Official count of bird-related products found at the Bird Watcher’s General Store in Orleans: 1.5 ga-jillion. Seriously, if you think online stores have the most endless selections of the thinnest of niche products for birders , think again. Optics, feeders, seed, jewelry, mugs, art, t-shirts galore — then again, everything here is galore — cards, field guides, song identification kits, bird...
Put a quarter in the nickelodeon (allowing for inflation) and grab yourself a coffee and pastry, just like they did before national corporations hijacked this quaint and neighborly routine. At the Brewster Store in Brewster, you shed about a hundred years and relax into a kind of nostalgia you wish you’d see more of. Sit outside in an old church pew...
This may be the first Christmas Tree Shop you see, but it won’t be the last — there are five more on the Cape. This is the place where “everyone loves a bargain,” and they’ve gone all out to get your attention: You can’t miss the revolving windmill and thatched roof — made from Canadian marsh grass and so authentic...
The light is bright; the scent is natural and sweet. That’s because Honey Candle Co in Orleans offers candles made entirely from beeswax. Votive, pillar, and fun specialty shapes such as lighthouses, pine cones, and animal silhouettes.
Give yourself plenty of time to explore the nooks and crannies of Kemp Pottery, a working gallery in Orleans. It’s obvious that Steven and Matt Kemp (father and son, respectively) love what they do: Their work is playful yet grounded; whimsical yet contemplative. The studio is filled with functional and decorative porcelain and stoneware for the home and garden.
Pairpoint Glass has existed under one name or another since 1837. Thomas Pairpoint, a glass designer in the 1880s, used techniques created by Deming Jarves, and master craftspeople still employ these techniques here today. Clear or richly colored glass is handblown, hand sculpted, or hand pressed on a 19th-century press. Through large picture windows you can watch the master glassblowers working...
Truro Vineyards, a working vineyard in Truro since 1992, has witnessed a variety of farming practices during the past two centuries. Edward Hopper, who was inspired by the farm’s buildings and its main 1813 Federal farmhouse, painted “Rich’s House” and “Rich’s Barn” here. Free tours (1 and 3pm daily), sometimes led by the owner, take you among the vines. Tastings...
Woods Hole Handworks is an artists’ collective with dependably inventive and high-quality works created by local artisans. Look for tile, photography, jewelery, prints, clothing, accessories, sculptures, and more. It’s perched on the water near the Eel Pond drawbridge.