Shop in Ardmore, PA on Lancaster Ave.

This weekend, my daughter and I are travelling to Minnesota so she can have an overnight visit at a college and I can visit family and friends. In my family, we have this unwritten rule that you must always bring a present for the host. This requires some thought and consideration. I prefer to bring a gift associated with Philadelphia – maybe it is a Philadelphia specialty or something made by a local artist. Right now my go to place for gifts is a little shop in Ardmore called Past, Present, and Future.

We have lived in Philadelphia for almost 20 years and I first went into this store about two years ago. It has a narrow shop-front on Lancaster Ave and the front window display has an eclectic mixture of items such as wooden folk cats, 1960s super hero items, blown glass ware, ethnic linens, lava lamps, etc. When you enter the shop, you are assaulted by the variety, abundance, and colors of the items which are crammed on display shelves from floor to ceiling. The shop owner has wisely set up near the large front window, a glass shelving unit to display the art glass. The light catches and refracts on the colors and embedded designs.

When I went in yesterday, I was looking for a gift for a married couple, whom I had introduced to each other. The husband is a friend from graduate school. The wife is a friend from our first days living in Boston. I did not know her until we moved to Boston. She was the best friend and roommate of another friend from Cincinnati and when the Cincinnati friend came to see us in Boston, she introduced us. Anyway, they have been married for a long while and have two children. They came to visit us when we first moved to Philadelphia from Boston. I was so happy when they came because I missed Boston dreadfully. When they came, they brought a host gift of a ceramic platter which we still use.

Two Love Birds

But back to the shop. Just inside, I saw a table displaying ceramic dishes. I saw some pieces with bright, imaginary birds. The clay was grayish and the primary colors stood out. One plate had two birds (something like budgies) leaning into each other, one with a red neck and one with a green neck and the eyes rolling toward each other as if they were in love. Perfect! First gift found.

The Buddha Cat and Owner

Now to find something for the family. I already had books, but I wanted one more thing because it was Neal’s birthday. He likes to work with wood. He turns bowls and the barrels of pens and the whorls of drop spindles which is why I wanted to find him something made out of wood. Ah ha! A Buddha cat puzzle box. Just the right thing. The cat is carved in lotus position with hands over the heart. Neal and my mom have two cats which they spoil shamelessly. Here is an example of the extent these cats are spoiled. If Neal eats ice cream, when he is done, he takes a bit on a spoon and holds it close to the floor so Boomer can lick the spoon.

Now you know what I actually bought, and I saw both of these items within five minutes of walking in the store. But I had to walk through the entire store, inspecting shelves, opening drawers, peering in cases to make absolutely sure I was not missing something even more perfect. I did get several ideas for later birthday presents such as dimensional silver Mobius earrings, horn bracelets, a red space-age plastic molded purse, drinking straw robots to make, chunky pop bracelets, stamped leather purses, etc.

Two Christmases ago, I sent my oldest boy to this shop, because he had to buy a birthday present for his girlfriend. He found her a long, white wool scarf. But before that, he asked me where to go to buy the gift and he said he wanted a locally owned shop. Now that was interesting. For him the shop had to be local. He said that he did not want to support some big national chain. It seems like recently people see-saw between two extremes: buying off the internet or buying from a local source.