Native Plants, Various Musical Instruments, and Local Art: Handverks

By Laurel Ciohon

It was hot summer day when I made a stop at Handverks, a quirky, cozy, and fascinating shop on Hwy 57, just south of Sister Bay. I'm a plant-lover, so their sign out by the road is what drew me in. NATIVE PLANTS. LAVENDER. Curious as to what native plants they had, I parked my car and wandered their beautiful garden. Many of the plants were native to the midwest, as well as succulents and lilies. Grace and Gerhard, the friendly owners, are extremely knowledgeable about their plants. They happily helped me, as well as other customers milling about the garden, choose the perfect plant for our needs.

Though it was hard to pick just one, I selected a freshly blooming Calla Lily. Grace instructed me to leave in the sun during the warmer months and limit watering to when the soil is slightly dry, but do not over-water. She told me I should bring them inside in autumn to rest the tubers for the winter, then jumpstart them again in spring with light and water. I almost grabbed some potted lavender as well, but decided to explore the gift shop first, excited to see what treasures I would find.

Inside the gift shop, I spotted wind chimes and sun catchers, garden stakes, and wrought iron hooks, plus a variety of handcrafted gifts including jewelry, scarves, felted soap, and carvings. Music lovers will be happy to find a variety of music tote bags and music books/print music for the harp, ukulele, recorder and dulcimer. These instruments are also available for purchase, as well as pipes and tone drums. The harp is truly such a beautiful instrument with several on display. Several ukelele's hung from the wall and I noticed the surprisingly reasonable price tags starting at $40 and up.

I picked out a iron butterfly hook and a bookmark with coffee quotes for my grandmother. My mom, who was with me, chose a garden stake shaped like a watering can. There were so many more items I would've loved to purchase and will definitely keep Handverks in mind when I'm looking for unique gift in the future! Grace and Gerhard truly appreciate your business and are extremely friendly and personable.

Located at 10055 Hwy 57, just south of Sister Bay on the way to Baileys Harbor, near the intersection of Hwy 57 and County Hwy Q. They are open daily from 10am–4pm, but appreciate appointments. Call today!

handverksmusic.com, 920.421.2986, gebern@hotmail.com