A Treasure Trove in Tucson

I was visiting my sister Dorrie at her home in Arizona when she told me about a store she discovered in Tucson. We hit Interstate 19 and found Bon Boutique located in a Josias Joesler building. "Wow." That's what I said to Dorrie. "Wow!"

Joesler, arguably Tucson's greatest historic architect, is a perfect fit for Bon, which is owned by the beautiful mother and daughter team Bonnie and Crystal Flynt. The pair have a genius gift for discovering one-of-a kind items for the home and garden. Many are handmade, a perfect match with the Joesler handcrafted decorative motifs of the building. Some of the cool items include vintage French toys mixed with John Derian furnishings, brightly colored Bolivian rugs with Coral & Tusk pillows, and paper flower garlands aplenty. It's completely imaginative, and trust me, a lot of fun.

I fell in love with a pair of three-foot-high concrete dogs flanking either side of the entrance. Dorrie bought my birthday present, a pair of black hand-stitched arrows pointing in opposite directions. Perfect for a wrong-way person like me. Bonnie and Crystal and their fabulous staff have created a gracious atmosphere to frame their entirely unique vision. As they put it: "The two of us share a love of things that are well made and well designed. We like a mix of new and old, rough and refined, colorful and dark, east and west, fun and serious." I couldn't agree more.

Photography courtesy of Bon Boutique.

Above: "Most of our things are made in the USA, France, or Japan on a small production level," Bonnie says. The Je T'Aime Pillow from Coral & Tusk (made in Brooklyn) is $118.

Above: The mother/daughter team of Bonnie (L) and Crystal Flynt, who have been working together for eight years. "We wanted to have a store together because we wanted to bring things to Tucson that we loved—things we couldn't find in Tucson ourselves," Bonnie says. "We are really lucky that we get along so well and also that our style is complementary. I think we inspire each other; well, my mom is an inspiration to me. She grew up on a ranch just above Santa Barbara, surrounded by nature and by hardworking people. She has this wonderful, rich background that taught her many things that can't be learned in school. I admire that."

Above: A view of the shop interior; "My mom has the green thumb and she is always planting the most beautiful things —always succulents and cactus of course, but also seasonal things like wheat grass and daffodils for spring and paperwhites for winter," Bonnie says.

Above: A collection of succulents on display.

Above: Vintage Bolivian Frazada; $340 each. "These are so beautiful and work beautifully in the desert," Bonnie says.

Above: Floral Silk Scarves from France; $132 each.

Above: Presents wrapped in twine with violets.

Above: The entrance to the Josias Joesler building. Born in Zurich, Joesler practiced in the Tucson area and designed many of the buildings in the historic Tucson city center.