Shopping in North Decatur

The Italian Futurists, despite their destructive philosophies, idolized the glorious speed and impossible precision of the machine. Most car enthusiasts would shy away from igniting the libraries and museums of the world as decreed by their terrifying manifesto. Rather, the ocular poetry of exotic cars is best expressed through haiku:

Contributing to local commerce isn’t new territory for the Howard family. In 1925, Edwin Howard’s in-laws founded a small grocery in Doraville, which he took leadership of 30 years later. After gaining experience in that business, he decided to expand the family’s venture, and in 1972, he opened the first Howard’s True Value Hardware right next door. Now, after more than 35 years and currently under the ownership of Howard brothers John and Doug, the hardware store keeps shelves stocked with more than 100,000 hardware items, tools, and home-garden accouterments from the likes of Carhartt and Honda, as well as charcoal grills from Big Green Egg, wood pellet grills from Traeger, and a line of propane grills with tanks they can fill in-store.

Building materials, including adhesives and mason tools, lighten the burdens of home-improvement projects, and a constellation of hand tools relieves the hassle of hiring a beaver to chew its way through 2”x4”s. A full stock of interior paints helps customers brighten the hue of living quarters, while a sturdy pair of jeans from Carhartt helps them to withstand the wear-and-tear of maintenance projects or slow dances with rose bushes.

D. Geller and Son Jewelers' team has dressed bare necks, earlobes, and fingers with dazzling accessories for more than 70 years. Made from precious metals and rare jewels, sparkling pendants embellish clavicles for evenings on the town or everyday elegance. Rings forged from silver can be set with any number of carefully cut diamonds to become an engagement ring or something crunchy to place at the bottom of a box of stale caramel corn.

Tallahassee Furniture Direct's furniture fanatics schedule one-on-one appointments in order to give each customer a personalized shopping experience. Guests can peruse a pillow-topped bounty of Sealy and Royal Heritage mattresses available in a variety of firmness levels. Queen- or king-size metal frames house new mattresses, and memory-foam pillows contour to cradle necks and hold recollections of the Alamo for safekeeping. The company also stocks living-room furnishings in leather, microfiber, and chenille fabrics, as well as dining-room sets ranging in style from minimalist to ornate.

The staff members at New Balance Buckhead aren’t concerned with simply selling shoes—their mission is to pair customers with the footwear that will carry them comfortably through life’s arduous steps. Understanding that an ill-fitting pair of athletic shoes can cause pain to joints and potentially damage knees, hips, and the back, associates measure the length and width of each client's foot and conduct a gait analysis to chart the trajectory of the stride when walking normally or running through ball pits. The data are collected to help the staff match clients with their ideal shoe, keeping them running longer and looking good while doing so.

Sam Flax South outfits artists and designers with supplies and furniture from top industry brands such as Herman Miller, Humanscale, and Steelcase to produce masterpieces on any scale. Easels grip canvases as painters blanket them in polychromatic oils and acrylics, just as drafting tables, rulers, and protractors help architects draft the blueprint for the first home built entirely of discarded totem poles. Guests can leaf through paper products and readymade gifts including delicate cards, journals, and calendars. Treasured prints also find displayable homes in Sam Flax’s custom-framing department, where artisans design hangable enclosures that accentuate a picture with a contrasting mat color or an oversize neon arrow that points directly to the image. The in-house framing center applies acid-free matting and seals art in airtight materials to preserve pieces.