BY Devin Joubert & Tracy Nicholson
PHOTOS BY Paul Flessland
With temps dropping and the holidays nearing, Design & Living hit the streets to search out some of the area’s best local shopping. As our gift to you, this guide showcases holiday decor, home accents and unique ideas for a simple, stress-free and beautiful holiday season. From setting the table in style to warm accents and yuletide charm, use this guide to keep your shopping smart and your dollars local.
1. C’mon Baby, Light My Fire pillow, reversible plaid backing, Baker Garden & Gift
2. Snowflake string art, Baker Garden & Gift
3. Hammered Holiday Bells, Baker Garden & Gift
4. Magnetic card tree, Thea’s Gs, includes eight magnetic buttons, c.lizzy’s
5. Caroler lantern, 11″ in red or black, McNeal & Friends
6. Countdown calendar, Baker Garden & Gift
7. Mercury Glass Tea Light Votives, O’ Day Caché
8. Colette Paperie Card, Eco Chic Boutique
9. Shimmer 3-inch Mirror Ornament, HOM Furniture
10. Glass Christmas Tree, O’ Day Caché
11. Gingerbread houses, Resin made with lighting, Shotwell Floral
12. Linen candy roll pillows, Shotwell Floral
13. Retro Santa Ornament, The Red Silo
14. Heritage Bundtlette Pan, Nordic Ware, MINT + BASIL
15. Wood wine bottle tags, Baker Garden & Gift
16. Birch ball ornament, McNeal & Friends
17. Decorative Wire Display, designingwomen2
18. Snowflake Ornament, Eco Chic Boutique
19. Handmade copper ornaments, c.lizzy’s 2016 Signature Holiday Collection
20. Falconara Metal Wall Hanging Candle, designingwomen2
21. Mercury glass antique bird ornament, McNeal & Friends
22. Holly & Berry pillow, Shotwell Floral
23. Thread wrapped twig tree, Burlap Rustic Chic Boutique
A Perfectly Rustic Christmas
Need a tree re-design? Right now, Baker Garden & Gift has three beautiful tree designs on display: traditional, rustic and chrome. To simplify your decorating, we get up close and show you the perfect elements to create Baker’s version of a rustic, yet perfectly refined Christmas tree.
Rustic & Refined
Baker’s rustic elements include oversized, cut-out bark ornaments mixed with natural elements such as feather bulbs and bristle bears. To spruce up the rustic elements, Baker chose a few contrasting textures and colors such as metal quote plaques, metallic birds and vibrant multicolored bulbs.
24. Cooke Tavern Fireside Supper Bean soup mix, TAG bowl, Mistra Estates extra virgin olive oil, Jingle Bell bottle opener, Balsam pine tree and ‘enjoy’ cutting board with dipping bowl (Shotwell Floral)
25. Orange Glass Goblet, Bushwick Kitchens, MINT + BASIL
26. Moss Deer, SCHEELS Home & Hardware
27. Linen napkins, Woodland dish towels, water hyacinth 72″ runner, printed bowls, hammered mule and hanging mistletoe, by TAG (Scan Design)
Set The Table
28. Gold Pheasant accent plate, Grasslands Road, Baker Garden & Gift
29. Chocolate Bear Plate, TAG, Creative Kitchen
30. Le Creuset, Creative Kitchen
31. Peony salt & pepper shakers, Pomegranate, McNeal & Friends
32. Dishing up Minnesota cookbook, By Teresa Marrone, Baker Garden & Gift
33. Handmade cutting board, The Green Room
34. Polished aluminum nesting baskets, ice holder, John Richard, Northern Home Furniture & Design
35. Cookut Homemade Whip Cream Kit, Shotwell Floral
36. Tid Bit plates, Burlap Rustic Chic Boutique
37. Basil in a bag kit, Urban Agriculture, Baker Garden & Gift
38. Bison cutting board, epicurean usa, Creative Kitchen
39. 3-quart Turquoise Colander , Reston Lloyd, Creative Kitchen
40. Nora Fleming oven safe serve ware with interchangeable, mini ceramic charms. “We love this stoneware by Nora Fleming. This is a new line to the Fargo area and they’re safe for baking. You can buy the stoneware piece you want and purchase individual charms or buy the case of nine mini charms representing different holidays and times of the year. They’re a great gift idea, if you know they have one of the pieces, you can gift them a new mini for every holiday. There are butter dishes, salt and pepper sets, tissue boxes, garnish dishes, pedestals, fruit bowls, bread trays and many other options. There are 84 different minis that can easily attach to any of the stoneware pieces.” — Claudia Koppelman, Shotwell Floral
