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Los Angeles has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around LA that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.
Image via Yelp
As the editorial director at CurtCo Robb Media, Bruce Wallin oversees the editorial development and production of the Robb Report. Since joining the team in 2003, Wallin has produced more than 200 issues of the Robb Report and ancillary publications including Robb Report Luxury Resorts, which he founded and launched for the company in 2007. He's an expert source on luxury travel and products and has appeared on television shows including Entertainment Tonight and Extra; here, he tells us about Wonders of the World, one of his favorite shopping spots in Santa Monica.
"With its bizarre window displays and neon-sign-lit façade, this store on the corner of Lincoln and Broadway might pass for a kitschy curios shop at best. Wander through the doors, however, and you enter a strangely satisfying Land Before Time that's brimming over with the world's best selection of top-quality fossils and crystals. Casual gift shoppers, serious collectors and everyone in between can pick out petrified pieces and rare stones for jewelry making, or fossils, meteorites and ammonites for impressing dinner-party guests. This is not a place for cheap trinkets. Some of the small rocks and fossils can be had for a few bucks, but prices quickly rise into the hundreds and thousands—even upward of a million for, say, a perfectly preserved triceratops skull. In addition to cash, be sure to budget some time for your visit to Wonders of the World, not only to explore the treasure-filled bins but to chat with owner Henry Runge, who is fanatical about the products he proffers."
· Wonders of the World [Official Site]
· Robb Report [Official Site]
· All Shopping Confidential Posts [Racked LA]