Friends and I had lunch at Cafe Primavera at Allied Arts on Thursday. Before meeting up with my friends, I took a walk around the place to reacquaint myself with it. I needed to shop and the Guild seemed a perfect place to do it.
The Allied Arts Guild has been a meeting place and more since 1929. It is located at 75 Arbor Rd. in Menlo Park, CA. The easiest way to find the Allied Arts Guild is to turn on Cambridge Ave. off El Camino Real. It doesn't matter which way you are driving on El Camino there is only one way to turn on Cambridge. Drive all the way until Cambridge T's into Arbor and you are there.
Allied Arts is owned and operated by the Allied Arts Guild Auxiliary. They are one of six auxiliaries that raise funds for the care of children at the Lucile Packard Childrens' Hospital which is part of the Stanford University Hospital complex. The Artisan Shop is staffed by volunteers from the Auxiliary.
The Artisan Shop is located just across from the cafe. The shop is full of gifts for the holiday season and has an abundance of seasonal decorations, too. I found an ornament made of gold colored wire for our tree. I also found a felted purse for my sister whose birthday is in March.
There is much more, of course, but one can only shop for so long. I'll go back!
Since the Allied Arts Guild was founded to provide a place for artists to work, there are studios and retail space for the things the artists create. I stopped by an art Gallery and enjoyed some time looking at the paintings hanging there. They also have some prints and cards for purchase in addition to the paintings.
If you want to shop local, this is a great place to do it. You will get out of the cookie cutter style of shops and into shops that are carrying things that are produced locally and/or are one-of-a-kind.
Marge Draper, REALTOR
DRE#01202747
KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY MENLO PARK
