Tag: Shopping

Music Art Love – Where ChrisAlex Created a Gallery/Boutique/Venue/Living Room That Refuses to Fit Any Single Category At 137 North Main Street, ChrisAlex (Christine Alexander) has created something that defies conventional retail categorization—part art gallery featuring her signature GuitArt (mixed media collages on salvaged guitars), part boutique selling clothing and home décor, part music venue hosting open mics and concerts, part community living room where you can play house instruments, challenge someone to chess, bring in wine from neighboring establishments, read inspirational books, or just sit and absorb the eclectic creative energy. There’s a kids’ nook so families can browse while children stay entertained. Monthly events include open mic nights (welcoming musicians, poets, stand-up comedians, and all creative expression), music showcases, trivia nights, movie nights with personal introductions from ChrisAlex, art exhibits, presentations, and classes in art, acting, exercise, and improv. Founded in 2020, Music Art Love represents ChrisAlex’s vision of what a creative space can become when you reject the rigid boundaries between gallery, retail shop, performance venue, and community gathering place—creating instead a fluid, welcoming environment where visitors become participants, where browsing transforms into playing instruments or games, and where the line between performer and audience dissolves during Read more…

Only Child Originals – 25-Time World Champion Footbag Player Creates One-of-a-Kind Jewelry in a Former Sausage Factory At 176 North Main Street in the 1874 Oberle building—where famous Ste. Genevieve Oberle sausage was once made—artist Sam Conlon creates handmade jewelry, garden art, and recycled metal sculptures in a shop proving that a professional “Hacky Sack” champion, former San Francisco street performer, and Patagonia retail veteran can find her calling making one-of-a-kind earrings from beads and luminaries from reclaimed barn tin. Open Thursday through Sunday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Only Child Originals is a whole store of handmade (right here in this building!) goodies for your body, home, and garden—where beads of every color adorn the displays, custom jewelry matches hard-to-pair outfits, creative metal cutouts transform scrap roofing into whimsical garden décor, and a pleasant garden area with fish pond behind the shop invites browsing at the pace of small-town Ste. Genevieve rather than big-city San Francisco. Sam Conlon: Third-Generation Artist Raising Fourth-Generation Artist Only Child Originals exists because third-generation artist Sam Conlon passed through Ste. Genevieve nearly 25 years ago (around 2000), peered into a vacant downtown building, and saw beyond the dust and deterioration to envision transformation. The Read more…

Quintessential Rivertown Spice & Tea – Where 75+ Teas and 100+ Spices Meet Proper Tea Service in a Three-Stage Historic Home Most tea shops offer a dozen common varieties and call it a selection. Quintessential Rivertown Spice & Tea stocks over 75 tea varieties and more than 100 different spices in an 1811 historic home that’s been lovingly converted into a tasting lounge, gift shop, and lunch destination where tea isn’t just steeped—it’s brewed at precisely the correct temperature using thermometers that ensure each variety reaches its optimal extraction point. This matters enormously. Green tea scorched at boiling temperatures turns bitter and astringent. Black tea steeped too cool tastes flat and underdeveloped. White tea needs gentle heat. Oolongs demand specific ranges. The difference between mediocre tea and exceptional tea often comes down to water temperature precision that most cafés ignore in favor of speed and convenience. At Quintessential Rivertown, they do it right—measuring, monitoring, and delivering tea the way serious tea enthusiasts know it should be prepared. Beyond the tea expertise, this is where you discover lunch done delicately rather than heartily—dainty sandwiches with crusts trimmed, finger foods arranged on tiered serving platters, expertly baked scones with clotted cream and Read more…

Ralston Fine Jewelry – Gail Ralston Carries Forward Six Decades of Jewelry Legacy  At 272 Merchant Street, the same downtown storefront that’s served Sainte Geneviève’s jewelry needs since 1958, Gail M. Ralston maintains a tradition of personalized service, expert craftsmanship, and connection to life’s milestone moments that spans three ownership periods and six decades of community trust. The building’s history tells the story: Harry “Quinton” Klaus ran the business from 1958 until Tom and Sue Steiger bought it in 1975 (Tom had started by buying “two little dogs” from Klaus for a girl he knew in school, then wound up caring for Klaus’ horses and eventually working for him after learning watch repair and jewelry work in Quincy, Illinois). The Steigers operated for 40 years—from Gerald Ford’s presidency and Bob Gibson’s final Cardinals season through the digital age—building reputation as full-service jewelers offering batteries, watches, engraving, diamonds in every size and shape, custom ring and pendant design, and diamond upgrades. When the Steigers sold in 2021, Gail Ralston assumed ownership, rebranding as Ralston Fine Jewelry while preserving the essential character that locals have relied on for generations: thoughtful jewelry selection ranging from fine pieces to costume jewelry, well-known collectible lines Read more…

121 South 6th Street Ste. Geneviève, MO, 63670 Call us at 573-883-5240 Hours Monday thru Friday Hours 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday Hours 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Sunday by appointment Beautiful, thoughtful flowers and gift items for any occasion from family parties to anniversaries, baptisms, and holidays. Read more…