Retail

Browse three and a half floors where literary history, new books, readings, and a second-floor cafe make the stairs part of the experience.

Downtown · book browsing · gifts

Founded in 1982 behind a comic shop, Record Collector still rewards used-vinyl digging from its current South Linn Street home.

Downtown · vinyl hunting · music gifts

Century-old Honduran mahogany cases frame a downtown jeweler whose Iowa City story runs through the Hands and Nusser families to 1853.

Downtown · fine jewelry · repairs

An established College Street boutique with an edited womenswear and accessories mix, a rotating designer roster, and a second Des Moines location.

Pedestrian Mall · womenswear · accessories

Appointment-only, made-to-order jewelry shaped in-house by a family business whose Iowa roots reach back to Isadore Ginsberg in 1926.

Downtown · custom jewelry · design browsing

Ten rooms, more than eighty sections, used books, puzzles, and a historic 1847 house make browsing here an exercise in useful serendipity.

Northside · used books · rare finds

Niki Neems's Northside shop pairs cards and paper goods with a poet's eye, including letterpressed RESPONSE cards made from poets' handwriting.

Northside · cards · stationery

Founded by twelve craft artists in 1984, this Washington Street gallery now brings regional ceramics, jewelry, glass, fiber, and metal together.

Downtown · local art · ceramics