Minnesota, one city in.
Eleven shops, all of them in and around Minneapolis — two rooms in the North Loop, three stops in Northeast, clay in Seward, greenhouses north and south, and a Saturday market under the mills.
One city so far, and it shops in pockets — the North Loop, Northeast, and three worth the drive out.
Minnesota starts here with eleven shops and one city. Minneapolis earned the first pass because it clusters — the shops sit in pockets you can work a few blocks at a time rather than scattered across a metro. The North Loop alone holds two of the eleven, The Foundry Home Goods at 905 North 5th Street and Cooks of Crocus Hill at 210 North 1st, close enough to do back to back.
The eleven sort into four kinds. Home and general goods is the biggest group at four: the Foundry and Cooks in the North Loop, Golden Rule Gallery out in Excelsior, and Rose & Loon at Rosedale Center in Roseville. Two are vintage — findfurnish on Central Avenue NE, open weekends only, and The Mustache Cat on St. Clair Avenue in Saint Paul. Two are makers: Northern Clay Center on Franklin Avenue East in Seward, a working ceramics institution with a sales floor attached, and Willie Willette Works, a furniture bench on University Avenue NE.
The last three are the growing things and the market. Tangletown Gardens keeps its namesake greenhouse on Nicollet Avenue South; Mother Earth Gardens is up on Lowry Avenue NE; and the Mill City Farmers Market runs Saturday mornings, eight to one, May through September, on South 2nd Street in Downtown East. Seven neighborhoods in all, and Northeast carries three of them on its own.
Three sit outside the city line — Excelsior, Roseville, Saint Paul — and we say so rather than pretend otherwise. We haven't stood inside every door on this list yet, and where we haven't, the shop's page says so plainly. More Minnesota towns come the way we add anything: slowly, and only when they're worth the drive.
A few we'd send you to first
The Foundry Home Goods
Simple, useful, and beautiful objects for the home — 905 North 5th Street.
Northern Clay Center
A clay centre on Franklin Avenue East with a shop attached — the sales floor of a working ceramics institution.
Willie Willette Works
Handcrafted custom furniture, built in Minneapolis — the bench on University Avenue NE.
By town
Minneapolis
More towns
The slow route: the Loop, Northeast & out
The market under the mills, two rooms in the North Loop, three stops in Northeast, and the drive out to the greenhouses. Take it in order or don't.
Saturday under the mills
Start on South 2nd Street in Downtown East with the Mill City Farmers Market, eight to one, May through September. Eat first, then walk west while the morning is still cool.
Two rooms in the North Loop
Cooks of Crocus Hill at 210 North 1st, then The Foundry Home Goods at 905 North 5th — kitchen and table at one, simple useful objects at the other, a short walk apart.
Across the river to Northeast
Northeast carries three: findfurnish on Central Avenue NE for vintage — weekends only, so check the day — Willie Willette's furniture bench on University Avenue NE, and Mother Earth Gardens up on Lowry.
South for clay, then the drive out
Northern Clay Center on Franklin Avenue East, then Tangletown Gardens on Nicollet Avenue South. What's left needs a car and a second day: Excelsior, Roseville, and St. Clair Avenue in Saint Paul.
Minnesota, in short
The short answers
Where are the best independent home shops in Minnesota?
Minneapolis and the wider Twin Cities hold all eleven so far. The Foundry Home Goods at 905 North 5th and Cooks of Crocus Hill at 210 North 1st in the North Loop, Golden Rule Gallery out in Excelsior, and Rose & Loon at Rosedale Center in Roseville.
How many shops are in the Minnesota directory?
Eleven, all in and around Minneapolis across seven neighborhoods — four home and general goods shops, two vintage shops, two makers' studios, two garden and plant shops, and the Mill City Farmers Market.
Are all eleven inside Minneapolis?
Eight are. Three sit outside the city line and we say so rather than pretend otherwise: Golden Rule Gallery in Excelsior, Rose & Loon in Roseville, and The Mustache Cat on St. Clair Avenue in Saint Paul.
When is the Mill City Farmers Market?
Saturdays, 8 to 1, May through September, on South 2nd Street in Downtown East — the market listing in this directory and the easiest way to start a weekend.
How does a shop get listed here?
Listings are free and researched from public sources. Shopkeepers can claim theirs to fix it or write it themselves; in exchange we ask for a link back or a small affiliate.