Black Ink - the home of "unexpected necessities" which also has a Harvard Square location - is a bright, meticulously organized wonderland in Beacon Hill. The store convinces you random goods like a Learn to Knit Puppet Kit, fake sushi sets, a Big Boy piggy bank, or iron-on camp merit badges ($8.50 for 6) are essential additions to your life. Stop in if you need a quirky gift for a friend (like a Magic 8-Ball or a baby Buddha statue), unique greeting cards ($2.25-3.50), or just feel like treating yourself. Merchandise changes frequently.

Elisabeth Warman, the sharp mind behind Black Pearl Press, is an artist that specializes in letterpress invitations and stationary. Her studios that are located in the South End are where she not only creates her invitations or stationary on the 3 antique letterpresses, but it is also where she designs all of her custom orders.

A high end gourmet chocolaterie in the South End. Aroa offers a wide variety of chocolates, sweets, desserts, and hot chocolate only made from the highest quality of cacoa beans. Good news: the South End just got alot sweeter.

_ Chic fresh florist designs, mostly for event and weddings but a fair and unusual selection of cut flowers. Also some house plants. Their arranged 'baskets' make particularly good gifts. Since they make frequent trips to the flower exchange, you can make a request and have it within a few days

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RICHART is a fine chocolate shop. Don't go here looking for samples, because at these prices they can't afford to give any out. But it is wonderful and creative chocolate with flavors from Verbena to Basil. It's a very unusual chocolate shop and definitely worth a visit. According to their web site, they make "gourmet french chocolates made from the finest ingredients."

Chocolates of Switzerland. THE BEST CHAMPAGNE TRUFFLES EVER!

Beauty by the Square Inch: where fine art meets interior design Lush, lovely, original paintings for your home, office or boardroom by award-winning artist, Miss J. Rebecca Trueblood Any size, any colors, many styles to choose from Artist's Statement: I create pieces that acknowledge and respond to the physical presence of the person viewing them. This comes from an uncertainty about my own place in the world; the urge to have a unique identity with clearly marked personal space conflicts with a longing for real intimacy and a feeling of being part of a community. In some pieces, there are details that will not read from across the room: you must get close to see them, much closer than you would to the face of a stranger. Colors may cozy up together or push violently. Spaces between shapes create varying degrees of tension. I take inspiration from everyday objects, anthropological images, microscopic life, and the surface of our planet, utilizing patterning and repetition that makes creation a meditative and obsessive act. Flat rate pricing: Works on paper, unframed: $1 per square inch Works on canvas: $2 per square inch shipping extra non-returnable

Chic florist studio using only fresh flowers and specializing in custom arrangements for every occasion. Their aesthetic usually tends towards dramatic color combinations combined with varied height. Now offering rooftop and balcony garden services.