Driving on winding, two-lane roads lined with large fir trees, past several small farms, the journey sets the mood for a visit to Chalet in the Woods, a peaceful and unique gift shop in Gig Harbor. The driveway is lined with long-established hydrangea bushes, holly bushes, large native ferns and potted annuals and perennials in clay vessels. Nestled among enormous Western red cedar trees, cradled on 12 acres, with a sheep farm, an orchard and a garden, the intimate shop welcomes visitors, while sheep graze in the adjacent pasture.
Two livestock guard dogs, 6-year-old Isbjorn and a new rescue named Kira, watch for predators that would harm the five sheep. Next to the alfalfa stall, a covered area offers a gathering place for a small picnic in summer, and the outdoor fireplace is set up to provide warmth for small parties on crisp fall and winter days. Fragrant plants of viburnum, sweet boxwood and many other aromatic plants dot the landscape and give guests a pleasing olfactory treat throughout the year.
Owner Laura Almaas shares her knowledge of sheep as well as shearing in small classes designed to demonstrate how the wool in clothing and textiles is taken from the sheep to the loom. Her business has become more than just the gift shop, she said. She strives to ensure that a trip to Chalet in the Woods is an experience of connection and calm, away from the hurriedness of life.
It’s tempting to stroll through the pastures on the property and into the forest. But Almaas said she doesn’t allow guests to do so because a black bear frequently visits to help itself to the apples and other produce. It really is a chalet in the woods, complete with wildlife and all that comes with it.
When she purchased the business 38 years ago from a local family, Almaas moved it from the Ray Nash Drive location. She changed the name from Peterson’s Chalet in the Woods to Chalet in the Woods and established it on the bottom floor of her home. She said that her intention to maintain the vision of the original business, keeping Scandinavian items but also expanding it to include wares from other European countries, continues today.
“The Petersons were from Norway and they used to have only Scandinavian items,” Almaas said. “But I do all of Northern Europe. ”
A Dutch door offers a touch of Europe before visitors even enter the shop, where customers can expect to find high-quality, handmade and sustainable products, along with a personal and intimate shopping experience. Almaas said she enjoys interacting with shoppers and building a relationship that she maintains for years with some of the regulars.
The displays are arranged with the customer in mind. Simple, white valances that adorn the windows and basic wood dressers provide a homey feeling, and Almaas said that she invites patrons to explore the drawers. They hold table linens and other inventory that she keeps there. Gnomes in various sizes and forms, sporting fur coats and red sweaters as well as items with the traditional Scandinavian heart motif transport shoppers to a European experience.
It’s the personal connection, the friendliness and attention to the needs of the customer that Almaas said she enjoys as a shop owner. Some customers are local and have been shopping at Chalet in the Woods for years, while others visit each year from other locales, either as vacationers or summer residents. If they find that they need a gift or piece of clothing after they have left the area, she said it’s easy for her to find what they need based on an established relationship. She is happy to ship the items to them.
“I like interacting with customers, and a lot of them live here for the summer and they call throughout the year if they need something, and I ship it to them,” she said. “People like to have some familiarity.”
From the bicycle totes made in Sweden since the 1950s that are now made from sugar cane instead of plastic, to the Finnish company that makes cutting boards from 98% sawdust, the items that Almaas chooses to procure for her shop are sustainable and durable.
She proudly offers textiles from Ekelund, a Swedish company of master weavers since 1692, and clothing from both established and new companies in Europe. One of the two popular brands she keeps in stock is Saint James, a French clothing company established in 1889 that specializes in wool jackets and mariner shirts, and is contracted to outfit the French navy. The other popular choice are buttery soft, organic cotton dresses from the relatively new clothing company Paapii from Finland the area. The men’s section is smaller, but filled with the same high quality.
“Men are so easy because they know what they want when they come in,” she said.
There are handmade iron candle sticks from a Swedish husband-and-wife company called Bengt & Lotta and handcrafted jewelry from the Norwegian company Sylvsmidja. And much more, including notecards, books, pizza cutters, glassware and wool blankets.
“Unlike Americans, Europeans tend to have less items. They buy quality items and have fewer of them,” she said, referencing the many wares in the store that are designed for sustainability.
When she heard that Royal Doulton, an English company with a long history of handcrafted quality tableware, had moved the majority of its operations to Asia, Almaas decided to carry a few vintage pieces in the shop. She said she is committed to offering the best quality items and was disappointed when she heard that the company had moved offshore.
At the time that Almaas made the decision to purchase the business, she had four small children. Previously, she had worked as a buying agent for a Norwegian company; however, owning the gift shop allowed her more flexibility. She had spent 20 years learning about textiles and quality clothing, so she knew the products that she wanted to carry in the shop and was familiar with the businesses throughout Europe that have been dedicated to unwavering quality standards. Living upstairs, as many European shop owners do, means no commute and a more immediate response to any customer or vendor.
Almaas grew up in Poulsbo, a town known for its Scandinavian heritage, and she, herself, is from a Norwegian family. Her background made the transition to shop owner quite easy. In addition to her love of the items she carries in the shop, she is an outdoors enthusiast and a member of The Mountaineers, a nonprofit outdoor community. She sells books published by The Mountaineers, which feature hiking trails and information about local outdoor beauty spots.
“If someone is not so interested in the things in the store, I can introduce them to the community through the mountaineering books,” she said. “It’s another purpose for having the store, and usually people who like the outdoors like environmental things.”
Buying habits have changed in 38 years, she said. The early years of the shop saw a lot more dishes and paper napkin purchases when newly engaged brides-to-be were registering for china patterns and outfitting their dining rooms and Christmas shopping was a big part of the seasonal sales. Today’s brides aren’t filling a china cabinet and more people are buying intentionally. Almaas said that she has seen a new focus on the purchase of sustainable, quality items.
“Now people do less buying at Christmas, and summer is the busiest time of year,” she said. “I also see a trend of shopping with the family for Christmas gifts. Each chooses the presents they want, and the customers say it’s more fun to know you’re getting what someone wants.”
Chalet in the Woods is an in-person store, Almaas said. She doesn’t have an online shop. Shopping is by appointment only now, something that the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated and Almass decided to keep in place. Customers can schedule an appointment, arrive and ring the doorbell to enter the store, and then relax into a personal shopping experience. This model also provides Almass the freedom to work in her garden or with the sheep if there are no appointments scheduled, she said.
“It’s a special relationship,” Almaas said. “You walk in and say hello and I build a relationship with customers.”
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