St. Louis Curio Shoppe

The Curio Shoppe is a very curious place indeed. Located on the west of Jefferson section of Cherokee Street, they offer gifts, etc. that are locally made and oddly interesting. Items including taxidermy (real frog wallets-​that still look like the frog), art, jewelry, quirky gifts, beer scented soaps. and many items that you will just have to see for yourself.

The Curio Shoppe has been a place that I am subconsciously drawn to every time I do business on Cherokee. Could it be the assortment of strange and interesting items, the support they give to local artists and small business owners, or the occasional free beer I’m given for just walking in and browsing. They are the most down to earth people selling the most eccentric and strange items. It’s a great place to go shopping for a gift, whether for someone or for yourself. With mostly rotating stock that changes it up, you gotta go often, but that’s not a bad thing.

I want to give more stars because of they are so great with only carrying local wares within an actual set distance that it has to be produced from the store. (She mentioned it was a few miles)
I loved the candles. I bought a few there.
I only say the next part because I want to encourage the success of this store.
I wish there were more useful items in this store. There is a lot of arts and crafts n this store. I would love to be able to buy more here but beyond the candles and I believe it was a wood center piece for serving (They were amazing looking. I am going back to get one of those bad boys.) Hardly anything functional. A lot of very abstract items that I did not find appealing. I really hope they put more functional items. maybe more wood work, wood toys, etc.
Great luck to these people and I will be back.
TLDR: Parking is in the street. Pricing is moderate. Not a lot of functional items but everything is local. Worth going to, to check out and form your own opinion.

I could spend 10 hours here and still not be done with this store! There is so much cool stuff in here and I love that it gives me pride to be from St. Louis. I bought more for myself here than I did for the people on my Christmas list!

The StL united!
I’m not a huge fan of Cherokee Street. It’s perfectly flawed, one might say. However, when hunting for Halloween costumes, we ran across St. Louis Curio Shoppe, and I may have found my favorite part of this area.
After a fairly unpleasant experience at Retro 101 next door (perhaps another review), we noticed this shop, but it was closed. Upon retreat to the car, one of the workers opened the door and invited us in, despite being after hours. She figured that since she was still around, we might as well come in and check it out. Very cool.
Curio is dedicated almost strictly to local artists, designers, and musicians. All knick knacks, clothing, art, and music come from the artisitic community of St. Louis within a fifty mile radius, and the money goes right back to the individual. Curio just takes a little off the top.
The employee was the bee’s knees! Not only did she let us in after hours, she also gave us a little tour, pointing out several artists’ works. However, being ushered in during closing time did compel me to make a purchase, something that I certainly didn’t have in mind. Nonetheless, it wasn’t hard to find something intriguing to take home.
We explored the shop for quite some time, meanwhile discussing events happening around town and common friends that we shared. Finally, I made a purchase, buying an old Soulard Mardi Gras poster and a cd from my friends’ band Spectator. Money that was unexpectedly spent but well spent!
Please check out this establishment. Support local artists and support St. Louis Curio Shoppe!
Warning: There’s an evil meter maid running around Cherokee Street. The meters run out at six in the evening, and he apparently waited for my time to expire and wrote me a ticket with only a few minutes left. When I confronted him, he walked briskly down the street without even looking at me. He’s been a problem for some time, so beware his tomfoolery!

This store is EXACTLY like Wal-​mart, except instead of everything being made in China, everything is made in St. Louis. So it is in no way like Wal-​mart.
There is some really cool shit in here, and if you love St. Louis like I love St. Louis, then you need to get some Curio Shoppe in your life. Shopping here as a St. Louisan is the opposite of a New Yorker wearing an «I Love NY» t-​shirt.
I loved their selection of steampunk jewelry, and a photography book of chairs that had been abandoned around St. Louis.
Don’t bring your wallet in here unless you can make peace with the fact that it will be empty when you leave, cuz this place is pricey, but it is WORTH IT.
I think this store and STL-​Style should get married. If you’re looking for a St. Louis-​themed gift, or if you want to express your love for the Lou in all that you do, this is THE place to shop.
Sucky hours. Nobody’s perfect.
Edited 2÷17÷13 to add that no matter what you do, do NOT ask to use the bathroom here. They will say yes, which they should not. TRUST ME. Holy fuck.

love love love your shop

My son and I decided to take a walk along Cherokee St. and stumbled upon this shop. Immediately upon entering we were greeted and given info. about the place. My son was invited to paint on a flowerpot. Lots of cute locally made items! If you haven’t been here I strongly recommend!

