Shopping

Economy slowdown, schmeeconomy schmlodown. Go forth with credit card held high.

There is more to shopping than wild, consumerist glee. Like all good diversions, the end result—the actual buying of whatever you have been seeking—is not as important as the hunt and chase. Shopping, when done well, is like meditating, like pondering the sound of one hand clapping, like achieving nirvana. Shopping can be bliss.

Knoxville does offer some unique experiences into the merchandising world. No, it's not Paris or Milan or even Atlanta but there are some unique retail experiences to be had in our fair city—and a few are unlike anything you've scoured through before.

Sure, we've got your standards—like Storehouse, Dillard's, Goody's and Borders. But we've also got some quirky storefronts as well. Just read the names: Fins and Skins, Bike Zoo, Zubee's, Book Eddy, Art's Desire. Let these syllables fall from your lips like fine wine while you savor the mysterious nuance that could be contained within the store. What potential.

We've also got our fair share of more, uh, picturesque shopping fun. Two flea markets hover in the city's shadows. Esau's—a traveling antiques extravaganza—stops out at Chilhowee Park once a month, and it is always worth pawing through stacks of old records, piles of pottery, and carloads of kitsch to find that one special item. But if you prefer to hunt for the best in outlet shopping, Sevier County has got you covered. Acres upon acres of bargain merchandise await your gaze at these strip malls of savings.

Remember, young grasshopper, it is not the purchase itself but the process. Here ends the lesson.

—Adrienne Martini