Feature
Christmas All Year Long Women Own Local Holiday Shops If the popular seasonal refrain “it’s beginning to look a lot like
Christmas” causes excitement and gets the heart pumping, be advised that community members don’t need to wait for the calendar to change to experience that adrenaline rush. For two area businesses, it really does look a lot like Christmas — every day. The Christmas Shop in Blowing Rock at 1125 Main St. is open seven days a week and offers not just Christmas items and ornaments, but a wide variety of merchandise that includes jewelry by Ronaldo, women’s purses and clothing, children’s toys and books. The shop is owned and managed by Felicia Keller, as it has been since 2016. It originally opened in 1996, and
Felicia began working there and learning the trade in 2005. It was a great fit and use of her degree in business earned from Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. In addition to Felicia, the shop employs two other full time local women, Jean Walker and Melissa Roark. The Christmas Shop in Blowing Rock boasts a large selection of flags, of all sizes, and for all seasons. Felicia says that they are one of the best sellers, along with the Christmas ornaments that they personalize for customers. Some of their nativity sets come from the Holy Land and are made from olive wood. For them, the busiest season is during the fall when all “the leaf looker” tourists come to the area, Felicia says.
In addition to the Christmas ornaments and decorations, The Christmas Shop in Blowing Rock also offers a selection of women’s wraps and pajamas. The jewelry by Ronaldo is their second best seller. Many of their items are found in the buyers markets in Atlanta, where they are a frequent attendee. At these shopping outings they can find products from all over the world, although they do carry some items that come from shorter distances like Virginia. Open six days a week, the Snowy Mountain Christmas Shop is located at 4699 Linville Falls Highway in Crossnore. This shop is a large log cabin structure
(Right) The Snowy Mountain Christmas Shop owner Bev Cuthbertson stands next to a large Christmas tree.
(Above) Felicia Keller is the owner of the Christmas Shop in Blowing Rock. (Right) Ornaments and other goodies are available at the Christmas Shop in Blowing Rock. Photos by Barbara Holdcroft
24 | November-December 2021
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