ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605200126
SECTION: DISCOVER PAGE: 6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS STAFF WRITER
No doubt about it. Hunting is a popular sport around these parts.
We have deer hunters and turkey hunters, of course, but don't forget the treasure hunters among us. Shopping enthusiasts like nothing better than finding themselves hot on the trail of a one-of-a-kind gift.
You'll find lots of specialty shops around the New River Valley. For treasure hunters, it's definitely a happy hunting ground.
"People always say we have the most unique things," said Cindy Tolbert, manager of Radford's Encore!, an upscale art and gift boutique in the downtown Norwood Center.
"We can probably tell you a story about every single thing we have in the store," Tolbert said. "We try very hard to get things from all over the world."
There original paintings and prints by local artists, handmade pottery, furniture, quilts, toys, sculptures and folk art. "Appalachian Rustics," an exclusive line of handmade furniture by Mark Passerby of West Virginia, is one of several specialties.
Novelties range from jalapeno jelly beans to hand-painted African banana mats to "treasure candles" (when they're burned, they reveal crystals, charms and stones inside the wax).
Bridal veils by a local seamstress, wooden toys and kaleidoscopes by a retired military officer in Portsmouth, scented bath oils created by Floyd County folks - these are just a few of the finds at Encore! Prices range from 35 cents to $3,000, and Encore! carries a wide variety of gifts in the $20 to $30 range
Suppose you have your heart set on a miniature reproduction of Michelangelo's David or an 8-foot silver replica of the Statue of Liberty. Where, oh, where can you find them?
Call on Ken Edwards, owner of the Lamp Post Mercantile on U.S. 11 just outside Radford in Pulaski County. He has just about anything you could ever want for decorating your yard and garden.
"We sell antique reproductions, outdoor lights, outdoor furniture, planters and yard fixtures," he said.
Edwards and his wife, Linda, opened the Lamp Post last year after an inspiring road trip to the Midwest. "We saw a place like this in Illinois, and we thought we ought to do something similar here."
They started with fancy outdoor lamp posts and antique reproductions. They added concrete ornaments because their customers wanted some less expensive decorations.
Now the Lamp Post offers everything from $10 concrete birdbaths to the $795 aluminum (``Never rusts!'') Statue of Liberty lookalike.
Among the countless concrete curiosities are pineapples, cherubs, storks, gobblers, eagles, flamingos, kittens, Buddhas, bunnies, frogs, Grecian ladies and gargoyles. You'll find dogs holding baskets and baskets holding dogs. There's even a concrete likeness of Miss Piggy.
There also are elegant Victorian mailboxes (in your school colors, if you like) and outdoor light fixtures in ornamental English Tudor, Victorian, French, Viennese and other period styles.
"We try to keep a supply of things you don't see every day," said Edwards.
"This is race country up here," said Randy Price, manager of Racefever in Christiansburg's New River Valley Mall. A shop for NASCAR lovers, Racefever opened in November and quickly became one of the popular new stores in the area.
"Almost every driver has something that you can collect," Price said.
A look around Racefever suggests he knows what he's talking about. The shop carries collectible sports cards, model race cars, comic books about racing, NASCAR team jackets and T-shirts, bumper stickers, nightlights, shot glasses, collectible Coca-Cola bottles, racing games and Christmas ornaments. You'll even find signature racing hoods - fiberglass replicas of car hoods to hang behind the sofa. They're in the $100 range.
Ask Price to name his biggest seller and he won't skip a beat. "Anything with the name Earnhardt on it! I can't keep enough Dale Earnhardt collectibles."
The store plans to start stocking T-shirts and other souvenirs for some local favorites, too. Several New River Speedway drivers have signed contracts with Racefever, and the store soon will add such names as Jeff Agnew and Ronnie Thomas to its inventory.
One of the hottest gifts at Christmas was the Driver's Seat, a plastic toilet seat available in various racing team colors and signed by NASCAR drivers.
"We sold a ton of them," Price said.
If you don't look carefully, you might miss one of the most unusual shops in downtown Blacksburg.
The Hobby Shop, a Blacksburg landmark for nearly 30 years, is squeezed between the Modern Barber Shop and Marilyn's Hair Design. And there's a yellow canopy over the basement entrance to the Main Street menagerie.
The basement shop is a cool, moist haven filled with the bubbly sounds of fish aquariums. The shop also has hamsters, rats, chinchillas, rabbits, birds, lizards and tarantulas for sale.
Tarantulas?
"The students love them," said manager Mike Hall. "They're quiet and small and you can keep them in the dorms. They're not dangerous, really."
But "we don't do snakes," he added.
The Hobby Shop also is the place to come for free advice. "We have a lot of animal science and vet med students working here part time, so they really have an interest in their work," Hall said.
Upstairs, you'll find models of every type, goodies for electric train buffs, supplies for coin collectors, fantasy cards and games, plus racks of comic books - there's no shortage of amusements here.
Said Hall, ``Everybody knows this is the place to come for a little diversion."
LENGTH: Long : 114 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON/Staff. 1. Lady Liberty, an 8-foot nonrustingby CNBaluminum copy of the famous statue, overlooks The Lamp Post
Mercantile in Fairlawn. 2. At Racefever in New River Valley Mall,
serious speed fans can find pretty much everything from T-shirts to
collector cards of their favorite drivers. One of the hottest gifts
at Christmas was the Driver's Seat, a plastic toilet seat available
in various racing team colors and signed by NASCAR drivers. color.