Stone House Antiques Center
Route 103
Chester, VT
I have always stopped at the Stone House Antiques center in Chester ever since it opened. You never know what you are going to find. It is a multi dealer shop with mostly open displays. This isn’t a high end antiques store, it is more about country collectibles and kitchen chachkees than serious art however it is no less enjoyable to poke around. There are two separate buildings and one of the buildings has seen more incarnations than the other. Beyond just antiques it has crafts, local Vermont products and by the time you go just about anything else is possible. I rarely leave here without having found something that I can’t live without.
The Pear Tree
177 South Main St
Now this is a very interesting shop. Intermingled among a smattering of antiques you will find a variety of interesting products. In the kitchen and bath department you will find a nice selection of Caldrea products, beautiful soaps and farm house products. There are pretty home decor items like glass bells to cover your plans and mercury vases and bowls. There are throw pillows scattered around the pieces of furniture for sale. I tried the most wonderful lemon and verbena hand lotion and I can’t believe that I didn’t buy it because it made my hands so soft. There are robes, candles, scent sticks, and some very pretty stationary. They even have lots of great baby gifts. This is a fun place to poke around they have a unique and eclectic collection of items.
Misty Valley Books
58 The Common
An amazingly well stocked local independent book store. They have a whole display of local authors, with some of the books signed. There are also plenty of books about the area. What surprised me was the excellent selection they had of magazines. The walls are lined with novels, biographies, histories, and enough titles to please even the most discriminating reader. I found a book for myself as well as a very sharp pair of readers. If you have ever met me you know that one of my signature looks is my extensive collection of unusual glasses and they had a very nice selection here. They also had a case full of cooks books with I spent quite a while perusing.
Hopewells Books
The Commons
For a totally different book buying experience try this book store where they sell used books. What an amazingly diverse selection they had. Obviously because of the nature of a used book store it doesn’t make any sense for me to tell you what they have however rest assured that they will have an equally expansive collection when you visit. A really great place to poke around.