Every time I arrive at the Greenbrier, I head straight for the
Candy Maker to buy dark chocolate orange peels, nuts and caramels. Presided over by French-trained Frederic Monti, one of the top pastry chefs in America, this is no ordinary candy shop. 

There’s nothing commonplace about the Greenbrier when it comes to resort shopping. Discerning buyers stock 34 shops with unique, handcrafted merchandise from West Virginia’s best artisans. At most resorts, the shopping begins and ends with logoed golf shirts; at the Greenbrier, think petrified wood tables, oil paintings and a gemologist’s original jewelry.

There is a wide variety of items available, from unusual ornaments at Christmas at the Depot to shooting supplies at Kate’s Mountain Outfitters. One of my favorites is the Carleton Varney shop, where I drool over Steuben, Baccarat and Buccellati, as well as linens and home accessories you won’t see at your local mall.

When it’s time for fresh air, a short walk leads to the Art Colony on Alabama Row, a series of connected white cottages that are the oldest structures on the property. Each houses a shop where artisans work with metals, leather, brass, wood, glass or pottery, and artists-in-residence like master potter Tracy Brent Howard demonstrate techniques.

An outpost of the original Tamarack in the town of Beckley, Tamarack at the Greenbrier stocks Appalachian quilts and other items that celebrate West Virginia heritage, handcrafts, cuisine, art and music. Tamarack was the nation’s first statewide collection of its kind, representing 2,000 artisans, and I always stop at William Wolk’s gallery. I’ll never forget his still-life studies of stone crab claws. Now that’s good taste.