4 Best Shopping in Mahone Bay, South Shore and Annapolis Valley

Inside a former boatbuilding shop that dates to 1888, the artisans at Amos Pewter design and create pewter items using traditional methods. Jewelry, sculptures, tableware, and pewter renditions of shells and other natural objects are among the items for sale, along with a new original-design Christmas ornament each year. Interpretive displays explain the history of pewter and Amos Pewter's involvement with the "Economuseum Network," which emphasizes traditional skills. If watching the artisans at work gets your creative juices flowing, you can participate in the Hands-On Experience (C$5), and take home what you make.

Leave room in your luggage for the hooked rugs, rug-hooking supplies, and hand-dyed woolens sold at this store, named after a popular rug pattern. You might see a "hooker" at work here, and classes are sometimes held.

Renowned worldwide for its distinctively designed, high-quality quilts and fashions by Nova Scotia designer Vicki Lynn Bardon, the company displays its colorful goods on two floors of a heritage building.

Housed in a period building, used books line floor-to-ceiling shelves in rooms filled with overstuffed chairs and antique furniture. There's also a great selection of new books by local and Canadian authors. The cafe is quite lovely, serving afternoon tea as well as truly delicious baked goods and excellent coffee.