41. Cast Iron Skillet, Finex Cast Iron Skillet, Creative Kitchen
42. Hand-painted rolling pin, HelensTable, MINT + BASIL
43. Be Kind, Share the Wine box holder, Baker Garden & Gift
44. Twig Teaspoons & Tablespoons, TAG, Zandbroz Variety
45. Bread/Cheese Board, Unglued
46. Juliska Firenze Medici Gold dessert plate, Emerson Pewter dinner plate, Simon Pearce flatware in Woodbury Graphite, McNeal & Friends
47. 3 Dip Bowls on tray, MINT + BASIL
48. Rachael Ray Highline Table & Chairs, HOM Furniture
49. Measuring Cups, TAG, Zandbroz Variety
Comfort & Joy
50. Luminara Candles, “I love the Luminara Candles candle because it’s the flicker that won’t burn.” Hannah Leichtenberg, SCHEELS Home & Hardware
51. I Have Found The One My Soul Loves sign, Eco Chic Boutique
52. Mint & Basil Fern Candle, MINT + BASIL
53. Re-purposed sweater pillows, Burlap Rustic Chic Boutique
54. Cherry Wine Cabinet, Furniture For Less
55. Small book stand, The Green Room
56. Throw Revere Espresso, Signature Design by Ashley, Ashley Furniture
57. Antique arm chair with white denim pillow, Custom slip-cover skirt and reupholstered top with hand-sewn denim pillow, Burlap Rustic Chic Boutique
58. Baxle Jute Love Seat, Ashley Furniture
59. Magnolia Home Pillows, Eco Chic Boutique
60. Antique chest and mohair pom pom throw, Chest is antique from Kindred, N.D. and mohair throw is by TAG, Burlap Rustic Chic Boutique
61. Pillows, Rizzy Home, Ashley Furniture
62. Handmade Soap, The Honey B Soap Company, The Red Silo
63. Wool Critter Ornaments, Roost, Zandbroz Variety
64. Mugs, East of India, Eco Chic Boutique
65. Thankful And Blessed Decorative Tray, The Red Silo
66. Frasier Fir – Thymes Candle, Zandbroz Variety
67. Brassworks II Clock, designingwomen2
68. Blue velvet arm chair, Fisher, Walnut finish in Vance Indigo, Northern Home Furniture & Design
69. Brutallist Candle Holder, designingwomen2
70. Orchard Peach Tea – Piper & Leaf, “What’s really nice is, if you brew it up and put a little cream in it, it warms your soul. Like an orange float. Or even put some ice cream in it.” —Hope Goldammer, MINT + BASIL
71. Mulled Cider Candle, Milkhouse Candles, Creative Kitchen
Greet Your Guests
Looking for a little holiday curb appeal? We sat down with Phaidra Yunker, custom design specialist at Baker Garden & Gift, to see what makes an entrance pop for the holidays and have a lasting appeal for the rest of the snowy season.
Bring out the Greens
When the snow starts to fly, Yunker believes homeowners need to bring in a little green. “Some people ask for arrangements 12-feet tall, they have those massive, two or three-story entrances, so there’s definitely something to be said about scaling the containers to match,” she said.
“These are Spruce tree tops. In my opinion, what separates a good tree top from a bad tree top is mixed greens. So, I usually start with the Spruce tree tops and then add in mixed pine, white pine and different things like that. I do seminars on this as well. I like doing it, it’s pretty free form. These are very heavy, we use topsoil instead of potting mix because it’s a better medium to get the shapes that I want. A big arrangement like this might take me up to six hours or so. When I deliver them, I’ll recommend they dump about five gallons of water on them right away. If that freezes solid, it’s not going anywhere and will look good through March. I also do the summer containers, but I really love the winter containers because of how they look when they leave here and that’s how they will look all season.”
