Shopping in Lackawanna

Since 1951, the award-winning landscapers at Lincoln Park Nursery have assisted homeowners with landscape designs for garden and backyard projects, incorporating eye-catching elements such as outdoor goldfish ponds and fountains. With the skills of Edward Scissorhands and the added ability to shake customers’ hands safely, knowledgeable staff members offer input to help customers beautify front yards, garden paths, and secret gardens. The nursery’s two locations maintain a large, constantly updated stock of ornamentals, vines, fruiting trees, and wall stones and pavers.

Sewing machines perch atop blue-skirted tables in a brightly lit room accented with hardwood floors, bookshelves brimming with multihued material, and wall displays of buttons and sewing accessories. In these welcoming confines, the instructors of Chenoa Designs guide students through their projects, imparting techniques for attaching appliqués to homemade handbags or adjusting dress patterns to fit a pet goldfish. The team of seam sultans works to expand the stitchwork community through a roster of classes that guide newcomers on everything from the basics of operating a sewing machine to the intricacies of embroidery and appliqué. While students work, they can draw from the DIY emporium's stock of specialty embroidery machines and binding systems by Martelli along with renowned lines such as Jenny Haskins designs to ensure their projects benefit from top-notch materials and tools.

The brainchild of Dr. Joshua M. Smith, his wife Satomi Smith, and his brother Matthew Smith, Serene Gardens blends Japanese-influenced gardening, art, cuisine, and culture in a fluid space that hosts a store, café, and educational space. Influenced by Josh’s stint as an apprentice at Japanese nursery and design company Furukawa Teijuen, the garden center lures in customers with Eastern plants and design elements ready for duty in yards, homes, or cars made of old terrariums. The music of Josh’s shakuhachi bamboo flute—featured on four CDs sold in the shop—wafts through the shop, previewing the art form that clients can learn during in-store classes. Other lessons delve into flower arrangement, which Satomi has studied since she was a child, and the choreography of a Japanese tea ceremony, which demands fewer pinkie lifts and more high-fives than a British high tea.

After lessons or shopping excursions, guests can find peace between the lime-green walls of a café serving tea brewed from loose-leaf blends. At midday, Satomi also delves into family recipes to conjure lunches that incorporate dishes such as edamame, gyoza dumplings, and miso soup.

Kaboom Fireworks stocks a large assortment of pyrotechnics, including sparklers, fountains, and mortars that launch into the sky before bursting into showers of brilliant color. Shoppers can also find party favors such as confetti cannons and glow-in-the-dark jewelry. Before lighting a fuse, check out the company's safety tips where you can get information about everything from what makes a good fireworks show to where fireworks should be stored and why they aren't efficient at toasting s'mores.

Eye Candy Eyewear combines an optician's office, an eyewear showroom, and an optical lab into one location, seeing the eyewear-obtaining experience through from start to finish. More than 1,000 frames, from designers such as Versace, Gucci, and Hugo Boss, wait in the shop's display cases to be filled with vision-correcting polycarbonate. Behind the scenes, lens crafters translate the optician's diopter numbers into prescription lenses, using lens material from Nikon and Zeiss, which allows patients to see clearly as if they had bobbed for apples in the Fountain of Youth.

Before they wrapped their first sale in their distinctive gift-wrap, the owners of Andrews Jewelers spent decades gaining experience in the industry. Today, their staff trains with the Gemological Institute of America to become qualified to appraise, grade, and administer SATs to jewelry and diamonds. Armed with experience and exacting taste, they shop the jewelry market—sometimes journeying as far as Belgium or Israel—to acquire an inventory of fine jewelry with varied style and consistent quality.

Their extensive collection of engagement rings and wedding bands displays Celtic, vintage-inspired, and modern design. Their network of wholesale diamonds comes exclusively from conflict-free sources. A rainbow of gemstones color bracelets, earrings with citrine, ruby, and sapphire, and custom designs glitter in customers' favorite colors.