Shopping in Huntsville

Bedzzz Express facilitates the best night’s sleep possible by taking inventory of customers’ sleeping habits to help them choose the perfect mattress. President Keith Krininger credits this practice with Bedzzz Express success, which has resulted in 32 store locations sprinkled across three states. In the showroom, models from Sealy, Serta, and Simmons cushion bodies at rest with a range of comfortable materials including foam and pillow tops that help lull customers to sleep. Mattresses and mattress sets are available in twin, full, queen, and king sizes and can be delivered locally.

Gallery owner Kirk Carlisle doesn’t just sell art—he protects it. In addition to showcasing his self-curated collection of century-spanning paintings that deck the walls of Carlisle Gallery, he also helps newer art battle the forces of time with artistic framing services. The gallery’s custom-framing specialist draws on more than 30 years of experience as he pairs diplomas, paintings, and finger-painted replicas of Bayeux Tapestry with complementary matting and outlines before securing them in their new glass-covered homes. Frames make aesthetic statements of their own, with edging chosen from more than 10,000 frame styles ranging from hand-carved Italian moldings to sleek metallic boundaries.

Steve Calvert, the sartorial expert behind the eponymous clothier, equips gentlemen with hand-tailored custom clothing and dapper duds from top designers, and he does it by calling upon 30 years of experience in the industry. An expansive showroom teems with casual and formalwear from Calvin Klein, Brooks Brothers, and Columbia collections, and the colorful silk of hand-woven ties imported from Italy can accent newly assembled outfits. The shop's custom-fitting services can tailor garments to accommodate special needs and individual physical circumstances, such as having broad shoulders or a portly Siamese twin.

Roland Markwalter's deep bond with Mother Nature inspired him to found EFM Outfitters in 2007. Drawing from 30 years of retail experience, he stocks his store with eco-friendly outdoor apparel and gear from brands including The North Face, Patagonia, and Vibram FiveFingers. From sturdy Keen hiking boots and ENO hammocks to comfy Guy Harvey fishing shorts, EFM Outfitters supplies all the necessary accoutrements for adventures in the wild or forest-themed family photos.

Southerland Station has always nurtured budding creativity. Founded in 1958 as a blueprint- and drafting-supply store, the shop has since grown in size and scope, gearing its inventory of imagination fuel—which now numbers 40,000 different items—toward a younger audience. Oil paints and canvases offer outlets for artistic talents, which can also be honed in one of the shop’s art classes. Lego sets and model trains appeal to both the imaginative and the literal-minded, replicating reality through brightly colored bricks or 1:220 scale trains that are accurate down to their Union Pacific livery. And, though it now represents a smaller portion of the business, the drafting-supplies section is still there, giving mechanically inclined kids materials for blueprinting their next treehouse or battery of anti-cooties missiles.