New Jersey Stores and Shopping

The optometrists at Eye Contact Vision Center's two locations examine eyes for prescription changes and diseases such as glaucoma and cataracts during comprehensive exams, treat poor eye health, and permanently correct vision with lasers. Customers can select frames by brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Gucci, and Ray-Ban, and if the glasses don't look as good as they did in the store or don't conceal a secret identity well enough, Eye Contact Vision Center will buy them back for up to one year.

Supplying all materials, Art By The Glazz's artist-led painting sessions kindle brush-wielding talents during three-hour classes held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. New artists capture shapes and shadows inspired by a number of pastoral- or wine-themed templates, with step-by-step instruction from pigment professionals. One complimentary glass of wine emboldens the pigment-shy, and those with a thirst for more can visit an onsite cash bar. Aprons protect against stray paint, wine drops, and the tears of fruit trapped in a beautiful but airless eternal present, although Art By The Glazz recommends wearing old clothes. Finished masterpieces chaperone each artist home, ready to be mounted on a wall or hung from the dining-room chandelier. During Cookies and Milk sessions, kids or teens settle down with a complimentary dessert amid canvases ripe for realizing 2-D tableaux. During each session, one featured painting of a subject, such as the beach, Green Eggs and Ham, or Mickey Mouse, is perched mid-studio to kindle students’ imaginary fires. The company also hosts corporate team-building events, small groups, and birthday parties, giving guests an enjoyable ice-breaking activity.

Spread out across nine locations in New Jersey and New York, Treasure Island Self Storage's complexes safely house personal belongings in climate-controlled units protected by password-controlled gates and overseen by 24-hour video-surveillance feeds. The units come in a variety of sizes and are accessible seven days a week. Customers can take advantage of drive-up access and ground-floor loading, a more convenient way to store trinkets than shipping them to a relative's attic. At each location, a professional consultant is ready to assist customers, and an assortment of boxes, tape, and other packing supplies are available at each location to provide items a smooth and secure passage. Select locations are also U-Haul-authorized dealerships equipped to rent out moving trucks. Other locations provide free use of their own trucks for clients who can't balance a couch on their handlebars.

At Elegant Creations, a full-service jewelry store, glass display counters twinkle and shine with rows of engagement rings, bracelets, and custom timepieces from designer brands such as Odelia and Joe Rodeo, along with a complete spectrum of GIA– and EGL–certified diamonds. Ladies may add instant glamour or superhero-summoning capabilities to wrists with the Rio watch by Joe Rodeo ($1,376), which comes with 1.25 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds pave-set into the bezel. The meticulous watch designer also crafts gentlemen’s wrist clocks such as the Junior watch ($995), featuring 2.50 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds. Both timepieces come in a variety of color dials and include an additional bezel and two leather bands with deployment buckles. In addition, Elegant Creations sets ears ablaze white-gold and diamond-stud earrings ($180) which are also available in hearts, circles, and squares with screw-backs for extra safety ($225) or easy installation on bionic sweethearts.

Enrico Aquino III began tinkling the ivories at the age of three, eventually playing his way to the hallowed performance spaces at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. The talented pianist was born into a musical family: his father opened a music school and piano store in New Jersey, and Aquino has kept the family tradition alive by embracing his father’s belief in friendly, encouraging instruction. The retailer pairs players with new and pre-owned pianos made by brands such as Seiler, J. Strauss & Son, and Baldwin Pianos or digital pianos from makers such as Viscount and Korg. The music academy, meanwhile, has guided fingers of all ages in waltzing across keys for more than 60 years. The academy’s skilled instructors delve into classical, jazz, and popular music during private lessons for pupils who have never read music to those who swallowed a metronome as a child and have been reaping the benefits ever since.

Bob Meyer, who has spent many a tour alongside bands such as Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Phish, and The Allman Brothers, helms Give To Live Guitar Studios, which provides music lessons with a focus on community outreach. He and his staff of experienced, enthusiastic instructors welcome students for lessons in stringed instruments such as guitar, violin, banjo, mandolin, or bass as well as drums, vocals, and keyboards. They teach in all styles, from Bach to rock and roll, and help their students move from basics to live performance, hosting benefit concerts for local charities.