“One of my first questions when I talk to a client is, do you want something that’s holiday or do you want something that’s winter? I tend to lean towards winter. It still works as holiday, but will be just as lovely in January. This wreath has winter elements and chevron ribbon versus sparkly ribbon. My personal aesthetic this year is leaning more toward natural elements. I like doing the glittery things, but I’m kind of liking more natural elements, a little more monochromatic and utilizing a lot of textures. The ribbons that I really like this year are the chevron you see in this wreath, also subtle greys, a good windowpane plaid in subtle red and green tones and even the brighter sparkly ribbons if they’re done right.”

If you love big, sparkly bows, Yunker suggests leaving the bow in through the holidays, then removing just the bow afterward for an arrangement that will look good all season long. Don’t hurry to throw them if they start to turn colors. Yunker said this type of arrangement will still look great, even with the color change.
“Usually if I do arrangements for the front entrance of a home or business, I’ll do two that are symmetrical. This is the kind of design that I’m really into right now. I’ve been doing some fun things with birch that’s a little different than I’ve seen anywhere else.”
Here are some of the elements that Phaidra uses in her winter arrangements:
Protea – a flower from India or South Africa (red flower)
Craspedia natural Billy Balls – yellow accent bulbs
Port Orford Cedar – has little cones on it and is famous for its smell (long skinny greens)
Western Red Cedar (branched out leaf-like greens)
Giant Sugar Pinecones – wire wrap these around branches to place into large arrangements
Lotus Pods
Winterberry stems
Dazzling Accentsr
72. Natural Willow Star, Eco Chic Boutique
73. Glass Mosaic Platter, Furniture For Less
74. Drawer and bookcase, Furniture For Less
75. Fiji Planters, Ashley Furniture
76. Ceramic Ball Set (6 in a set), Ashley Furniture
77. Arrow Jars, CBK, Inspired Home, The Red Silo
78. Eos Copper shade floor lamp, Vita Copenhagen with matte black tripod and Silvia Copper shade, Scan Design
79. Metal leaf, Creative Co Op, SCHEELS Home & Hardware
80. Global Views funnel vases, Northern Home Furniture & Design
81. Copper apple, SCHEELS Home & Hardware
82. Calamity Jane Quote Sign, CHO.BE. Art & Design, The Green Room
83. Gold Goose, The Green Room
84. Burgundy berry stem, Nest room spray in Birchwood, Lovely Thoughts paper cuff, gold feathers (McNeal & Friends)
85. Highline 2 Piece Sectional LAF Corner Sofa & RAF Sofa, HOM Furniture
86. Magnets, Eco Chic Boutique
87. Ceramic Cookie Jar, HOM Furniture
Art From The Heart
88. Golden Hour, Annette Berglund, Photography, annetteberglund.com
89. Uncovering, Karman Rheault, Steel and Copper, Gallery 4
90. Cottonwood bark art, Heritage Series by artist Liz Walberg, c.lizzy’s
91. Gratitude mosaic mirror, By artist Jo McFarlin of Mentor, Minnesota, c.lizzy’s
92. Heaven, Annette Berglund – Photography, annetteberglund.com
93. Pubs of Fargo, Underbrush Gallery
94. King and Queen, 2016, Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches, Andrew Stark, Ecce Gallery
95. About You, 2016, Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches, Brittany Anderson, Ecce Gallery
96. Seascape XX, 2016, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches, Zhimin Guan, Ecce Gallery
97. Original Painting, Ben Neyer of Ochre Creative Studios, The Green Room
98. Secret Orchard painting, designingwomen2
99. Curiosity Never Killed the Crow, Barbara Benda Nagle, Watercolor, Gallery 4 2. Tree Vases, Underbrush Gallery
100. Decorative glass bowl, TIM MCFADDEN, Underbrush Gallery
101. Cathedral Windows, Easel Included, scottseiler.net, Gallery 4
102. Tree Vases, Underbrush Gallery
103. Fargo Time Tile Winter, CM Flood, Unglued
104. Mosaic sticks, c.lizzy’s
105. North Shore, William Damon, Photography, Gallery 4