’Tis the season for a new warehouse

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

After more than 30 years, two of Gig Harbor’s long-standing gift shops will expand their floor space by building a new warehouse. The two separate buildings that house The Beach Basket and The Christmas Shop on Harborview Drive needed more space to hold their inventory, so a third, quaint-looking building is under construction next door. “People keep asking us what they’re building there,” said , Judy Turner, a Christmas Shop sales person. “It doesn’t look like a warehouse.” And that is precisely the point, said Kim Stokke, daughter of owners Julian and Leslie Schmidtke, who runs the Christmas Shop. “We wanted it to blend in with the feel of the harbor and coordinate with both buildings,” Stokke said. “A lot of people think it’s a new coffee shop.” The warehouse will not be a walk-in store. Instead, it will have a display window where people can view inside. The front room will be used for bigger items like wicker furniture and artificial Christmas trees. The back area will be used for storage. “Most of our collectibles are in boxes, and we have no more room for them on the floor,” Stokke said. “And customers want to buy them in the boxes.” The Schmidtkes originally opened their gift shop on Harborview Drive North across from Finholm Market in 1969. Two years later, they purchased the current buildings around the corner when the store outgrew itself. The south building became the new gift store, and the three-story north building was originally rented to other businesses as a consignment shop. The Schmitdtkes sold Christmas items on the third floor on a seasonal basis, but as the demand grew, they took over the bottom floor and began staying open year-round. Brightly colored, sparkling gifts now fill every corner of the building. The basement is dedicated to dazzling miniature depictions of snow-covered towns with warm light splashing through the windows as animatronic figures skate on a frozen pond. A mechanical ski lift takes tiny passengers up and down an alpine slope, and hockey players battle it out in a never-ending game. Another section of the basement features the second-biggest decorating holiday — Halloween. Haunted houses loom over spooky graveyards inhabited by ghouls and glowing-eyed skeletons. A black, bare-branched Halloween tree has its own ornaments — black cats, pumpkins and grinning skulls. As the seasons change, sections of the store are updated to sell merchandise for Easter, Valentine’s Day and other occasions. The Schmidtkes still buy merchandise, but they are “enjoying their retirement,” Stokke said. Manning the shop is their daughter’s job, along with other employees like Turner, who has worked there for four years. Stokke said the secret to maintaining a small business is providing personal service and carrying a large stock of unique items that can’t be found anywhere else. She said with more low-priced chain stores moving into the area, many of the small mom-and-pop businesses are struggling. “I hate to see all these little stores going out of business,” Stokke said. “You can’t compete with stores like Target and we’re not trying to compete with them. You have to carry something different.” A customer comes in to the shop and says she’s looking for “a little shepherd.” Stokke makes a beeline for a corner of the store. “People come in here looking for very specific things,” she said. “We import items from Russia, Germany and other countries. We have a lot of old-world glass Christmas ornaments that are hard to find. We also offer layaway so people can spread their money out over a period of time.” The store also features Jim Shore’s Heartwood Creek figurines. The artist’s work is brilliantly colored, and many pieces bear his trademark quilt pattern. His collection contains a notable amount of Walt Disney characters. The Beach Basket features greeting cards, wedding gifts, picnic baskets, sportswear and Gig Harbor souvenirs. The gifts shops are a true, old-fashioned family business; Stokke has worked in the store since she was 14. “We enjoy being in the harbor,” she said. “Gig Harbor is changing so much. We need to try to keep the feel of the harbor.” For location or more information, call 253-858-9639.