812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 1, 2001
Restored and modernized, the century old home on the
edge of the town of Shrewsbury has every room overflow
ing with seasonal and holiday crafts, collectibles and un
usual gift items. The craft house, open for its 10th year
with Country Christmas, is unique to the area.
Especially popular this year is a section of the Homestead dedicated to patriotic
items. Proprietor Megan Shaub restocks a few of the red-white-and-blue themed
pieces.
Restoration of the Homestead house was planned around marketing. This closet, uti
lized as a niche merchandise display, still has some of the original wallpaper and old
clothes hooks left on the wall.
Megan and her father
Robert Shaub, are delight
ed with the extenaion they
added for customer check
out. The addition, which
blends nicely with the origi
nal structure, keeps long
register lines moving and
inventory constantly updat
ed.
5* n * a'**'*"***
Look Up, Down, Under
For Homestead Treasures
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
SHREWSBURY (York Co.)
Roosters are in. Cows are out.
Country is in. Victorian is out,
or at least not quite as popular as
in past years.
Rust, of all things, is in.
But all of it is there, some
where, in the extensive inventory
of beautifully-crafted merchan
dise tucked into the endless
nooks, crannies and display areas
of Homestead Country Christ
mas.
In this restored, century-old
“Rust” is one of the hot
test, country-style decorat
ing trends. The Home
stead’s consignment
inventory of holiday, rust
encrusted items ranges
from tiny ornaments to this
large tree-topper star.
house on the edge of the historic
town of Shrewsbury, craft lovers
and collectors can literally spend
hours examining rooms stocked
from floor to ceiling plus more
hanging from overhead with
creativity. While some items of
Victorian elegance remain popu
lar, the tastefully-arranged coun
try-oriented items of wood, soft
fabrics, tin, and basketry are in
far greater abundance than
things shiny and glittery.
The fact that some of it is rusty
enhances its customer popularity.
Rust-crusted items are espe
cially trendy in the craft market
right now, according to Home
stead house proprietor Megan
Shaub. In fact, items featuring
rusty metal, like holiday orna
ments and tree-topping stars,
command great customer inter
est. They’re almost as popular as
the patriotic-themed items which
are flying off the shelves and dis
play areas faster than the con
signors can supply restocking in
ventory.
“We are unique to this regional
area,” says Megan Shaub, who
with her parents, Robert and
Margaret Shaub, owns and oper
ates The Farmer’s Daughter
Craft and Garden Center. A dec
ade ago, they added the twice
yearly season craft and gifts dis
plays in the Homestead craft
house, adjoining the retail garden
center.
The Homestead specializes in
consigned creativity, with mer
chandise selected from dozens of
craftsmen and artists who submit
their specialities for sales consid
eration. Each submission of work
is “juried,” or selected by a man
agement team, which determines
if the work meets their standards
for quality, variety and inventory
need.
The Shaub family purchased
this neighboring house to their
farm just west of Shrewsbury in
1974, following the death of for
mer owner Charles Fiddler. For
almost 20 years, they utilized it
primarily for storage space for
The Farmer’s Daughter Craft
and Garden Center, which grew
from a garden produce stand
Megan began selling from as a
child.
An employee of the Shaub’s,
Connie McKay, approached
them in early 1992 about opening
a craft house* an interest she had
pursued earlier at her own home
in North York. Plans moved
quickly intoJfr hectic few summer
months crammed with getting
local permits, then rawfring and
remodeling" the house. Mean
while, they were also jurying po-
Glass with dainty, hand
painted floral designs is
available In a variety of
decorative and serving
pieces.
tential merchandise, as well as
running their farm and the gar
den center businesses.
“We went down to the wire,”
Shaub says, recalling hectic days
preparing to begin accepting
craft consignments by mid-Sep
tember. “I wouldn’t want to do it
again.”
By their early October opening,
11 rooms on two floors of the re
furbished house were overflowing
with attractive displays of craft
consignments from nearly 100 ar
tisans. Built in the shape of a
cross, the house’s room layout is
the same on both floors, with a
spacious attic overhead where ex
cess and off-season supplies can
be stored for easy access.
Customers are encouraged to
“look up, look down, and look
under” the displays in each area,
most with somewhat of a theme.
Dainty homemade scented soaps
and attractive jewelry might be in
one area, while rustic and
rusty tin ornaments fill holiday
trees in another. A children’s
area features hand-crafted games
and toys, dolls, including the
once-again-popular Raggedy
Ann.
Consignors have become
friends over the years; Shaub re
lates stories of them as she moves
from room to room showcasing
their creativity. While showing
attractively-decorated, electric
switch plate covers fashioned
from greeting cards, she explains
with sadness that the elderly gen
tlemen who crafted them recently
died very unexpectedly. The
Homestead will continue sales of
his inventory on hand.
As success of the Homestead
grew, checkout lines often would
often wind through the display
area; creating something of a re
tail traffic jam. A checkout room
added to the rear of the house
has helped to minimize customer
traffic congestion, along with
adding expanded office space
and some additional wall display
area. Computerized registers
checkout quickly while maintain
ing a constant inventory of items
on hand.
“That enables us to quickly
contact consignors for more mer
chandise,” Shaub says. Most con
signors live within a 100-mile ra
dius, though at least one who has
since relocated from the area
continues to send her specialty
items from Texas.
“We still have some of our
original consignors,” says Shaub.
“They’re kept busy staying up
with the ‘trends’ in the crafts
business. I attend two major
shows each year and buy addi
tional gift merchandise to com
plement the consignments, espe
cially unique sorts of things.”
Two managers and two assist
ants staff the Homestead, which
is open for eight weeks prior to
the Christmas holidays, and will
run through Dec. 2. Spring and
Easter season opens March 1 and
continues through to April 14.
Hours are Wednesday through
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Those interested in having
merchandise inspected for ap
proval for the spring consign
ment show, should request an ap
plication by writing to the
Farmers Daughter, 351 W. Rail
road Ave., Shrewsbury, Pa.
Megan will mail a packet with
jury dates and information.
Homestead Country Christmas
is located on Route 851, one mile
west of Interstate 83, Shrewsbury
exit. For additional information
on the show, contact the Farm
er’s Daughter Craft and Garden
Center at (717) 235-1614.