Shopping in Apex

Runners are different. Different from non-runners and different from each other. Raleigh Running Outfitters' Jim Micheels understands this uniqueness. With more than 25 years of running experience and over 20 marathons under his belt, Jim is well versed in the art of motion. In return, Jim and his staff of running experts provide customers with the latest gear and technology to keep moving until someone completes the first Transatlantic marathon.

Inside the athletic outfitter, shelves brim with more than 60 styles of running shoes, along with racks of shorts, jackets, and shirts that keep body temperatures regulated. A video gait analysis system tracks customers' leg movement to analyze their stride, ankle motion, and foot strike.

Before stepping onto the ice or the baseball diamond, members of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Durham Bulls pay a visit to Drs. Michael Peters and Jason Price of Eye Care Associates, who have provided top-notch eyeglasses, contact lenses, and eye exams for nearly 35 years. The vision specialists help rid blurriness from pucks, balls, and signs held by adoring fans. When they’re not gazing into the eyes of athletes, they and their fellow doctors at a network of clinics stay busy correcting the vision of seniors, children, and adults. The company topped Indy Week's 2012 Readers’ Choice poll for best optometrists in the area and received a Standing Ovation award as the best eyecare center in the Triangle in 2012 from readers of Metro Magazine.

Once Upon a Child is a kid-friendly marketplace where parents can buy and sell gently used children’s apparel, toys, equipment, and furniture. Each store recruits a team of buyers that carefully reviews potential merchandise and ensures that every item that goes on sale meets the store’s high standards for style, safety, and resale condition. To ensure the safety of customers’ little ones, the team stays up to date on the latest merchandise recalls and pores over each item with oversized magnifying glasses. As the beneficiaries of all this hard work, shoppers peruse brand-name merchandise sold at up to 70% off retail. Popular brands include Fisher-Price and Evenflo, and clothes boasting labels from Abercrombie, Levi’s, and Carters range in sizes from babies through girls’ size 16 and boys’ size 20.

A graduate of North Carolina State University's School of Design, Holly Aiken channeled her passion for creativity to style her own successful business. Aiken fills her downtown Raleigh boutique with her own original bags and accessories, which feature sleek, simple designs made with durable materials. Her accessories sport vintage-inspired colors and geometric accents paired with vinyl and webbing trim built to withstand daily use or the storage needs of Mary Poppins. She makes each of her pieces by hand with a precise touch to ensure both fashion and long-term function.

Since 1968, Jerry’s Artarama has assisted artists through every phase of the creative process, including furnishing their studios with art supplies and finishing off their completed artwork with custom-framing services. They stock their shelves with student- and professional-grade supplies, including Winsor & Newton’s high-value Winton line of beginners’ oil colors and Williamsburg handmade paints. The framing department, meanwhile, keeps a wide range of mats, moulding, and glass on hand to create lavish homes for fine artwork or simple enclosures for family photos and important receipts.

My Back Porch rewards deal-seekers by stocking gently used garments, accessories, and shoes from well-known brands, all of which undergo a thorough selection process to ensure they're in near-pristine condition. The shop invites leisurely browsing with its cheerful red and yellow walls and bright lighting, which illuminates the Ralph Lauren and Hollister tags peeking from shirt collars and the stitched names of Coach and Vera Bradley emblazoned across purse linings. Glass jewelry counters glint with a collection of earrings and necklaces, and leopard-print chairs face racks of shoes, beckoning guests to sit and ponder which pair of heels would work best for aerating their lawns.