Shopping in Erie

With an enormous inventory of instruments, a dependable technician, and friendly instructors, The Guitar Factory is the kind of store that performers come to count on over the course of their musical evolution. Here, musicians can browse from simple-starter electric guitars from Ibanez to high-end acoustics from Martin. Keyboards, percussion, amps, basses, and other gear are also available. When wear and tear strikes, the shop’s in-house repairman, Charles J. Quagliana, can nurse instruments back to functionality. Charles has honed his handiwork by working for superstars such as Mary J. Blige, Prince, The Beach Boys, and the Mos Eisley Cantina band.

In the studio’s 10 air-conditioned lesson rooms, a team of teachers with more than 30 years’ experience teach guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, and other instruments. Joe Shanahan, who teaches bass, guitar, vocal, keyboards, and drums, was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame with his band, Only Humen, and guitarist/singer/teacher Tommy Z has performed for the U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instructors tailor each lesson to student’s individual needs; with a current student pool ranging from ages 4 to 70, instructors are comfortable working with a wide range of skill sets.

After years sewing funky, girly clothing for her young daughter, Lisa Jamieson began to sell her creations online, founding the business that would become Tutu Girls Boutik & Kids Spa. Colorful leg warmers, flowered headbands, and the boutique's namesake tutus line shelves and fill racks throughout the boutique's pink and zebra-striped space inside the Boulevard Mall. A licensed cosmetologist, Jamieson also makes over petite patrons' hair, faces, and nails alongside staff in the spa, forgoing techniques such as cuticle trimming that might be unsafe for tiny digits. A make-your-own-lip-gloss station grants visitors the chance to craft their own sparkly solutions, and a pink catwalk mural encourages two-dimensional guests to work the runway.: