The store name is written on the browsing glass in lilac swirls, behind it rests a collection of colorful jewelry, shirts, and books. Between them, an orange fox peeks out to watch the passerbys. There is a small cart in front of the store, it is a library. Two men are standing there, talking about the copy of Voltaire’s candide. Leaving them, you can step into the roofed entrance that leads into the store. As you pass by the sign announcing that the restroom is available to all, the door swings open and you’re led inside.

As music streams from a small speaker on the wall and the sounds of conversations fill your ears, the first thing that fills your eyes are the colorful display shelves and clothing racks of watercolor art prints, glittery stickers, assortments of accessories, knitted sweaters, and more. This variety of wares comes from The Beautiful Idea’s thirty-two vendors, with artists who have either permanently or temporarily installed themselves in the front of the store, on the walls, or occassionally at a booth outside. The first permanent vendor, Critter Butts, has the largest display: a colelction of lithographic animals dance across shirts and postcards. Thumbing through the clothing rack you discover that yes, sometimes the animals are displaying their backsides.

Leaving the vendors, you reach a circle of bright bookshelves, a handpainted F12 sign hangs above. As your eyes pass over the spines, labels divide the works by genre. Indigenous perspectives, African American history, feminist works, literature for parents of queer kids, queer fiction, a collection of zines on the side. Leaf through them to see if any works catch your eye.

If you need a place to rest your legs or read that book you just picked up, you can head behind F12 to find a circle of well-loved leather couches. Sitting down, you can still peek your head over the bookshelves and see the antifascist and trans flags hanging above the vendor spots. If someone else is reading near you, likely, a conversation will easily arise.

If you go to the bathroom, you will find a room covered floor to ceiling in signatures, drawings, stickers. You can try to pick out certain messages if you’d like; many of them are very positive, a cat drawing here and there, an instagram handle underneath a song reccommendation. The only place you won’t find a single mark is on the mirror, with a sign kindly asking for it to remain this way.

Returning from the bathroom, you see an area of the store gently covered by a light blue curtain. Stepping behind it reveals Field Day Boutique, one of the largest vendors installed in-shop. A queer-owned pleasure shop, the walls are ligned with different toys, tools, accessories, and little notecards explaining the different options to meet many needs, even gender-reaffirming ones. In the corner? A little disco ball. Classy.

Once you’ve filled your arms with everything you wish to purchase, you can walk over to the counter. Take your time looking at all the stickers as you go to the register. The people behind the counter are friendly, likely chatting with each other or a customer (new or returning) or running back and forth to help the vendor set up the table outside. On your visit, it is a volunteer who sits there crocheting with bright red yarn. As they bag your items, you have the opportunity to see one last vendor; a baker no bakery sign offering gelato sandos above a mini fridge.