Philadelphia in 5 Shops: from local eats to vintage cool

02.09.2024 - 15:09 / lonelyplanet.com / Liberty Bell

Aug 30, 2024 • 5 min read

As a born and raised Pennsylvanian, I’ve always thought of Philadelphia, or Philly, as a low-key version of New York City. The cost of living is less expensive, but you get similar perks: diversity, every cuisine imaginable, solid public transportation, a reasonable enough amount of green space, waterfront views, strong neighborhood communities, world-class museums and nationwide recognition. This is where the Constitution of the United States was written – the birthplace of a whole country!

It would be impossible to name the best five independent shops here because, like in NYC, there’s too much ground to cover. So, because history is partly why Philly made our 2024 Best in Travel list for top cities to visit, I narrowed my scope to places within walking distance of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. 

OMOI is a Japanese-inspired stationery and life goods shop whose name loosely translates to “thoughtful” – representative of the care its team takes to select its imported products. This place is kryptonite to me because I can’t stop buying notebooks even though I have unfinished notebooks at home. Bring your type-A friend here to geek out over planners and bullet journals, or to stock up on aesthetically pleasing back-to-school supplies. If there’s a birthday or holiday coming up you need to buy a card for, this is the place for that, too.

Beyond office goodies, Omoi sells artsy books and magazines, specialty bath and skincare, and miscellaneous accessories and jewelry. The one thing pretty much everything has in common? Looking damn good on the shelf. If you come in wanting a nice set of pens, be warned you’ll want to walk out with more than that.

Eye’s Gallery is bursting with international art across disciplines: wall art, figurines, fashion, jewelry, even instruments. You’ll see work from Africa, India, South America, Tibet, Turkey and more. There’s so much to take in, you won’t know where to start.

The gallery itself was founded in 1968 by Isaiah and Julia Zagar – the same Isaiah who crafted gorgeous mosaic murals in Philly’s popular Magic Gardens – to provide a bigger market for global folk art. While serving in the Peace Corps in Peru, the duo worked with local artisans to sell their crafts to tourists, then reinvested profits back into the community, planting the seeds for today’s business at Eye’s Gallery. Even as they’ve scaled up, staff members know the artist and story behind each piece, so ask for more details if something catches your eye.

Shopaholics rejoice, because you can feel good about overspending here: Philly AIDS Thrift is a nonprofit that distributes its sales proceeds to local organizations fighting against HIV and AIDS. It's got tons of cool stuff to