Such a cute little place. I stopped by on my Cherokee Christmas Eve tour. Lots of St Louis cool stuff. This store has something for everyone. I meet the Mom of the girl who owns this store. She is fun and great to talk to. if you need a Christmas gift for someone who got you one and you didn’t get them anything, this is your place.
If you do a craft or an art, go see them. You may be able to place you items in this store. I bet you can!
the only thing this store needs is a dog!

I love this store, mainly because I used to dream about opening a similar St. Louis-​themed retail store of my very own. So they beat me to it, but I congratulate them on a job well done. I couldn’t have done it better myself. Do yourselves a favor and visit this store… and bring your friends from out of town!

Are you in the mood to smell like Bud Light? Well step right up, cos the Curio Shoppe has soap that — no joke — is scented like Bud Light, Budweiser, and even Schlafly Pale Ale. You want a Schlafly beer bottle shaped wall clock? How about a Fleur de Lis necklace? Okay what about some awesome St. Louis postcards. Or pasta sauce that was made in StL? CDs from local musicians? It’s all here and it’s all awesome. Books about the history of St. Louis? Magazines? I could go on all day.
Forget those lame-​o St. Louis trinkets you see at the drug store. This is the place to buy any and all of your St. Louis paraphernalia. There is truly something for everyone here. It’s a combination of stuff that says ST LOUIS and stuff that doesn’t have our name anywhere on it, but was made here. It makes you feel damn good shopping here because you know that every penny you spend will go back into St. Louis. It’s got stuff for every budget too! (actually it lingers on the inexpensive side which is definitely a plus). If you wait six months to check this place out, you’ll totally kick yourself when you do and regret not going sooner. Another PERFECT addition to Cherokee St.

I’ve been really happy to see this place — basically, they only sell items made within a 50-​mile radius (though the items themselves are not necessarily all St. Louis-​themed). It’s really kind of self-​affirming as a St. Louisan to see that all of this awesome stuff was made here. You may not know what to expect from a store that only sells local items, but Union Station tourist joint it ain’t.
If you’re looking for local books or CDs, you’ll find those; if you just want something quick to drink, you’ll find bottles of the excellent and rarely-​seen cane sugar Lucky Cola or Ski from across the river, as well as the requisite Fitz’s and Vess flavors. They carry T-​shirts, some really great refrigerator magnets, and you will probably want to load up on a few of the Big Small Town postcards or greeting cards (I kind of wish that I’d had the mostaccioli photo «somebody’s getting married» card for my friend’s sister’s wedding last summer). The food items will surprise you too, as the salsa and teriyaki jerky that I tried during Halloween were most addictive…

The Curio Shoppe is a general store, a gift store, and a Saint Louis museum all rolled into one! It’s perfect for people who try to buy their necessities and accouterments as locally as possible.
There is quite abit to see and they’re always adding new products and museum pieces. It’s also a perfect place to bring out-​of-​town relatives and friends when you wanna show the best of Saint Louis.
Must tries:
The locally made, eco-​friendly laundry detergent. It lasts a looong time and gets the job done really well!
The BBQ sauce, MmMMmMMmmMmm. Goes great on tamales! (Don’t laugh).
The big ‘olé soup mixes.
The peppermint bar soup.

Admission: I was a little skeptical when the Curio Shoppe was slated to open. «Yeah rite,» I thought,” you can sell a bunch of local crafts AND food and it’s not going to be a jumbled mess of etsy castoffs.”
But they do really make it work, in part because of the wide variety of quality goods. Want cute soaps? You can get them from a number of different producers. Music and paper goods? Lots of self-​released titles. Food? Hello, snacks. (I love a place that values quality snacks.) They use the space beautifully, and manage to sell both good gift items like fancy cutting boards and everyday local wares like cleaning supplies.
Sometimes the aesthetic isn’t really my jam, but they’re doing what they love, and it’s high time somebody in this town was doing it with this much heart.