Shopping in Fort Myers

After 20 years spent selling pianos at one of New England’s largest keyboard retailers, Jay and Kay Guretsky decided to move to Florida and open their own business in 1991. The couple opened three music shops before moving all of their inventory into their current jumbo-size space, where they earned a reputation as the best place to buy pianos and organs, according to the News-Press readers in 2012. Jay & Kay’s Organ & Piano Co. stocks more than 150 instruments, including grand pianos, electric organs, and invisible synths for accompanying prog-rock air guitarists. The shop’s instructors lead intensive private lessons and laid-back group sessions that use the Recreational Music Making system. Endorsed by the National Association of Music Merchants, RMM equips students with the skills and self-confidence for recreational playing.

Relying on more than 25 years of experience in the framing and art-design fields, Affordable Frame Design's seasoned staff performs a diverse bevy of services and products for homes and businesses. The artistically conscious professionals assemble elegant frames for artwork, documents, and family memorabilia in-house, using professional conservation materials to seal contents inside sleek encasings. More than 4,000 frame samples line the shop's two showrooms, where the multitalented designers also repair busted frames, cleanse and stretch canvases, proffer art appraisals, and construct borders for shadowboxes and flat-screen TVs. To ensure their custom creations don't clash with curtains or throw pillows' new shoes, Affordable Frame Design's team travels to clients' homes for personal consultations and installation services.

Cars line up at the drive-thru window, where instead of bags of burgers and fries, staffers hand over bundles of glossy personal photos. Inside Creative Photo & Digital Imaging, digital techs convert media such as VHS tapes, records, and reels to DVD and CD, while across the store, photo experts transfer snaps onto album prints, museum-grade canvas wraps, and gifts such as coffee mugs and puzzles. Heirloom family portraits, ravaged by rips and sun damage, doff their imperfections in the photo-restoration lab, and an onsite portrait studio captures clans as they update their sweater sets through the years. Creative Photo & Digital Imaging also hosts photography classes on subjects from how to take better pictures on camera phones to the intricacies of digital SLR cameras.

Silk Jungle's handcrafted silk floral arrangements and greenery have earned the textile nursery _Naples Daily News_’s Southwest Florida Choice award for best silk plants and flowers in 2008, 2009, and 2011. Bear—the shop's black labrador—roams around the silken forest, performing tricks for clients and helping them decide between calla lilies and poppies to complete their custom floral arrangements.

Understanding that each customer has their own sense of style and aesthetic, the knowledgeable framers at The Great Frame Up strive to meet various needs through a wide assortment of frames and the latest technology. With the ability to craft one-of-a-kind frames, the team can also help customers discover a new way of framing their family portraits, artwork, or sports memorabilia. By consulting clients on the style of their home or office, the experts put their know-how and creativity to work in crafting a distinct frame for each space. To further assist customers, the framing specialists offer an online list of tips and trends.

At Ruth Messmer Florist Inc., third-generation florists arrange fragrant roses, asiatic lilies, and vivid daisies into fragrant bouquets for any occasion. They can create classic arrangements with sleek, simple glass vases and decorative ribbons or enhance blooms with creative flourishes such as plush stuffed animals, balloons, or wicker baskets.

In addition to flowers, florists fill gift baskets with epicurean treats such as Ghirardelli chocolates, dried meats, fruit, and wheels of cheese jacked from Mighty Mouse’s Cadillac.