Janesville Shopping: 10 Distinctive and Unique Shops to Visit

There are so many artsy and unique places to shop in Janesville. Some of the coolest shops are directly located in the downtown area. Some travel to find shops they would never find back home, and Janesville is an underrated shopping mecca in Wisconsin. If only I had a lot more luggage space to bring my stuff home, I would have gotten a lot more things! My bank account is thanking the airlines who have put luggage limits.

Janesville has the usual chain stores you may have at home so might want to look and pop by as well ‘for the thrill of the hunt’. However, for the purposes of this post, we tend to focus on smaller businesses that are not part of a national chain.

Thank you Janesville Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau for the chance to visit your city! When visiting downtown Janesville and you have time, head on over to their visitor center to get more information on the city.

This post is part of our Wisconsin series. Here are a few more Wisconsin posts:

• 3 Best Things to Do in Osseo Wisconsin
• Janesville Shopping: 10 Distinctive and Unique Shops to Visit

608 Vintage: The best place for shopping in Janesville

Address: 34 S Main St, Janesville, WI

Hours: Monday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Sundays from 11:00 AM to 4 PM

Hands down, the best store in all of Janesville. 608 Vintage is made up of multiple stalls, each selling its own thing, and displaying its own wares. Some stalls make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time, with old gasoline lanterns hanging on top of the walls, some stalls are wizard-themed, and some with toys. You can pretty much get anything that you could ever dream of in 608 Vintage. The only problem is purses and backpacks are generally not allowed inside. You’ll have to leave your bags with the cashier, who will then put them under his desk for safekeeping. It’s not a big deal though, I left my purse, and it was there when I had to go back and pay for the items I wanted to pay for.

There are so many rooms within 608 Vintage that it’s so easy to get lost. There’s even a lower level you can go down to explore even more stalls! Honestly, you can spend hours upon hours exploring 608 Vintage. It may not be great for your budget, but it sure is a fun and unique experience to shop here.

Sugar Exchange: your dessert fix when shopping in Janesville

Address:  119 N Main St Suite 100, Janesville, WI

Hours: Closed Mondays. Tuesdays to Thursdays 11 AM to 7 PM, Fridays to Saturdays 11 AM to 8 PM, Sundays 11 AM to 5 PM.

When driving around Downtown Janesville, you’ll see a beautifully decorated store that’s so Instagrammable, you’ll probably want to stop. This is a candy shop called The Sugar Exchange. If you don’t like candy, fret not, for the store also has other sweets like ice cream! Desserts galore welcome you to this shop, so if you have a sweet tooth, hop on over!

Janesville Farmers Market: handmade goods and food galore

Address:  21 Dodge St – Janesville Town Square Janesville, WI

Open every Saturday from 8 AM to 1 PM from May to October.

Whenever we travel, we try to go to Farmer’s Markets in the cities we live in since you never know what you’re going to get. Contrary to the name, farmers markets are not just a place to get produce and other food items, they’re also a great spot to buy locally made items and by doing so, you support small businesses. Janesville’s Farmers Market goes through two main streets in downtown Janesville, across the river. You can easily find it if you’re walking downtown or by searching for Festival Street on your GPS. So many handmade items are available, and you can even snack and eat your way around the market. While you’re walking around, you can see the many murals and art installations in the city. Don’t miss seeing the Resilience Sculpture as well as the splash park that children (and dogs) love playing around in. Most stalls accept credit card payments, but double-check with the stall owner first, as they might have minimum charges.

Unique finds at Carousel Consignments

Address: 31 S Main St #1, Janesville, WI

Hours: 9 AM to 5:30 PM Mondays to Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

Carousel Consignments looks like a cool place to browse. Think 608 Vintage but smaller and more curated. The store was closed when I visited Janesville as the owners were on vacation, but the window display had an eclectic assortment of items on it. From a horse that used to be from a carousel to various bric-a-brac and home goodies, you won’t know what you’ll find unless you end up visiting the store.

Old Towne Mall: Not your typical mall

Address: 20-26 S. Main Street Janesville WI

Hours: 10 AM to 5:30 PM Mondays to Saturdays. Closed Sundays.

Imagine a three-story modern mall that is made up of small businesses, some of which have handmade stuff, some are galleries, and you just don’t know what you’re going to find. Much like 608 Vintage, but less eclectic, less chaotic, and more structured. Old Towne Mall was originally a dry goods store opened by a 22-year-old New Yorker named Joseph Bostwick. Now, it’s the home to the Janesville Convention & Visitors Bureau, where you can pick up free maps of the art tour, or Janesville-branded items that you can take home to remember your trip by. You can go to the Farmer’s Market, come in through the Water Street Entrance, and exit through Main Street once you’re done checking out Old Towne Mall and the tenants within it.

