New Dowagiac Christmas store open for business

Published 10:58 am Thursday, November 2, 2017

By Ted Yoakum

Christmas has come a little early for the residents of The Grand Old City.

Dowagiac’s Melissa Gunn opened the doors to her new business, Deck the Halls, Wednesday afternoon. The downtown Christmas-themed shop, located inside the former tailor shop at 102 Commercial St., celebrated its first official day in business with a ribbon cutting ceremony, hosted by the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce.

Several business leaders and elected officials, including Dowagiac Mayor Don Lyons and Ward 1 City Councilmember Danielle Lucas, packed the inside of the quaint storefront to welcome Gunn and her new shop to town.

For Gunn, the new store is her lifelong love of the holidays made physical.

The self-proclaimed Christmas addict — who listens Yuletide music and jingles no matter the date on the calendar — said she has long dreamed of opening a shop devoted to her favorite holiday, though she never thought it was possible until several months ago.

While on vacation with her husband, Jeff, over Labor Day weekend, she mentioned offhand that maybe she would like to open up a holiday shop, to which she received an unexpected response.

“My wonderful, supportive husband said, ‘well do it,’” Gunn recalled.

As it turned out, that was all the motivation she needed to make her dreams of a Dowagiac Christmas come true. Eight weeks — and a whole lot of elbow grease — later, she was finally show off her little holiday wonderland to her neighbors.

The shop truly lives up to its billing as Dowagiac’s new destination for Christmas-related items.

As soon as customers walk through the front door, they are greeted with the unmistakable sights, smells and sounds of the holidays. A medley of pine and potpourri waft through the air of the store, where a mock fireplace and Christmas tree are situated near the front, decorated with bright red stockings, evergreen garlands and twinkling white strings of lights.

“This is even greater than the vision I had in my head when I started,” Gunn said about seeing the completed store. “Everything has just fallen into place. I can’t really describe the feeling.”

On the back wall of the shop is a massive assortment of ornaments, crafted by renowned manufacturers such as Bronner’s and Old World Christmas. In addition to traditional favorites like the bright green and red bulbs or whimsical miniature nutcrackers, the shop also features tree decorations that are shaped like fishing rods, sports cars and other objects, intended for people who want to show their love for a particular hobby.

Gunn is also selling stockings, tree skirts, stocking stuffers and small gifts that are perfect for Christmas parties, she said.

Her selection is comprised of items people will not find in department stores — or, in the case of her line of Christmas-movie themed candles, created by Niles’ Wick-ed Pop Candle Co. — cannot be found anyway where else.

Unlike other Christmas-themed shops that have opened in Dowagiac the past several years, Gunn said Deck the Halls will be open year-round, barring a one-month hiatus in January, when she will be shopping for new inventory at various holiday trade shows.

Among those singing Gunn’s praises Wednesday was chamber president Kim MacGregor. MacGregor, whose Edward Jones office is located next to the new business, said that, as a fellow Christmas-holic, she is glad to see Deck the Halls finally open.

“I know this store is going to be a huge success,” MacGregor said. “You have done a great job in here. It looks awesome.”

Mayor Lyons also complimented the store’s appearance, and said he was excited to learn that Gunn intends to keep the business going throughout the year.

“This is not a pop-up,” Lyons said. “This is a commitment to Dowagiac. This is a commitment to our downtown. I, for one, could not be more pleased about that.”

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