Exploring the Bay Area

  Thrifty Cat True to Berkeley's lofty ideals of sharing with the community, Thrifty Cat is a thrift store committed to offering good clothes at very low prices. When you first approach the store, you will see bins of $1 items that sell for $5 for seven or $10 for 15. When you enter the store, you will that it is packed from wall to wall with usable, used clothing, including many nice shirts and a wall full devoted to $5 jeans. Thrifty Cat also has an outdoor area with stylishly dressed mannequins and a bin of $5 shoes. The store and its surrounding outdoor areas have many wonderful, inexpensive finds.  It is a sister store to the Curiosity Shop , which is right down the street. Like the Curiosity Shop , this store gives off hippie vibes and is the product of Berkeley's hippie past. Both are situated near Berkeley High School and are accessible to the public. Central to this store's operating philosophy is that we all need clothing, and that it shouldn't be so expensiv...

Talavera Ceramics and Tile Talavera Ceramics and Tile is a one-of-a-kind shop features beautifully handmade crafts imported from family-run workshops in Mexico. I love a chance to browse their wide selection of pots and other ceramics, tiles, and other crafts.  I find this store to be very fun to explore. It extends into several rooms that are packed with attractive products that are arranged very neatly and interestingly, as if it were an art gallery in addition to a shop.  The tiles and ceramics are painted in a bright and colorful Mexican style, and the textiles, mirrors, and clocks are also eye-catching because of their bold colorfulness. Everything is lovingly handmade and cutely artistic. 1801 University Avenue Berkeley, CA 94703