Shopping in New Bedford

By answering any and all questions about their erotic wares, the staffers at Amazing Intimate Essentials have helped promote safe and sensual trysts for more than 40 years. Their selection of massage oils, lubricants, and adult toys—which occupies stores spread throughout the Northeast and Texas—contains goods from such established brands as We-Vibe, Jimmyjane, and K-Y. They staff female-friendly merchandise, as well as products that help couples create more sparks in the bedroom than a master metalworker soldering a "do not disturb" sign to the door. The staff stresses openness and acceptance in regards to romantic endeavors, an attitude that also fuels their unwavering support of the LGBT community.

It began with an experiment in a basement. While that sounds like the start of a ghost story, it is actually how Harbor Candle Company was conceived. Tired of damaging their home with soot from store-bought scented candles, the company’s founders retired to their basement to pour their own. Over the course of a year, they developed their signature product, a candle made from clean-burning, non-toxic soy wax.

Word spread, and soon the basement enterprise morphed into a shop stocked with scented candles, still poured by hand. The aromas of apples, maple, and bamboo fill the shop, and the soy formula burns longer than paraffin and much longer than lists of secret names for your teddy bear. Made from NatureWax by Elevance and ensconced in domestically manufactured glass containers, each candle is entirely made in the USA.

The furniture business has changed quite a bit in the more than three decades since Ken Silva founded Plymouth Furniture. Particleboard has replaced hardwood, and machines have, in some cases, taken over the duties of skilled craftspeople. Despite this, Silva and his son—vice president and director Randy Silva—have created and maintained a five-story gallery full of American-made furniture crafted from North American wood, often by the children and grandchildren of the men and women they represented 30 years ago. The store is a bastion of tradition, where staffers—usually family members—greet returning customers by name. While Ken recognizes the importance of showcasing their furniture online, he would rather you come by and sit on one of their sofas to experience firsthand the subtle smoothness of the leather, the comforting heft of the kiln-dried frame, and the durability of the eight-way hand-tied springs.

In keeping with the company's focus on quality, Randy shared his expertise with Shaunna Gately of the The Patriot Ledger, suggesting that buyers look for a hardwood frame, polyurethane-foam cushions with a high density rating, and a flow-matched pattern that continues fluidly over contours and panels. The family team also offers an in-home design service, putting together the ideal dining room or finding a lamp to match the blue-green face of a food-poisoned family member.

Since Dr. Stanley Pearle opened the doors to the first Pearle Vision in 1961, the franchise has expanded to more than 800 stores nationwide. In these stores, optometrists assess the ocular health of patients before onsite opticians help them navigate the assortment of frames from brands such as Versace, Ray-Ban, and DKNY. If they're not in the store, clients can utilize the Try-On tool, uploading a photo to see what they or their dog looks like in different types of glasses. Pearle Vision also helps focus the world with contacts from Acuvue and Biofinity.

When Stephen Staples comes across an ancient ash can or a board stripped of its nails, he studies it as if it’s the Mona Lisa. What appear to the common eye to be scraps are seen by Stephen for what they truly are—the building materials of early New England homesteads and factories. With his family, Stephen repurposes the salvaged materials into handcrafted kitchen tables, headboards, armoires, and benches.

“All this stuff is from somewhere special. … You look at the piece, you see the history, you know what went on," he says. "They say the piece can’t talk. They do talk, you just need to know how to listen.” For those not fluent in the language of reclaimed materials, Stephen includes a certificate of authenticity with each piece that details its age and probable history, including which pilgrims stored their socks in it. For his meticulous handiwork and passion for history, Stephen has been featured on This Old House and WCVB's Chronicle and in Design New England magazine and the Boston Herald.

Providence Optical beautifies the shelves of its optical boutique with a wide selection of vintage and contemporary frames from hard-to-find local and overseas brands. After detecting the font-size inconsistencies on the optometrist's chart during an eye exam ($60), customers can peruse the vision center's collection of fashions from popular international designers including Bruno Chaussignand, Strada Del Sole, and Swissflex. The experienced staff at Providence Optical can work with customers to customize frames while thwarting attempts to make squinting fashionable.