Shopping in Wilmington

Garnering Delaware Today magazine's Best of Delaware award for Best Bargain Shopping Upstate, Designer Consigner owner Michelle Scott-Costa collects a diverse assortment of women’s apparel and accessories. Inventory includes items that initially graced the display cases of high-end designers such as Banana Republic, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci, among others. Of the gently used garments brought in by her 1,200 consigners, Michelle accepts only clean, designer items free of stains and werewolf-claw marks.

Douglas J. Lavenburg, M.D. leads a team of optometrists that oversees the welfare of patients’ eyes and vision with up-to-date optometric techniques. But their services extend beyond eye exams, vision correction, and LASIK surgery. Microdermabrasions, pulsed-light hair removal, and Botox revamp complexions, and facials sprinkled with Obagi professional skin products, keep wrinkles at bay.

At All Seasons Garden Center, the yard experts empower customers to complete home-landscaping projects. The landscapers stand at the ready to help them hone in on the best materials for their endeavor, whether patrons want to lay a decorative-stone patio or erect a stone wall tall enough to keep out Godzilla. To help customers get their goods back to home base, they rent out their delivery truck for large orders of sand, stone, and natural or dyed mulch.

A web of scrolls, acanthus leaves, and flowers weaves its way around a polished metal serving tray, encircling edibles with an intricately wrought border. This baroque pattern dates back to the 17th century, when Parisian silversmiths created the design for Queen Mary. This motif has since been revived by sculptor Stan Baskett, one of Wilton Armetale Factory Store's cadre of skilled designers. Like many of the pieces in Wilton Armetale’s serveware collection, the designs are rooted in history but have been updated and streamlined for daily use.

Even though the shop's pieces are ornate, they never sacrifice durability. This nontoxic serveware and grillware is oven- and freezer-safe and sturdy enough for cooking, baking, and grilling. The metal workers also vow that their pieces will not rust, break, chip, or heckle you as they usher meals from the kitchen to the table.