie Decorators Hard at Work in Walnut Creek

September 10, 2012 10:00 am

Anthropologie, due to open this Friday, September 14th in downtown Walnut Creek, has decorators hard at work transforming the store into an artistic cornucopia. I love how they don’t block the windows out while prepping the store, anyone can just check out the progress by looking in, it’s going to look amazing! This is a great addition to the downtown Walnut Creek area.

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Fashion’s Night Out Event at Neiman Marcus on Sept. 6th

September 5, 2012 4:30 pm

From an email:

NM WALNUT CREEK
and
DIABLO MAGAZINE
present

FASHION’S NIGHT OUT
Thursday, September 6
6pm-9pm

Rapid Runway shows
Meet designer Laurel Berman of Black Halo and Eve
Meet Jerry Johnson, Global Make-up Artist, Laura Mercier
Dominique Cohen Trunk Show
Gown Show
Meet bay area artists and view their latest masterpieces

Plus, as our guest, you’ll receive an exclusive shopping opportunity during the party – $50 off $350 regular-priced merchandise in select areas.

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Preview of Sprouts Supermarket – Opens Sept. 5th in Walnut Creek

September 4, 2012 11:30 am

Back in July I noted that the Sprouts Farmers Market (Supermarket) would be opening September 5th in Walnut Creek, so I stopped by to check out the progress. There’s a new, large parking lot to handle the influx of cars.

From the Sprouts website:

Scheduled to open on Wednesday, September 19 at 7am. Grand opening promotions: • Coupon booklets for 5 FREE SANDWICHES to the first 500 customers who make a purchase. • FREE reusable bags to all paying customers, while supplies last.

I don’t know why they mention September 19th as being the opening day as it is definitely opening this Wednesday, Septamber 5th. The 5 free sandwich coupon booklets is awesome so if you live nearby see if you can get one.

Work on the other stores in the mall is proceeding at a much slower pace. There is no signage up for the other stores yet, and it doesn’t seem like anything other than Sprouts will be opening up anytime soon. Anyway, back to Sprouts, check out the cool deli area:

Here you can see part of the checkout area, as well as the Gourmet Coffee, Bulk Foods and Frozen Foods areas:

A sign in the window also notes that there will be “Community Screenings and Lectures” which is pretty surprising considering it’s a supermarket! This really looks like a cool supermarket, is anyone planning to check it out opening day? Let us know how you like it. Sprouts is located at 1510 Geary Rd. in Walnut Creek.

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Tulip Baby and Kids Boutique Opens in Lafayette

August 30, 2012 8:30 am

Last week I noted that the new baby and children’s boutique Tulip was opening at La Fiesta Square in downtown Lafayette, and now that it’s open I decided to drop by and check out the inside. The owner Jen is friendly and very knowledgeable about babies and children in general, not to mention her great taste in the products and clothing she offers at the store. Not surprising considering she founded an educational resource for new parents called The Tulip Grove. The new store will also offer items for children up to 8 years old.

Check out this sweet crib setup in the back of the store:

The view when you enter from the front entrance:

Clothing and products for older kids are visible at the left when you enter from the front. If you have a baby or young kids or are looking for a present, I would definitely check this place out.

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Groceries Around the World – India Bazar in Walnut Creek

August 28, 2012 11:30 am

Back in May I made the first “Groceries Around the World” post in Walnut Creek about the Russian grocery Babushka, and today I’m posting about the Indian grocery, “India Bazar“, located at 1250 Newel Ave. in the San Miguel Center.

There are plenty of decorations on the walls throughout the store which is fun to look at, and the aisles contain Indian delicacies and ingredients for sale so if you love Indian food I would check them out.

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You Know you’re getting Old When…

August 28, 2012 10:00 am

…they start selling black “water infused with fulvic acid” at the supermarket. Here I am at Whole Foods in Lafayette browsing around when I encounter this. Now, although I remember when the only kind of water that was sold was with bubbles, I’m aware of “ionized” water , coconut water (which I love) and what not, but I did a double take when I saw this on sale.

Appropriately named, “blk.”, Whole Foods describes this black water (it really is black) as, “water infused with fulvic acid” while the label on the bottle notes that it’s, “alkaline fulvic trace mineral infused water”. I’m not judging, but does this appeal to anybody?

Is this the kind of thing my kids are going to think is completely normal in a few years? “Hey dad, you still drink clear water without fulvic acid!? That is so passé!”

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Anthropologie Opening Sept. 14th in Downtown Walnut Creek

August 28, 2012 8:30 am

Anthropologie is opening Sept. 14th according to a comment left on my previous post about the progress at the Mt. Diablo Blvd. & Locust St. location. The sign is now finished, and spot lighting has been added so it’ll be visible at night. And the fencing is now gone! You can stroll by to check out the progress inside since they haven’t blocked the windows (for now).

Check out the massive glass walls:

Looks like the side section will have some primo parking spots:

Those door handles at the front entrance are pretty cool:

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