Maine Regions   Things To Do   Maine Guide

Index | Blog | About Colleen

by Colleen Stone
MaineToday.com

Malls have their merits, but there's something more alluring to me about shopping in a working downtown — local owners, fresh air between stores. Lucky for me, Maine has abundant local shopping districts. Eager to see midcoast Maine while shopping one day, I set out for Brunswick and Belfast.

Another day might have been better to drive and walk around outside for hours; a mix of cold rain, snow and ice fell all day. I dressed for it, refusing to let a little precipitation rain on my shopping parade. I'm thinking shopping in Maine could be considered a sport.

Once in Brunswick, I stuck to Maine Street, heading to Grand City first. The store is a throwback to the days of Woolworth and Newberry's, complete with an in-store restaurant. I had blueberry pancakes and coffee for $4.22 and poked around. The first floor was interesting — bulk candy by womens clothing — but the basement was wild; among my finds were beads, furniture, doll parts by the bagful, Radio Flyers and gardening supplies. It's like a surreal, cooler version of Wal*Mart.

The music lover in me couldn't not make my next two stops: Bull Moose Music and Macbeans Music. Bull Moose has a nice used section, but to my dismay, Ryan Adams' "Heartbreaker" was only available new. I paid up and went to Macbeans Music. Fans of music and tag sales will fall in love. They carry lots of used sound equipment marked with Post-it Notes and have a huge collection of blues, folk and jazz vinyl in the basement.

For a taste of the upscale, I visited Keith Field Classical Goldsmith, a family business that's been in the area since 1968. Keith, the owner, makes jewerly from sea glass he gathers himself. I barely resisted buying a silver pin forming the word "keepah" and wandered across the street to Wyler Furniture.

"You've found the best," an employee said as I walked in with my jaw hanging down near the gorgeous rug under my feet. If you're shopping cool furnishings, this is the place to go; couches and chairs in bold colors and unique shapes, hand-painted lamps and artfully crafted tables. Cheap, it's not, but gawking is free if you can't find it in you to splurge on something.

Walking into Leapin' Lizards, I saw a sign advertising a psychic fair. Passing on readings, I checked out the scented oils and "Feng Shui for Dummies" books. And then, the modern met the mystic. "Can you remind customers to turn off their cell phones when they come in?" a reader asked the owner. Knowing my future held a long drive, I left for Belfast.

The slick roads made the two-hour drive a bit hairy (my rusting-out Subaru's all-wheel-drive has proved a godsend in this state), but I arrived safely and found Monroe Salt Works on Belmont Avenue. The local chain carries hand-made pottery and plain fun stuff. I'm talking bobble hula girls, old-fashioned metal toys and Mona Lisa masquerade masks. It's like Toys"R"Us for adults.

Soon, I was on Main Street, the charming heart of Belfast's shopping district. And the snow was really blowing. A visit to Garden Cottage made me forget about the nasty weather fast. Gardening supplies, scented soaps and colorful Italian pottery were just the tonic my sick-of-winter self needed. I left with a vase and delicious smelling soap for under ten bucks and braved the elements.

Odd wooden sculptues in front of a place called The Porcupine Emporium on Cross Street caught my eye. As I checked them out, I noticed a sign boasting "CARNIVORIOUS PLANTS" in the window. The store was dark, but I tried the door and walked in. The men inside said the store was closed but that I could look around. (Sounds like the beginning of a horror movie, now that I think about it. "Rule number one: NEVER go into the Porcupine Emporium after dark!") Some of the wares included tobaccos, old bottles, an old L.L. Bean leather jacket, a giant "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" LP and, of course, carnivorous plants.

I asked Ron Cowan (who does the wood sculptures and is decidedly not a character from a horror movie) to get one of the plants to perform and he obliged, poking a pen around in the illuminated tank until one of them clamped down, hungry for Bic ink. Mission accomplished.

Before heading out, I stopped at The Eclectic Closet, a consignment shop. Funky clothes and accessories lined the walls and hung on racks with careful attention to display. The owner discussed the merits of various nose rings with a customer (the screw posts are better if you get bopped in the nose) as I pawed through racks. Satisfied with my new-found nose ring knowledge, I hit the road.

After a white-knuckled three-hour drive that involved frequent pleas to whoever might be listening to not let me meet my death by snowplow, I was home safely. I was relieved. And I was exhausted. This shopping business is hard work.