Charlie Mylie (charliemylie.com) started drawing notes for friends when he was a student at the Kansas City Art Institute. Years later, he’s forged a career in children’s book illustration and a reputation for personalized, on-the-spot drawings under the sporadic pseudonym Pop Up Charlie — whose sign exclaims, “Yes It’s True, Pop Up Charlie Can Draw… Continue reading Yes It’s True, Pop Up Charlie Can Draw Anything For You
The Painted Sofa At Christmastime, the Painted Sofa (1331 Union Ave., Kansas City, Mo. 816-474-8832, thepaintedsofa.com) is what we imagine the inside of a gingerbread house looks like. While the vintage-skewed home goods store is a treat year round, something about the organized chaos of Santa figurines, white-frosted faux evergreen and plates and bowls with… Continue reading The Painted Sofa is our favorite Kansas City Christmas shop
When Jim Kreeger and Ace Mason set out to plot the Kansas City area’s third disc course at Waterworks Park in northern Kansas City(3500 N. Oak Trafficway, Kansas City, Mo.), they came with different ideas. “I wanted to shoot straight out south, under that gigantic oak tree on the hill that slopes off,“ Mason says.… Continue reading Waterworks Park is home to the greatest frisbee golf hole in Kansas City
River Market Antiques Got a few hours to spare? Make a trip to River Market Antiques (115 W. Fifth St., Kansas City, Mo. 816-221-0220, rivermarketantiquemall.com). This 30,000-square-foot market houses 175 booths and showcases — all in a constant state of flux. Although narrow, the creaky wooden stairs on the left side of the entrance lead… Continue reading There’s a 30,000-square-foot antique store near downtown Kansas City
Number 1 Mascot: KC Wolf Chiefs mascot KC Wolf was the first NFL mascot to be enshrined in the Mascot Hall of Fame. Standing 7 feet tall with 85-inch hips, the wolf was introduced in 1989 and is great at impersonating Elvis or tackling his opposing team’s mascot. The wolf has been played by the… Continue reading We ranked every mascot in Kansas and Missouri — see how your favorite stacked up
Send the kiddos back to school in style. Sequins, jean skirts and graphic tees bring a sparkling, whimsical look for girls while boys are stylin’ in dark colors, stripes and khakis. Boys 1. Button Down Shirt, $10, H&M 2. Navy Multi-Stripe T-Shirt, $10, H&M 3. Dark Khaki Jogger Pant, $15, H&M 4. Socks, $12, H&M… Continue reading The looks your kids will want for back to school
Kansas City Irish Fest In the 1800s, Irish immigrants used their knowledge of quarrying and bricklaying to, quite literally, pave the way for downtown Kansas City. Today, their descendants, who make up 10 percent of the metro area, gather on those same grounds to show Celtic pride every August. Last year, the event at Crown… Continue reading You can get free genealogy consulting at the KC Irish Festival this year
The Petaler Sarah Pickert’s craving for a creative outlet, along with seeing a flower truck in Florida, inspired The Petaler (kcflowertruck.com). After finalizing her business plan, she bought a restored ’53 Ford pickup truck and began to form relationships with Kansas City-area flower wholesalers and nearby flower farms. Now, she fits 30 buckets in her… Continue reading This Kansas City flower truck pops up all over town
MADI Apparel Hayley Besheer Santell was surprised to learn that women’s underwear is often the most urgently needed and least donated item in shelters around the world. After learning that a close family member had dealt with domestic violence, she was inspired to open local underwear and lingerie brand MADI Apparel (1659 Summit St., Kansas… Continue reading This local underwear and lingerie brand gives to charity with every sale
3DHQ While cloning yourself isn’t available in this market quite yet, 3DHQ (231 W. 47th St., Kansas City, Mo. 913-204-1234, 3dhqkc.com) in the Plaza is the next best thing. Using 3D printing, 3DHQ makes a miniature figurine of you or your pet using special cameras and software. The process starts by doing a body scan… Continue reading You can make a mini me on the Plaza
