Heavenly Made LLC
Wed, 02/08/2017 - 1:00pm
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—Making the unusual part of your life
By:
By Dan Evans Publisher, TPD
Decorah - When was the last time you’ve been inspired to create, to have fun, to make or purchase something your family will truly enjoy? Well, Heavenly Made of Decorah is doing exactly that!
Linda Wolfs, who has been in the “creative” business since the mid 70s, started Heavenly Made LLC and now offers everything––from ceramics, to Swarovski (lead glass crystal) jewelry, to flower arrangements, to hand crafted purses, to lace ornaments, to scarves and so much more!
You pretty much get the idea . . . she’s basically into anything where she can “fabricate,” “fashion” and “create!”
Boasted as “Decorah’s Most Unique Gift Shop,” Wolfs has used her talents to fill an entire store full of her merchandise.
“When people come into the store, they are pretty much shocked at what they find,” stated Wolfs, who is a self-taught artist with over four decades of experience. “You really need to come in and just be inspired!”
Wolfs has been blessed with a talent and can pretty much turn anything ordinary into something unique or possibly make it a family keepsake.
“I made some Memory Bears for a family I knew,” pointed out the store owner. “There were 23 of them and within a month they were completed. They had working arms and legs and had certain names for each of them.”
She also created and completed several Baby Memory Bears as well.
“Those were for the grandbabies,” added Wolfs. “It all needed to be done quickly, but it was for good friends, whom are also good customers.”
Many of the Memory Bears are made of family members’ clothing and other personal items.
Although she often gets orders for “different” items, her mainstay for the store (and over the years) has been in ceramics.
She has 16,000 different molds and thousands of ceramic pieces already created.
You can just imagine what her store offers with pieces completed and some ready to be painted and baked. If the item or items are not available, the odds that she has something are still “very good!”
“I have molds that we’ve purchased through distributors all around the United States,” pointed out Wolfs. “Getting molds with a lot of details is important. Like for our dolls, we have 550 porcelain doll molds, which just one of them could have as many as 14 molds to complete the item. I’m really, really fussy about the molds I buy.”
Besides making a limited number of dolls, Wolfs also restores the decorative heirlooms. In addition, the business can restore your old garden art, including your garden art made out of cement.
Heavenly Made is currently renting a facility, located at 305 College Drive (across from Pizza Ranch) with a gift shop up front, a workspace in the middle and much storage (for the many molds) in the back. The establishment was run from their basement and garage, and more space was needed, allowing for the move.
Thus far their biggest sellers, for the ceramics, have been the many different gnomes offered, but other items––created for the holidays––are equally selling as fast. Angels, Cherubs, Fairy Gardens, garden art, cookie jars, wildlife, lighted Christmas trees, kitchenware and more are also popular at the store.
Eventually, Ceramic Classes could become a part of the business once Wolfs’ schedule starts to slow down a little. She’s often found at shows throughout the area as well.
Ceramics may be a big part of Heavenly Made, but the creative side of Wolfs, which started when she had D&L Ceramics and Gifts in West Union for 37 years, has many other attributes.
Her Swarovski jewelry, for instance, has a huge display with bracelets, earrings and necklaces as well as distinctive suncatchers and more. The scarves are all hand-created and have many unique and fashionable styles offered. Besides Memory Bears the shop offers additional sewing services to create aprons, pillows and more. Her purses are all handcrafted and original.
The facility even offers “slump glass” which looks like a melted down bottle and is decorated. It’s something of the unusual for cheese trays, candy dishes or just to put jewelry on.
The store is updating items weekly and even installed some new display cases in January, allowing them to offer more merchandise.
“I just want our customers to come in and be inspired,” stated Wolfs. “We really offer something for everyone.”
Wolfs may be the “creative” side to the establishment, but she gets plenty of help from Chris Hick, her significant other who seems to be equally as excited about the store.
“Chris is a big help in everything we do around here,” added Wolfs. “He’s very involved and shows a lot of enthusiasm in everything we do.”
All in all, the store is a “must see” in Decorah . . . so come on over and see the “unique” and “different” when it comes to gift shops!
Get a sneak peak at what’s new at the store on Facebook at “Heavenly Made by Linda Wolfs.”