June 26, 2015 at 12:47 p.m.
A Step in Time grand opening this weekend
A Step in Time grand opening this weekend
Johnson will be serving coffee, cookies, fudge and other treats.
The grand opening is Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with drawings for door prizes.
Johnson makes her own jams and bread dips.
"I try to get my stuff local, but it's not always possible." Johnson said. "The jams, I make myself. The syrups are from Wisconsin, and the honey."
The store sells many pieces of painstakingly refurbished furniture that Johnson crafts herself.
"I don't try to restore it back to what it was," Johnson said. "I just try to make it look older. "
Johnson considers the refurbishing process to be more of a passion than a job.
"I just dabbled in it for five or six years, and never looked at it as a job, it's not a job," Johnson said. "It's just something I love to do."
It takes a lot of sanding, painting, and sanding again, she said.
"You have to put a primer on it, and a deglosser so the paint doesn't peel or anything," she said.
All of her pieces are 100 percent solid wood, she said.
Of the building itself, Johnson decorated part of it with reclaimed logs from her nephew's property, as well as with windows from the old Crescent Elementary School building.
Gift items for sale at the shop also include high-end blankets, handmade quilts, laser art and candles, as well as many other handmade items.
A Rhinelander native, Johnson moved to the Hurley area for awhile before returning home to be near family.
She worked at CCL Gardens for six years before opening the gift shop last year next door to her former employer on State Highway 47.
"I couldn't do the retirement thing," she said.
Future plans include a Christmas attic upstairs. "I'm a Christmas person, and I sell wreaths, garlands and trees," she said.
"It's kind of a dream come true. I've always wanted to own a gift shop," Johnson added. "I enjoy people, that's one of the reasons I wanted to open a business, to be around people and I was raised on a farm, so I really appreciate this kind of stuff."
Katie Perttunen may be reached at [email protected].
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