Shopping in Springfield

When it gave cd/game Exchange the title of Best Entertainment Shop in its annual Best of Eugene roundup, Eugene Weekly praised the store for its “poster-covered walls and wide variety of things with which to entertain yourself.” Those things have constantly changed over cd/game Exchange’s 20-year existence, and today, its shelves are stocked with customer-supplied used CDs, video games, movies, posters, and apparel, instead of Hammer pants and VHS copies of Wrestlemania’s Greatest Hits. Experts inspect each item to determine its condition, then decide on a cash value and trade value. With their store credit or cash, customers can stock up on lightly used Wii titles and DVDs ranging from Spider-Man to Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

As a Verizon-authorized retailer, Wireless Source not only stocks cell phones, tablets, and wireless devices but they also connect their electronics to Verizon’s network, the largest high-speed network in the US. For the past 13 years, the shop’s tech-savvy staffers have guided patrons through the nuances of high-tech gear such as the HTC Rezound— a smartphone equipped with high-performance headphones—and the Samsung Galaxy Tablet with 1 GHZ and a swift 4G LTE connection. Thanks to various data plans and several bunk beds, the shop can accommodate both families and individuals.

Kennette Blotzer, owner of Something to Crow About, has created a quilter’s haven in her store’s expanded space, characterized by its original brick and wood-plank flooring. More than 3,000 bolts of fabric spark inspiration with a range of designs, from seasonal prints to careful reproductions of patterns from the Civil War and the 1930s. The shop stays true to its name by specializing in chicken and rooster fabrics, which congenial employees can help sort through while advising on individual projects.

The Block of the Month projects guide quilters through long-term projects of 6 or 12 months by proffering patterns and supplies needed for creating quilts one step at a time. The shop further generates community by serving as a certified venue for company trust-fall activities and by hosting events that include sewing-club meetings as well as diverse quilting and rug-hooking classes.

:m]]

In more than 1,112 stores worldwide, Edible Arrangements' Fruit Experts arrange pieces of premium fruit in stunning displays for all occasions. Customers can customize their order to suit any occasion, receiving chocolate-dipped fruit such as pineapples, granny-smith apples, and juicy strawberries that, unlike the sodas found in most mummies' crypts, don't contain any preservatives. Fruit Experts can dip fruit in gourmet semisweet or white chocolate. For birthdays and anniversaries, chocolate wielders can personalize bouquets with gifts such as plush teddy bears and mylar balloons.

Kari and Christy, longtime friends and devoted mothers, founded Ever After Resale as a way to graciously part with their own children’s gently used name-brand clothes. The pair organizes twice-yearly consignment events in Eugene and Portland, subjecting consignor’s garments and furniture to strict quality guidelines and ensuring their name-brand status with a textile polygraph test. Mothers-to-be can also find maternity wear and nursery furniture.

Urban Lumber Company’s woodworkers snatch still-viable wood from the mouth of the landfill and repurpose it into signature slabs of lumber or vibrant, handcrafted furniture. Operating an onsite sawmill and dry kiln, they shape pieces inspired by the natural colors and size proportions of each storm-damaged, dead, and chopped tree they use, blending different grains and edges into distinctive final products. Urban Lumber Company can equip builders with cabinet- and furniture-grade woods for their own projects, as well as instrument-grade tone woods for guitars, mandolins, or mannequin replicas of Duran Duran.