Pawn & Pint Modern board games can get expensive, especially when you don’t know if you’ll like the gameplay. For $5, you can avoid that problem at Pawn & Pint in the River Market area (13 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo. 816-701-9227, pawnsandpints.com), a pub filled with over 1,000 games ranging from classics like Monopoly… Continue reading Demo a board game before buying at Pawn & Pint
Happy Monday, Kansas City: Texas finally likes our barbecue! At least that’s the conclusion we’re drawing from this post filed by Texas Monthly barbecue critic Daniel Vaughn, who recently stopped by Kansas City on a road trip. Vaughn was duly impressed by the Texas-inspired brisket at Harp, the same thick-cut slices of smoked beef we… Continue reading Texas Monthly’s barbecue critic finally found KC brisket he liked
Raygun In Motown, the shirts say “Detroit vs Everybody.” In the Buckeye State, it’s “Ohio Against the World.” Thanks to Raygun, Kansas City has its own appropriate riff: “Kansas City Loves Everybody.” Hard to get more KC than that. Charlie Hustle makes many of our favorite spirit shirts, but we have to tip our hat… Continue reading This is our favorite Kansas City t-shirt
Boomerang At most thrift shops, the clothes that come in are simply hung where they fit, and flipping through the racks feels like a scavenger hunt. Not so at Boomerang (900 Pennsylvania Ave., Kansas City, Mo. 816-531-6111, boomerang-kc.com), where every item is carefully sorted by decade. Here, shopping feels like getting in a time machine… Continue reading This local thrift shop has perfectly organized items by decade
Noir Five years ago, Pam Smith had a desire to leave her IT job and pursue darker interests. “I was really inspired by an acceptance of darker things,” she says. “I wanted to incorporate something that I was passionate about with a mission.” With her passion came Noir Arts & Oddities (1101 Mulberry St., Kansas… Continue reading Noir is Kansas City’s best death-themed shopping experience
Open Belly Podcast In just two months during the summer of 2018, the world lost arguably the two greatest culinary storytellers: TV host Anthony Bourdain and famed Los Angeles critic Jonathan Gold. In response, Danielle Lehman wanted to do…something. Lehman is a native of Hutchinson, Kansas, northwest of Wichita. Before coming to Kansas City in… Continue reading Kansas City food podcast Open Belly is going national
Kansas City Pig Rescue In the land of BBQ and bacon, a pig rescue organization is sure to stand out. The Kansas City Pig Rescue Network (facebook.com/kcpigrescuenetwork) is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of pet pigs in Kansas and Missouri. KCPRN started out during the short-lived teacup pig craze because of the false… Continue reading The teacup pig craze made a mess — this rescue group is cleaning it up
Keith Goldman of 1900 Keith Goldman has been wearing bow ties since 1987, when a sales clerk at Sheplers showed him how to tie one by practicing on his thigh. Today, the bow ties are a signature element of Goldman’s impeccable sartorial taste. (Other elements include clever glasses and handsome tailored suits from Houndstooth in… Continue reading Meet Kansas City’s best-dressed restaurant staffer
Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead Inspired by the popular West Coast trend, Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead (13800 Switzer Road, Overland Park, Kan. 913-895-6390) offers goat yoga sessions for $25 every Tuesday at 6:30 pm during the summer months. Yogis find their zen (or at least try to) in an outdoor pen filled with around 20 baby… Continue reading You can now do goat yoga in Kansas
Whiskers Cat Café Whiskers Cat Café (3705 S.W. Trafficway, Kansas City, Mo. 816-888-9701, whiskerskc.com) is heaven on earth for cat people. Audrey Boese and her fiance John Thompson opened Whiskers in conjunction with the KC Pet Project, and although the idea of a cat cafe isn’t all that new — there were over 40 up… Continue reading You’ll want to take home every single fluffy friend at this Kansas City cat cafe
Bar K A heaven for dogs and their owners, Bar K, just north of River Market (501 Berkley Plaza, Kansas City, Mo. 816-474-2275, barkdogbar.com), has it all. The bar’s building itself is made out of upcycled shipping containers and has multiple levels to hang out on. The outside area is separated into three sections: the… Continue reading We’re a little obsessed with Bar K
