Here at LAist, we love to shop local. In 2008, "LAist Goes Shopping" found places to buy toys, clothes, housewares, instruments, art, and more. These diverse stores all feature locally owned businesses and amazing things to see and buy. more ›

Last month, LAist went shopping at Cipher Gallery on Fairfax. Taking a closer look, these plates by San Francisco based artist Lisa Wood show "fictionalized case studies based on [world leading Laryngologist Chevalier Jackson's] pioneering work recovering objects from his patients' gullets and windpipes." Whoa, careful what you eat there. more ›

Enter Cipher on Fairfax and you'll find framed insects, vintage biology charts, and antique funeral wreaths, alongside exotic statuary, idiosyncratic accessories, and glass human skulls. The store sells a treasure trove of curiosities from around the world. Cipher’s opening exhibition features works by assemblage artists Lisa Wood, Rocky Wager and Ashley Phelps, joined by concrete artist J. Leslie Ward, entomologist Christopher Marley, and Jake Scharbach, Matt Crane, Eric Fisher, Anne Ramis and Seth Williams. Tonight marks the official opening of Cipher Gallery with a reception from 6:00 to 10:00pm. more ›