Shipshewana Shopping!
So, spectacular shopping shines in Shipshewana! Are you getting the gist of all these s’s! Enough of that I know, but if you are looking for gifts for the holiday, head to Indiana Amish Country for the best artisan crafted gifts around! On a recent hosted trip to Shipshewana with other Midwest Network Travel Bloggers, Visit Shipshewana’s Sonya Nash led us to a plethora of fun places to find the perfect gifts.
During our trip, both the town, and shopkeepers were decked out in their holiday finery!
Gift ideas!
After visiting northern Indiana, a couple times a while back, I thought my husband Keith would enjoy a bit of the area for Christmas! Last year I booked us a stay at the Essenhaus in Middlebury, Indiana and we spent time shopping in both LaGrange, and Elkhart County. I booked us a tour of the area with Arley Yoder, a local Amish guide that I just learned from his daughter Caroline (of Yoder’s Homestyle Cooking) just turned 90! Arley gave us a great tour. On our recent blogger trip, tour guide Karleen Richter stepped up to the plate and led us through the Amish countryside!
On last year’s Christmas stay, we enjoyed the Essenhaus campus. It is a combination of a hotel, Amish style restaurant, shopping, and outdoor recreation all rolled into one. The same can be said in Shipshewana of the Blue Gate. They offer a hotel, restaurant, and a few different entertainment options! As part of the Blue Gate property, they have the Blue Gate Music Hall where they offer Amish musicals.
During my recent trip, I sampled the great food (and dessert) at the Blue Gate restaurant. Our group of bloggers got a special behind the scenes tour of the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center. Bloggers included Travel with Sara, Our Adventure is Everywhere, Hip Grandma Life, Gleason Family Adventure, and Sharon the Moments.
That evening we saw famous country star extraordinaire, Trace Adkins at this 1500 seat theatre. A stay at either the Essenhaus, or Blue Gate is a great present. The Farmstead Inn is equally nice.
Experiences from doll making, to painting, abound in Shipshewana and make for great gift ideas.
Stores and more
Shopping fun is everywhere! Artisan items abound like a leather belt or purse from Silver Star Leather. I bought a belt for Keith and ended up giving it to him early. At Silver Star Leather, owner Loren started out making harnesses for his horses. His wife suggested he expand. Soon purses, wallets, belts and items made from a variety of exotic animal skins were used to craft one-of-a-kind leather goods!
Earlier in the year when visiting Shipshewana, Sara Broers, of Travel with Sara purchased a purse. She takes it everywhere and loves it. She posed beside the purse she calls her own.
We stopped at the Cherry Pickers, where young pickers, Mark and Stephanie Liechty are reclaiming this and that from furniture to items from reclaimed barns and homes and making new and unique creations. When asking Mark Liechty how this business came about, he said that it came from being unemployed and going door to door collecting junk to recycle. They credit everything that has come their way to God.
The wonderful Riverwood Pottery is where Jesse Woodworth creates handcrafted nature inspired pottery. He has lovely items; his racoon mugs caught my eye this visit. Keith and I stopped here last Christmas and bought some cool mugs with a lovely rooster design.
Davis Mercantile
Davis Mercantile is an amazing stop with a 1909 Dentzel carousel at the top! All horses and animals are carved on the outside to be like those in the surrounding area. Brandy Gleason of Gleason Family Adventures rode the carousel with me. We didn’t mind waiting in line with the kids one bit, we put on our inner child and rode, rode, rode!
The carousel is on the top floor of the mercantile. This former hotel, which is now a mercantile has four floors and 23 stores that include Ben’s Pretzels! On an earlier visit, the carousel operator told me how Hezikiah Davis, one of the original pioneers built the hotel. They moved the hotel to Main Street, then it burned down, it was rebuilt, and now is a mercantile!
There is also a fun angel wing mural that all the bloggers enjoyed posing at during our visit!
Downtown Shipshewana
Christmas is a magical time in Shipshewana. This faith filled town kicked off the holiday with the Shipshewana Light Parade highlighted with hymns, and the biblical Christmas story reading. That is one thing I loved during this trip, the show of faith. In my hotel room at the Farmstead Inn, the staff left a message saying “Jesus Loves You” on our nightstand.
It was easy for me to find my farm roots in downtown Shipshewana as well. With murals like Wolfe Grain and a lovely Farmall tractor, I felt right at home.
Then there is E&S Bulk Food and Sales in Shipshewana. This is a farm toy lover’s paradise! I had to keep from running into shoppers while looking up and gawking at farm toys. While at E&S, I found my favorite new spice, Happy Salt and brought home plenty to get me by!
These are just a few of the fun stops and shops you will find in the Shipshewana area. Check out the Visit Shipshewana website to learn more about what there is to see and do. Do you have a favorite place we should know about?
