Food & Drink
Gift Shops Galore
Two great new Seattle shops for last-minute gifts.
By Seattle Mag December 12, 2011

This article originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of Seattle magazine.
The next time you need a gift in a pinch (as in, 20 minutes before that forgotten afterwork party you just remembered), swing by one of two new gift stops, located on opposing hilltops to suit any crosstown breakneck trek.
The former proprietress of the still-popular Illume Candle line (she sold the business more than a decade ago), California transplant Lynette Vertoch brings that same devotion to sweet smells to Cameos & Crowns (Madrona, 1137 34th Ave.; 206.462.1206), filling the vibrant lilac-colored space with Tokyo Milk hand creams ($19), Tokyo Milk Dark Line perfumes ($37), Butter London nail polishes and Antica Farmacista room diffusers ($22–$68). She also adds a dose of L.A. chic with goth-meets-glam Virgin, Saints & Angels jewelry and soon, her new wholesale candle line.
Former opera singer Robin Johnson is singing a new tune at her airy, polished new home décor and gift shop, Three Birds (Queen Anne, 2107 Queen Anne Ave. N; 206.686.7664; threebirdshome.com). In their shop perched atop the hill, Johnson and her husband, Douglas, lovingly display ceramic pharmacy bottles ($12.25) and sweet glassware along with myriad plates, hand creams and funky-patterned pillows ripe for the plucking. Intermixed are a smattering of rustic, flea-market-style tables and chairs, perfect French-inspired candlesticks and housewarming-party-ready napkin sets.