152 GOODS & SERVICES didn’t have a proper home base. Nearly three decades after its founding, it has grown into a small chain with locations in Glendale, Tempe and Goodyear. But the original Central Avenue shop still runs like a passion project, with staff who skate, walls covered in team photos and jewelry made from cracked decks spared from a landfill. It’s also notable for its work beyond commercial sales. Cowtown sponsors PHXAM, the annual contest at Desert West that pulls a $16,000 purse and skaters from across the globe. Since 2017, the shop has run a nonprofit arm, Skateboard Angel, that puts boards in the hands of kids who couldn’t otherwise afford one. Parents who bought their first setup in Phoenix back in the ’90s now bring their own kids in for the same gear. The wheel turns on. i i i BEST PATCHES LUCKY ROSE BOUTIQUE 7079 E. FIFTH AVE., SCOTTSDALE 480-866-8660 LUCKYROSE.COM Patches are so hot right now. Those little pieces of fabric decorate hats, bags and anything else that lays flat enough to get them ironed on. The selection of patches at Lucky Rose Boutique, which opened earlier this year in Old Town Scottsdale, is incred- ible. For folks visiting during spring training, Lucky Rose offers patches dedicated to every Cactus League team. Bachelorettes may want to put cowboy boots or a margarita on a souvenir hat, and we already have our WM Phoenix Open cap ready to go, emblazoned with patches that read “Let’s Par-Tee” and “Over Par and Under the Influence.” Our favorite options are the hyper-specific Arizona ones: an elaborately detailed Arizona sunset scene, the iconic city of Scott- sdale cowboy and the Old Town horse foun- tain, the real version of which you can see from the shop windows. Have one of the store’s employees fix them on a hat for you, or take them home as a souvenir of your trip to the desert. BEST ODDITY SHOP CURIOUS NATURE 4346 N. SEVENTH AVE. 602-314-4346 CURIOUSNATURESHOP.COM Whether your interest in oddities is mystical, purely scientific or part of a memento mori practice, Curious Nature is beckoning you. Located on Seventh Avenue in the heart of Melrose, Curious Nature calls itself a “fine natural history emporium.” The walls are lined with ethically sourced specimens both living (exotic plants) and dead (skulls). It stocks trinkets, stickers, antique photos, books on poisonous plants and crystals in a rainbow of colors. It also offers opportunities to get hands-on. Its calendar of events will teach you how to taxidermy a rat one week, enlighten you on Victorian-era mourning rituals and ghosts the next and lead you in a workshop on writing about grief the week after. i i i BEST HIP-HOP SHOP TRILL 4828 N. 16TH ST. 602-595-4510 FACEBOOK.COM/TRILLPHX The Valley’s got hella sneaker spots and vintage clothing stores. Then there’s Trill, where every visit feels like moonwalking through a hip-hop museum. Owner Chuck Huus and his staff enthusiastically welcome everyone the same way, whether they’ve come to crate-dig for some ’90s rap vinyl, pick up some spray paint or just browse. Giant Krylon spray cans tower over vintage boomboxes. Hand-signed memorabilia chills beside old-school windbreakers, Cazal frames and a 5-foot-tall Puma shoe. Then someone grabs a mic, and it’s on. One weekend, OG Ice-T is telling ’hood stories and behind-the-scenes Hollywood tales. Meanwhile, Young MC busts through the glass doors. On the shop’s turntables, DJ Qbert’s hands stay busy scratchin’ while graffiti artists lay down a phat mural. Members of the Rock Steady Crew and The New York City Breakers gather around shop-