Providence

10/13/05

Loft-like shop with swanky little luxuries, perfect for Saturday-evening browsing.

by Contributor

The Scene
Providence is more of a gift store than an antique gallery. Soft jazz, an exposed-beam ceiling, worn leather chairs and faux concrete walls give it a sophisticated, insouciant air. It's more a pleasant place for browsing after a glass or two of wine than a destination to finish off your shopping list.

The Goods
There are a few antique chairs and small tables, but the store mainly sells an impeccably edited, moderately priced selection of gifts from stationery and coffee table tomes to calendars and frames. Look for hip little luxuries like hotel silver, sealing wax and Japanese woodblock prints. Of special interest are religious artifacts (hence the store's name). These range from elegant silver crucifixes to kitschy, plastic Virgin Mary night lights.

01/19/03

One of my favorites

by debra1999

Providence is a shop that is ALWAYS on my list when I visit Atlanta. The first time I went, it was full of an unusual mix of new and old, things you don't see everywhere else. The shop doesn't always make sense... which is one of the things I love about it. Architectural items, medical posters, linens, soaps, jewelry, french furniture and apothecary reproductions. Customer service is sometimes lacking (the owner wasn't there a few times) and the store can be a out of order- but I overlook it to find offbeat things.

• Pros: unusual, offbeat, one-of-a-kind
• Cons: messy, not personal