Our second Small Business Story comes to us from Debbie Gaydos of Shopaholic Home Decor and Gifts in Enterprise, Alabama. Debbie shares with us a whimsical tale of moose who make a difference by not just enchanting her community, but by bringing joy into the lives of others.
From Debbie:
THE MOOSE STORY
When Shopaholic opened 5 1/2 years ago, I wanted it to be a place that had items no one else had, and that those items were part of a story. We started with a lot of repurposed furniture, vintage items, and local handmade gifts so the stories came easy. As time moved on and trends changed, we became more of a gift center but the one thing that remained the same was that our customers still wanted a story.
After opening that March, I visited my first international market that July because I had to order for Christmas. While walking through one of the beautiful showrooms, I saw a wall of Christmas Moose! Every one of them had a different look: clothes, crazy hair, googly eyes, sitting, standing, laying, tall and short. They made me laugh immediately, such joy! I got 50 of them. The moose arrived October 15th and the story began.
The moose were brought in to help us get ready for Christmas. They were to stock, price and assist with holiday set-up. Some of the moose were very tall and seemed a bit more mature than the others. We called these moose the Elders, and the Elders would get the other moose ready for the season. We even staged phtos with the small moose on the floor and the Elders standing on chairs providing sound guidance and council. The plan was easy: If all went well, each moose would be adopted and in a new home for the holidays.
One of the moose suffered a broken neck and he would often fall on the floor. I took pictures of him and he became my first big story: He had obviously been drinking at night and not working at all! We went through the entire Christmas season with the shenanigans of a moose named Otis (from the Andy Griffith Show).
The day after Christmas I put Otis by the back door to take him home and a lady came in and wanted to adopt him! That year all of our moose were succesfully adopted and each year since, the number of moose adopted has increased, the stories have gotten bigger, and now the moose are known as Christmas Moose with Personalities!
By the third year we featured over 250 moose and again, they lasted in-store less than a month. We had actual adoption certificates and everyone began to register their moose on our Facebook page so we could continue to track the moose after their adoption (there are hundreds of moose all over Europe, and in every one of the 50 States). That year we also began to give moose away to families who couldn’t afford to adopt them, but we didn’t talk about it until this year.
This year I decided that maybe by us keeping it private we were missing an opportunity to grow this action. It was like a Hallmark story!!! We got in over 600 moose in October and only have a few left. When people found out what we were doing they would call or come in and buy moose only to hand them right back to us to simply give away. This year we were able to donate to Family Services/Toys for Tots and 23 private families that our customers nominated to receive a moose—and we aren’t finished yet.
This town and the people in it continue to amaze me and touch my heart in a way I never dreamed, and they remind me that when we all work together, it truly is a Hallmark moment.
So, our story with the Christmas Moose continues… If you walk into Shopaholic you will probably hear us talking to them. A man came in the other day and said, “You talk to these moose as though they are real.” I looked at him, smiled and said, “I will have to pretend you didn’t say that!”
Special thanks to Hanna’s Handiworks for carrying the best moose ever!!
Debbie Gaydos
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If you are an active customer of Hanna’s Handiworks and own or manage a small business, we want to hear from you with your stories, photos and/or plans for the future. We will regularly feature a small business customer who is actively pursuing their goals and dreams. Have a small business story you’d like to share with us? Contact Us to get started.