Adorn Boutique: Eco-Friendly and Ethical Items in Janesville

Address: 39 S Main St, Janesville, WI

Hours: Tuesdays to Fridays 11 AM to 5 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM. Sundays 12 PM to 4 PM Closed Mondays.

Are you a fan of eco-friendly and ethically made items? Adorn Boutique prides itself on carrying these items in-store as well as other locally made Wisconsin items. The store also has a lot of home goods, vegan leather purses, and other nice trinkets and accessories that it’s very hard to leave empty-handed. I didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted in the store, but there’s always a next time!

Lark Market: A Gourmet Food Lovers Haven in Janesville

Address: 56 S Main St, Janesville, WI

Hours: Tuesday to Friday 11 AM to 6 PM, Saturdays from 10 AM to 3 PM

Foodies delight, Lark Market might just be the place you’d want to visit. Cheese? They’ve got it, and face it, you can’t leave Wisconsin without buying their famous cheese. They have other food items that you’ll want, like charcuterie meats, jams, preserves, sauces, and other gourmet food you may possibly want. They even have a whole fridge full of gourmet ice cream, as well as local coffees and teas. Lark Market also has an adjacent restaurant called Lark, only open for dinner time from Tuesdays to Saturdays.

Raven’s Wish Gallery: Art in multiple mediums

Address: 101 W Milwaukee St, Janesville, WI

Hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays 10 AM to 4 PM (3 PM Saturdays). Closed Sundays to Tuesdays.

Located on the other side of the bridge from Main Street, Raven’s Wish Gallery is not hard to find, especially when walking through the Farmer’s Market every Saturday. Raven’s Wish Gallery is a big space, with multiple stalls that sell various arts and handmade goods. Every single piece has a story and an artist behind it, and there are employees more than willing to help explain some inspiration about a piece or find other things that you can get. There are too many things on display that it’s hard to focus and decide what to get while in the store. It was crowded and busy when I visited, and there’s all sorts of art you can think of from ceramic, wood, traditional, paintings, and the like.

Glass Garden: Lessons on Stained Glass

Address: 25 W Milwaukee St, Janesville, WI

Hours: Closed Mondays & Tuesdays

Stained glass is not a new medium. In fact, people from the medieval ages have been using stained glass techniques to decorate the windows of the historic churches that we love today. Did you know that you can take stained glass classes nowadays too? Glass Garden in Janesville has classes, including beginner’s classes, on how to work with the stained-glass medium. You may not be able to create the same level of stained glass that you get from these historic churches, but you can one day become a pro! The store sells supplies that help create stained glass – from glass to pattern books and stencil kits. While I did not have the time to stay and do one class, it seemed like a fun activity to do while in the city.

Re-Tag It Thrift Shop: Best thrift store for Janesville Shopping

Address: 1901 Milton Ave, Janesville, WI

Hours: 9 AM to 4 PM Tuesdays to Saturdays, closed Sundays and Mondays

This is a bonus since the thrift shop isn’t necessarily in downtown or in walking distance to all the other places I’ve mentioned in the article. This is an entirely volunteer-run thrift shop, and the prices are reasonable. My friend and I had fun browsing, and they had a deal for clothes, purses, and shoes, which were 50% off. If I didn’t have luggage constraints, I would’ve looked more, but I needed an extra bag to check in seeing as I had too much cheese to bring home and needed a bag to safely store them. I found a backpack, and a cute mug to bring home, which is now my husband’s favorite mug to use.

Thrift stores are an amazing way to save money and find what you need. You’ll get to help a charity and keep stuff from going to the dump and adding to the problem of waste. Stop by the store if you see it on your drive to Janesville’s Downtown. You never know what you’re going to find!

Shopping in Janesville, Wisconsin

Now that you have our favorite stores to go to in Janesville, save this post so you’ll know where to go! Janesville is such a fun place to go shopping, and the best time to go would be on a Saturday, so you can hit all these shops in one visit. Hope you have fun and mind your budget when you go. Spend the most time at 608 Vintage, if you only have one store you can go to. You really won’t regret visiting!

Did we miss out on any other cool spots to shop in Janesville? Feel free to let me know of any other shops in the comments below!