CHATFIELD – A flower and gift shop nestled in the woods just a mile south of Chatfield is brimming with holiday décor just in time for its annual open house on Thanksgiving weekend.
Flowers & Fancies, 3710 Orr Road, is gearing up for its “Cabin Christmas” open house on Nov. 26 and Nov. 27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Nov. 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. A perfect theme for the one-of-a-kind shop, which is housed in a log cabin built in the 1880s.
Owner and designer Steve Auck, who opened the business in 1993, said a cooler full of fresh-cut flowers and a variety of Christmas arrangements, wreaths, and swags will be on hand. “But mine are kind of my own unique style – not modern, but an old-fashioned style.”
Flowers & Fancies will also be stocked with an array of ornaments, Auck said, along with its newest line of candles by Milkhouse Candle Co., fragrant beeswax scents that are poured into milk bottles instead of glass jars. “They look really cute. They’re good sellers.”
Other customer favorites, he said, are galvanized containers and beveled glass picture frames in a variety of sizes, colors, and patterns. “They’re different than most frames are. We’ll have just a nice selection of Christmas items and things people can use in their homes.”
In keeping with the country-style theme, the shop will also be stocked with an assortment of angels, lanterns, wind chimes, and farm prints, Auck said. “You gotta keep up with the times and go with what the suppliers are offering. It’s always changing.”
Auck has “fancied” flowers since he was a child. He helped both of his grandmothers plant their gardens and, when he was as a junior at Buckeye Central High School, enrolled in the horticulture program through Pioneer Career & Technology Center.
Before branching out on his own, he also worked for 13 years at the former Ten Eyck’s flower shop in downtown Bucyrus. But he says his flower arranging talent is God-given. “It just came very easy to me. I can look at something and picture it in my mind and then put it together.”