Shopping in Smithfield

Runners are different. Different from non-runners and different from each other. Raleigh Running Outfitters' Jim Micheels understands this uniqueness. With more than 25 years of running experience and over 20 marathons under his belt, Jim is well versed in the art of motion. In return, Jim and his staff of running experts provide customers with the latest gear and technology to keep moving until someone completes the first Transatlantic marathon.

Inside the athletic outfitter, shelves brim with more than 60 styles of running shoes, along with racks of shorts, jackets, and shirts that keep body temperatures regulated. A video gait analysis system tracks customers' leg movement to analyze their stride, ankle motion, and foot strike.

Before stepping onto the ice or the baseball diamond, members of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Durham Bulls pay a visit to Drs. Michael Peters and Jason Price of Eye Care Associates, who have provided top-notch eyeglasses, contact lenses, and eye exams for nearly 35 years. The vision specialists help rid blurriness from pucks, balls, and signs held by adoring fans. When they’re not gazing into the eyes of athletes, they and their fellow doctors at a network of clinics stay busy correcting the vision of seniors, children, and adults. The company topped Indy Week's 2012 Readers’ Choice poll for best optometrists in the area and received a Standing Ovation award as the best eyecare center in the Triangle in 2012 from readers of Metro Magazine.

Beth Massey is a double threat. Not only is she a framer with more than 15 years of experience, but she is also an artist and invokes her knowledge of art conservation on every piece she works with. She took care to draft expert team members for Wake Forest Art & Frame Shop, and they employ formal framing and design training to treat each assignment with equal emphasis on aesthetics and preservation. Beth and her staff channel their artistic experience into selecting the proper method for displaying each prized work of art, photo, or drawing of precious family heirloom tomatoes.

In addition to framing services, Wake Forest Art & Frame Shop also works closely with many local artists. During Art After Hours sessions, the artists present exhibits of their work or lead students in classes on painting or watercolors.

Once Upon a Child is a kid-friendly marketplace where parents can buy and sell gently used children’s apparel, toys, equipment, and furniture. Each store recruits a team of buyers that carefully reviews potential merchandise and ensures that every item that goes on sale meets the store’s high standards for style, safety, and resale condition. To ensure the safety of customers’ little ones, the team stays up to date on the latest merchandise recalls and pores over each item with oversized magnifying glasses. As the beneficiaries of all this hard work, shoppers peruse brand-name merchandise sold at up to 70% off retail. Popular brands include Fisher-Price and Evenflo, and clothes boasting labels from Abercrombie, Levi’s, and Carters range in sizes from babies through girls’ size 16 and boys’ size 20.

When sports fans need to transform their house into a shrine devoted to their favorite team, Replay Photos is happy to oblige with high quality portrait photos and prints of every NBA team, every NFL team, and more than 130 college teams. Their framed and unframed prints capture thrilling moments and commemorate special events, including players standing around gabbing, slamming down a dunk, and the moment when teams win a national championship, and then stand around gabbing. They also sport unique wall art for 90 different college campuses, which is emblazoned with iconic landmarks and phrases unique to each school.

A graduate of North Carolina State University's School of Design, Holly Aiken channeled her passion for creativity to style her own successful business. Aiken fills her downtown Raleigh boutique with her own original bags and accessories, which feature sleek, simple designs made with durable materials. Her accessories sport vintage-inspired colors and geometric accents paired with vinyl and webbing trim built to withstand daily use or the storage needs of Mary Poppins. She makes each of her pieces by hand with a precise touch to ensure both fashion and long-term function.