Maren Erickson has lived part time in Florence for many years. While in Florence, she studies Italian language and culture, and indulges in her passion of Italian fashion with her constant canine companion, Chia. Chia has become the most famous dog in Florence!
Charlene writes: I found Maren’s website when planning my trip to Florence. I was impressed by what she said and the services she offered. I wanted quality shoes and jewelry at good prices. I scheduled a date and time for her to help my daughter and me shop Florence. She was met us at our hotel, was on time, and took us to wonderful shops and stores. I was on the hunt for Italian leather boots. The shop she took us to was any shoe lover’s dream. I bought a pair of shoes and two pair of handmade boots! Our time with Maren and Chia will be the shopping experience of our lives.
From D.T.:I am the guy from San Francisco Maren was mentioning in the blog. I am back in SF now, and sad to have left Italy, and sad to say goodbye to Maren and Chia! I am a busy professional gay man, I know what I like, I love clothes and shoes and have a good eye for fashion, especially what looks good on men. So I couldn’t imagine hiring a shopping guide before. But for this trip to Italy, I was only in Florence a few days before heading to a dear friend’s wedding in Trieste, and knew I was short on time. My last time in Florence was 10 years ago, and so I knew I wanted to look at leather coats. I also packed lightly, and knew I wanted an Italian suit for the wedding, and didn’t want to schlepp one of my own suits from the States. I contacted Maren knowing I would be short on time, and wanted someone to hone in on a few quality shops with reasonable prices. Maren was a dream! We hit it off right away, and with her guidance and in depth knowledge of the Florence shopping scene, I was able to walk away with some gorgeous pieces: two leather coats, two leather bags, belts, a gorgeous Italian suit and a pair of the most beautiful, comfortable, high quality hand made shoes I have ever owned. Thanks Maren for the easy breezy shopping, your advice and eye, and your great personality. A word to the gay men who love quality clothing: if you have the time and money to spend, want incredibly good quality at reasonable prices, contact Maren! Do yourself the favor, and skip trying to do it on your own. Maren knows the best places and deals, plus she is a blast to spend time with. Happy shopping, and thanks again Maren!! 
Michelle and Maria W.: can’t thank Maren and her team enough for being our personal guide in Florence. I took my mom to Italy for her 60th birthday and our favorite part of the entire trip was our afternoon shopping with “Florence Shop For It” – – they took all the hassle out of everything and made it the perfect afternoon. We booked them for 4 hours and needed only three and we found EVERYTHING on our list. When I tell you that they are PROS – I am not kidding. There are not words to describe how pleased we were with the service and their expertise. OUSTANDING – we would recommend them to anyone who goes to Florence. Thank you so much for making our trip so special!
Margie from L.A.: Maren did a fantastic job in taking us to customer friendly shops that had the best goods that Italy can offer. She did not rush us through the experience and was there to meet all of our needs and desires in living the true Florence shopping experience! Thank you Maren for a fun dining and shopping trip. From your new friends in Southern California!!!! Ciao!!!
From Karen: Although I live in Florence my days are very full with school leaving me little time to scout out the stores for new and interesting wardrobe updates. Furthermore, I do not speak Italian and although most of the shop owners speak English, it is always so nice when at least one in the party can speak Italian. The solution to my fashion dilemma was an afternoon of shopping with Maren and her adorable little Chia, who entertained me with her Ballet prowess when our shopping was over. In our 2.5 hours together Maren was able to satisfy all of my fall fashion needs as we wove our way through the city streets into shops that I would never have thought to go into (or find) if left to my own devices. I picked up a few easy items suitable for my days spent at school……and then…..on to the really fun stuff ~ Leather!! I bought a fabulous new handbag, a beautiful jacket and a pair of boots. Overall, a really great shopping experience!
Thanks for the fun afternoon Maren. Let’s do this again in the Spring.
Jan from Florida: My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our shopping time with you. We thought Chia was just the most adorable and well behaved dog. You were so helpful and your advice so valuable. We love everything we purchased, and my friend was so impressed with the shop you took him to for shoes. The owner and a man from the factory where the shoes are made, came to our hotel to refit the shoes, because they were not positive that the initial fitting was perfect. We were impressed with how much they wanted us to be satisfied with his shoes. Since we knew we would only have a short time span to shop, your knowledge of where to go for what we wanted to purchase, save us time and money. Thank you so much.