Treat Yourself on This Street

Southern Living, Jan 2004 by McKinney, Wanda

If you're yearning for handmade home decor or fabulous jewelry, come to Louisville.

My friend Susan told me she'd gladly take me shopping on Bardstown Road, one of Louisville's premier streets for browsing and dining. "But I'm not buying anything," she said firmly. Famous last words.

She didn't last five minutes at our first stop, Swanson Reed Galleries. The 22-year-old shop gleamed with glass ornaments of every hue hanging in its large front window.

Susan Reed, one of the owners, said the shop is known for the glassware. "We sell beautiful art glass for not out-of-sight prices," she said. (Ornaments range in price from $ 10 to $72.)

Meanwhile, my friend, her resolve already crumbling, was transfixed by a lamp sporting a cherry-red paper shade ($45). "Don't say a word," she warned as we put our purchases in the trunk of her car. "That lamp is just the color of my love seat. But that's it. No more."

Wisely, I held my tongue.

Soon we were in Discoveries, a store filled with ethnically diverse goods.I was immediately drawn to the tambourine from Kenya ($28), made of bottle caps, wire, and wood.

Jenny Kremer, who is the store's manager, said that the business represents 150 different vendors. "The merchandise comes from places such as Mexico, Africa, central Asia, and India," she explains.

Discoveries also puts an emphasis on ethnographic artifacts and textiles. Owner Donna Stone showed us bowls made of used telephone wire ($38) and bracelets fashioned from old manual typewriter keys ($68).

Susan and I both lost our battle of the billfold with the lucky pigs-a palm-size pottery pig ($4.50). "It's a token of friendship," said Jenny, "and it's also supposed to bring good luck."

"Good luck not buying anything else," I said, laughing, as we went into Kizito Cookies. Elizabeth Kizito, Louisville's beloved cookie lady, greeted us with a smile that could melt granite. Her loyal customers choose from biscotti, brownies, 7 types of muffins, and 10 different cookies.

"My favorite is peanut butter," said Elizabeth. She also ships gift boxes, trays, and baskets. (Six cookies cost $4.50; one costs 85 cents.) Susan and I bought one of everything to enjoy later. The cookie called "Lucky in Kentucky" pretty much sized up how I felt on this chilly afternoon. Very broke, but lucky indeed.

With our car packed full, Susan and I had empty wallets. Bardstown Road had worked its shopping magic again.

WANDA MCKINNEY

Swanson Reed Galleries: 1377 Bardstown Road; (502) 452-2904. Discoveries: 1315 Bardstown Road; (502) 451-5034. Kizito Cookies: 1398 Bardstown Road; (502) 456-2891 or www.kizito.com.