NILES — In a bedroom-turned-workspace, with her TV humming in the background, paints and woods and metals around her, Robin Schrader, of Niles, is in her happy space.

She is creating her latest batch of products for Love Always, her home décor business. Items range from small tabletop fixtures to furniture to funeral arrangements. Some fit holiday themes, while others do not.

“I love a good challenge, so I’m up for anything,” she said.

Right now, Schrader said she is in one of her busiest moments, creating Christmas- and winter-themed decorations in snow whites and conifer greens.

Despite the stressful season, she remains in her happy space. Crafting is what she loves to do, she said.

Love Always was first an unnamed hobby, but raising two children while running her own hair business made it difficult to find time to create often. Still, she found time to make gifts for others, such as ornaments and signs for her children’s travel softball teams.

Those Schrader gave to encouraged her to sell her décor. When her children moved out of the house, she did. Around Christmastime 2016, Love Always made its first appearance as a vendor at a Buchanan event.

Only one item was sold. Schrader said she was disappointed, but she tried again. The next time, she landed a spot at the Four Flags Area Apple Festival and found success.

Now, Schrader attends numerous vendor-friendly events throughout the year, but she also takes custom orders through her Facebook page, “Love Always, by Robin Schrader,” or by phone, (269) 362-5857.

Among her most customizable creations are her signs, which are made from wood and outfitted to match a theme.

Schrader shared her creative process, using a sign emblematic of the Chicago Cubs as an example. First, she stains her boards brown, replicating bricks and ivy on them to symbolize Wrigley Field.

Then, Schrader layers her letters with three to four coats of paint, each representing a different aspect of the Cubs franchise. One letter could incorporate a baseball. Another could include the infamous glasses adorned by Cubs announcer Harry Caray.

Finally, Schrader glues the letters on and varnishes the final piece.

Schrader may make many signs, but she said she does not have one favorite product.

“I really just like a little bit of everything,” she said. “I do. I like creativeness. I like to just come up with things.”

Among the most meaningful pieces she creates are angel chairs, which are chairs painted and decorated so that a dead relative’s spirit can have a place to sit during holiday gatherings. The seats of the chairs often have a Bible verse or an inspirational message.

Some customers at events are moved by them. At a recent event in St. Joseph, one woman cried, causing Schrader to do the same.

“It brought tears to my eyes as well, because I didn’t understand the story behind it, but it touched her, and it touched me so much,” she said. “I put love into my work, so that’s what I want. That was a big thing.”

Schrader’s love for her work is reflected in her business’s name, Love Always. She used the phrase as a signature for her gifts when they were completed.

Now, customers take that name with them, a reminder of the emotion Schrader puts into their purchase.