Shopping in Oswego

At Dazzle, staffers rely on their eye for style, scrutinizing each of the tees, jewelry, scarves, and purses before allowing it to grace their shelves. An eclectic inventory outfits ladies of all ages and styles, ranging from edgy bracelets crafted in paracord for tweens to DaVinci beaded necklaces for conservative shoppers. Like a tree's favorite outfit, the shop's inventory changes with the seasons, drawing browsers back to check for unexpected gifts or rare accessories.

Don and Donna Maines opened Green Thumb Markets in 1971, where they began cultivating buds alongside their young son, David. Though Don and Donna have retired, visitors can still spot David, his wife, and his four boys working in their greenhouse. They tend geraniums, prune roses, and discuss customers’ gardening concerns and methods for keeping lazy poets from using their roses as similes. Giant hanging baskets dangle from the ceiling, the electrically hued, trumpet-shaped blossoms of petunias spilling forth and tangling with ivy geraniums. On the ground, colorful rows of perennials, annuals, and vegetables thrive alongside a variety of topsoils, compost, and environmentally friendly mulches.

The Maines family also runs an onsite bakery, which they stock with their own homemade ice cream, cookies, and pies.

Since its founding by William Bright Sr. and William Dunk Sr. in 1927, Dunk & Bright Furniture has grown from a modest storefront to a 100,000-square-foot showroom. The store's staff—accredited by the Interior Design Society and American Society of Interior Designers—leads visitors through a maze of bedroom and living room sets, mattresses, and other pieces by brands such as Ashley, Harden, and aspenhome. A separate 1,000,000-cubic-foot warehouse stores the bulk of the shop's inventory, which also includes wall-to-wall carpeting, area rugs, shutters and blinds, and enchanted mirrors. Dunk & Bright delivers purchases free of charge within 200 miles of Syracuse.