Local

These Bellingham specialty stores range from creative and unique to downright strange

The doors are open Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, at The Third Planet boutique at 200 W. Holly St. in Bellingham, Wash.
The doors are open Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, at The Third Planet boutique at 200 W. Holly St. in Bellingham, Wash. The Bellingham Herald

As a city with plenty of local quirks and a tendency toward independent and locally-owned businesses, the city of Bellingham is full of unique specialty stores. We put together (and confirmed their current status) a short list of some of the more interesting ones.

D&Tea

  • A creation entry in the caffeine combinations you didn’t know you needed genre, D&Tea offers Dungeons and Dragons themed teas. The company began selling teas online before opening a store on James Street.

Bellingham Coin Shop

  • Do you like spending large amounts of money on small amounts of money? If so, you should head to Bellingham Coin Shop. The Cornwall Avenue store sells collectible coins in addition to jewelry and antiques.

Cute But Crazy Socks

  • Downtown Bellingham has an entire store dedicated to weird socks. Cute But Crazy Socks has an entire selection of sloth-themed and swear word-themed socks among dozens of other categories.

Cute But Crazy Socks on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 in downtown Bellingham at 1323 Cornwall Ave. Bellingham, Wash.
Cute But Crazy Socks on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 in downtown Bellingham at 1323 Cornwall Ave. Bellingham, Wash. Alyse Smith The Bellingham Herald

Brazen Shop and Studio

  • With its selection of home goods, jewelry and art, Brazen Shop and Studio might seem normal at first if it wasn’t for its name. But the shop’s offerings, made by nearby small businesses, definitely tend to be more on the unique side. They have everything from psychedelic-inspired art prints to witty stickers, keychains and patches.

Third Planet

  • You can also find witty stickers and accessories at Downtown’s Third Planet. But the store has its own spin on the local artisan shop concept, tarot card and crystals as well.

Living Pantry

  • It’s not what it sells that makes Living Pantry unique, it’s how they sell it. With locations in Bellingham and Blaine, the store sells bath and body products in bulk, so you can cut down on using disposable containers. Bring a reusable container and when you’re running low on whatever you need, get a refill at their Fairhaven store.

If you have a favorite unique store around town that wasn’t mentioned in this list, or if there’s anything else around town you’d like to see us write about, we’d love to know. Fill out our service journalism team’s Google Form to let us know your thoughts.

DS
Daniel Schrager
The Bellingham Herald
Daniel Schrager is the service journalism reporter at the Bellingham Herald. He joined the Herald in February of 2024 after graduating from Rice University in 2023. Support my work with a digital subscription
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