Shopping in Hendersonville

At Country Bear Factory, youngsters bring plush bears to life in a process both imaginative and official enough to merit a birth certificate. Each certificate commemorates the day visitors brought their stuffed buddies—who can tower up to 16 inches tall—into the world, complete with customized outfits. The factory celebrates not only the birth of each bear, but human youngsters’ birthdays, with hostess-led celebrations where littl'uns caper about with balloon animals and prepare for the witness-protection program with face painters.

Combining experience in lampworking, glass blowing, and jewelry design, the three resident artists of Asheville Glass Center lead workshops and classes to share their passion for manipulating molten glass. The two- to three-hour intro courses teach neophytes to craft borosilicate marbles and soft glass beads, and more in-depth classes result in intricate implosion flowers and sand-cast solid forms. The center also offers open studio time for more experienced artists who wish to work alone, like the winningest three-legged racers.

In 1950, John Searcy loaded up his pickup truck with car batteries and began peddling his wares to wholesalers. Two years later, John formalized his operation and began Interstate All Battery Center, a battery retailer and service center that spans the continent from Austin to Anchorage powering cars, hearing aids, and cameras. Interstate All Battery Center charges gadgets and vehicles with more than 16,000 types of power solutions, and eases environmental taxes on the planet with a robust battery-recycling system. In a year, Interstate All Battery Center recycled 850 million pounds of batteries—just enough energy to grant immortality to one Furby.

At Mr. K’s Used Books, Music, and More’s five locations, funny money is the currency of choice. In exchange for bringing in good-quality books, CDs, and DVDs, customers receive store-issued dollars that they can use toward the purchase of other items. Some in-demand items, such as school textbooks, modern literature, video games, or sports almanacs from the future, may warrant a cash exchange instead. The shop’s friendly staffers, meanwhile, remain at the ready to help customers locate an item amid the many shelves, organized by genre and number of vowels in the title.

At OneWay Eyeglasses, frames from name-brand designers pair with lenses ranging from single-vision to no-line bifocals. The shop also stocks an array of contacts, and the independent onsite optometrists dole out prescriptions and relationship advice.