New Hampshire Stores and Shopping

Well-lit and painstakingly organized, Used Book Superstores upend images of the precariously balanced stacks and dusty hardcovers most people associate with used book stores. More than 100,000 new and gently used books—from current bestsellers to staples of the literary world—sprawl across each of the five mammoth locations, which, like so many shattered crates of tea, dot the landscape of the greater Boston and south New Hampshire region. As bookworms hunker down with hardcovers, paperbacks, and children's books, neglected friends can peruse the store's voluminous selection of music, DVDs, and toys, all of which sell for a fraction of their original cost.

Alan J. Gardner opened his Salem factory in 1933, winning over generations of loyal customers with custom-made and odd-sized mattresses in a wide range of styles. Massachusetts-made pallets support sleepers with hand tufted construction and fluffy cotton fillings catered specifically to each client's specifications. The company's direct manufacturer-to-customer supply chain erases the influence of bothersome middlemen or arrogant, cigar-chomping mattress barons. Sleepers select from a variety of comfy cushion styles, such as latex, plush top, tufted, or pocket coils, with options for all-natural materials such as Joma wool and layers of thick cotton-knit fabric.

For over 25 years, Franklin Block Opticians' two resident eye doctors have pored over eyes, expeditiously filling precise prescriptions in their onsite lab. The staff, meanwhile, curates their frame selection with a keen eye for style, featuring designs from Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and Armani that keep vision blur-free and adept at Italian accents.

Artisan clayworkers toil over Great Bay Pottery's ever-ready kilns crafting one-of-a-kind stoneware pottery, including sturdy floor vases, convenient serving dishes, and all manner of saucers for UFO hoaxing. Patient clients can watch as potters spin their new piece of practical decoration into existence and finish the piece to their specifications with painted and glazed designs in nautical, arboreal, or impressionistic themes, among many other options. For a small fee, the potters will inscribe any piece with a message for personalized gift giving.

Inside a sea-foam green shingled house nestled on a verdant, wooded property, A Pot of Gold Gift Shop hoards more than 5,000 European beads and charms. Owner Laurette Baenziger leads jewelry-making classes where guests can craft bracelets using their favorites from a selection of more than 2,000 shiny charm beads that would drive a magpie to madness. In addition to premade jewelry and handbags, the shop stocks natural shea-butter skin lotion from Dolce Mia and Swanky Sweet Pea bath products shaped like cupcakes and cookies that soothe and smoothen skin with cocoa butter or sweet almond oil.