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Shops, boutiques, art galleries, 14 restaurants, parades, car shows, wine festivals, a French festival, vibrant live music, community theater, a history going back to William Penn—all a part of Skippack Village—all-year round. And now for the grand finale, the coup de grace, the icing on top of the cake—Christmas at Skippack Village. The holiday season brings another layer to this amazing experience.
Skippack Village dates back to a land patent issued by William Penn in 1702 to Matthias van Bebber. Although no one is around who is old enough to remember the changing boundary lines that resulted in the area now called Skippack Township, the Skippack Historical Society has posted the name changes and shifting boundaries on www.Skippack.org. The area, now called Skippack Village has some of the oldest homes still standing in the area. About ‘35-40 years ago’ Dave Markel began to buy up these homes, restoring them and renting them to businesses.
Dave admits he didn’t really know why he started doing it. “I just did,” he says. Working in the medical business he supposed he was looking for a hobby, something different. He explains, “Eventually it got to the point where I owned 90 per cent of the village.” In addition to that, Dave owns all 14 restaurants at Skippack Village. He also initiated many of the events and his company, MDI Management, runs all the events in town except those run by the Skippack Owners Business Association.
The big event which kicks off the holiday season is the Tree Lighting on the day after Thanksgiving, November 24, known to shops and shoppers alike as Black Friday. Jacqueline Trucksess, owner of Jacque’s Faux Floral Design & Unique Gifts, says, “All the stores are open late as we light our Christmas tree, which is right outside my own store. It's a really great evening and it's a really great event. It's a huge weekend for us because the day after that evening event, Santa comes and we have dancers—little girl dancers and carolers and Santa comes in on the old vintage firetruck.”
Saturday, the day after the Tree Lighting is Shop Small Saturday a day to celebrate buying local. The shops at the Village not only often have tempting sales, but they stay open for longer hours. It is also a salute to the fact that small shops, boutiques and specialty stores promote the local economy and generally carry a higher quality of merchandise than the big box stores. A good example of this quality is Jacque’s Faux Floral Design & Unique Gifts.
Jacqueline Trucksess, known to everyone as Jacque, explains, “There used to be a lot of places that had these kind of services because what I offer is a service. There used to be other places that would do custom work or that would do floral designs. And it's sort of a dying profession. I have people that Google me and they come all the way from New Jersey, Bucks County and even further.”
Jacque explains that faux flowers are different than silk flowers. Faux flowers can be made of any material—foam, cloth, synthetic fabrics and other materials. She specializes in high-end faux flowers from suppliers like Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel. Her shop is larger than the one she had when she first came to Skippack Village. “I graduated to the space I'm in now, which is a lot bigger. It’s like a little cottage. I just love it! I do my custom work and my design work here. I have gifts, candles, high-end faux flowers.”
Jacque is a designer. “People can come into my shop and bring in their vessels and I will design something for them in their space, whether it be a dining room table arrangement or something for an entrance way.” She also goes into people’s homes and does interior and exterior. She works with interior decorators and designers. And she also does corporate work. “I did a large arrangement for the Tropicana in Atlantic City. She also does arrangements for funerals”
Most of the shop owners participate in another event called Luminary Nights and it begins in November 24 and ends December 22. On every Friday night during most of the shops put out luminary bags that light the sidewalks outside the shops and restaurants to welcome shoppers to the holiday season. The shops stay open late on those Fridays.
Individual merchants have their own special holiday attractions. At Regina Marie Designs Fine Art & Crafts Gallery, owners Regina Ewer and Lisa Dull have a holiday show during the first week of December. Regina says, “It’s like an open house. We'll have Santa and we put up this cool display and our Santa is dressed in a suit we made. It is set up like a photo shoot and people come and donate something for the Food Pantry or Toys for Tots. On Friday night Regina Marie Designs stays open late. She says, “We’ll have music on Friday night. Bunny Barnes, who just recently won several awards for her finger style guitar playing, is coming to pay here.”
Regina herself is a jeweler, who specializes in custom jewelry design and has done art shows for 35 years. Lisa has had a career in hospitality and marketing and she also has a great eye for fine art. The gallery is a consignment gallery with a full stable of artists and craftspeople. “We have everything from fine crafts to fabric art to sculpture to fine art,” Regina says. Now fine art is taking off and the art on sale represents some of the best in the area. The gallery is very pleasing to the eye and the customer is free to browse without any pressure.”
Mary Bohidar, owner of Accent on the Rocks, has an open house on December 17,18 and 19, a week before Christmas. She says that she decorates the store to be “shopping with a festive vibe.” Accent’s open house is not done in conjunction with the other stores; it is its own affair. There are various promotions during this time.
She is also involved with the other Village-wide promotions. “Then obviously it's just like everybody else when we come into Black Friday—that's always holiday mayhem, but in a really good way. And then we so appreciate all the great customers who come out and shop shop Small Saturday as well. We’re lucky to have a great customer base that appreciates what it is to have in-store experience and not just only shops Amazon.”
Accent on the Rocks is often referred to as eclectic in its offerings. Mary says, “I am a jewelry and clothing boutique with a little twist of artisan crafted ceramic and some barware, and I try and keep as much of my merchandise as I can to be USA made products. That can be challenging. I can't do it across the board, but there's an effort there.” Mary describes her shop as “boutiquey” but not too pricy. I offer a variety of women's clothing and a variety of jewelry at every price point— starting from $10 up to a couple hundred dollars.”
Mary is not hard sell, but rather have people get a feel and take their time in her store. She says, “I definitely am not hard sell, but I know my product and I really want to find the right thing for anybody who's walking in the door. I don’t want to sell them something just to stick in the bag. It has to be the right fit and the right gift. And here you really do get a nice customer experience.”
Carolyn Fiore, owner of Skippack Hope Chest, does a beautiful storefront window and a holiday open house. She also has several flash sales and a Christmas clearance sale.
Skippack Hope Chest is a women's clothing and accessories boutique where we carry clothing, handbags, jewelry, lingerie, cosmetics. Carolyn says, ““We like focus on items ladies of all ages, for girls of all ages, and teenagers on up. There's something for everybody. We like to keep our items comfortably priced. That's our mantra— to make things beautiful and affordable for all of our customers.”
The Wooden Duck Shoppe is a delightful place to visit during the Christmas season. The store in Skippack and its sister store at Peddler’s Village both sell Byers’ Choice Carolers. Other collectibles found here are MacKenzie-Childs, Patience Brewster, Department 56, Byers’ Choice Carolers, Karen Didion Santas, and other Christmas collectables. The wooden Duck carries inspiring women’s apparel and accessories for all occasions; from casual to sophisticated, they have the style to fit your every need. It is the place to go for one-of-a-kind home accents and gifts for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and any other occasion that you will not discover anywhere else.
The Wooden Duck participates in Starry Christmas Nights, on December 7, 8 and 9 when many of the stores stay open into the night and they participate in other events during the holiday season.
So, you could go to a mall or a big box store or stay home sitting in front of your computer or you could go to the Village, Skippack Village, and enjoy the shopping in a festive Christmas atmosphere that reminds us of Christmas past. For a prime holiday shopping experience it takes more than rampant commercialism—it takes a village, Skippack Village.
To find out more about Skippack Village and view a map of the shop and restaurant locations, visit www.skippackvillage.com.
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine.