The winter holiday shopping season is in full swing at shops in Livingston County.
Small, locally-owned gift shops, boutiques and other retailers abound in the county. Several have particularly unique gift ideas.
From plants that eat bugs to limited-edition T-shirts commemorating nostalgic local businesses of the past, here are four ideas that could be perfect for people who would like something different this year.
For adventurous green thumbs
A new carnivorous plant nursery in Hartland Township has a solution for growing Venus flytraps and pitcher plants indoors.
Killer Plant Co. sells plants and growing equipment online. Local customers can pick up orders at the nursery’s brick-and-mortar store at 3554 Avon St. in the township’s historic village district.
Carnivorous plants trap and digest insects, spiders and other creatures as part of their diet. They require special growing instructions, including 14 or more hours a day of direct sunlight or light from a grow light.
To help people grow them indoors, Killer Plant Co. sells special indoor Venus flytrap terrariums with 16-hour automatic light timers for $59.99 plus tax. The terrariums are made for three or four plants.
The nursery sells King Henry, red dragon and Flexx Cultivar Venus flytraps. It also sells pitcher plants, including Nepenthes, purple pitchers and trumpet pitchers.
RELATED: New Hartland Twp. nursery finds niche selling Venus flytraps, carnivorous ‘killer’ plants
Orders can be placed online at killerplantco.com
For those with hometown pride
For those nostalgic for days gone by, Wallflower Mercantile is selling T-shirts featuring logos from three businesses that used to operate in Brighton.
Owner Natalie Buckley said graphic designer Nikki Bagdady Horn used photographs to recreate vintage logos for Uber’s Drugs, Cardona’s Pizza and Miller’s Sport Shop. Local shop Ivory Vines printed the shirts.
Find the T-shirts for sale at Wallflower Mercantile, at 427 W. Main St. They are $25 each with $5 benefiting the Brighton Area Historical Society.
MORE: How 1-gigabit fiber internet is expanding in Livingston County
MORE: Two attorneys open nonprofit law firm in downtown Brighton
“People are very nostalgic of Cardona’s Pizza and so many people worked at Uber’s, and Miller’s Sports Shop, so many people shopped for their sports equipment there,” Buckley said.
She said the shop plans to feature three different vintage Brighton business logos on shirts early next year.
More locally-inspired gear is available at Ivory Vines, which opened a new brick-and-mortar gift shop earlier this year.
RELATED: Locally themed swag, Michigan products featured at new Brighton gift shop Ivory Vines
The shop is filled with T-shirts, hats, totes, tumblers, decals and other items with local and Michigan themes, including school spirit wear for several local schools.
The shop also sells a variety of products by other small businesses in Michigan and products that complement the theme of the shop. There are candles, lotions, sweets, jewelry and other products.
For those who need good vibes
Howell features a unique spirituality store stocked with supplies for clearing out bad energy and bringing in positivity.
Kokopelli’s Korner owner Cathy Boaz said several items she carries at the shop, 111 E. Grand River Ave., could be grouped into a gift for someone who needs good vibes.
“It’s sage to start with. You want to cleanse the place out. Then you can use sweet grass to bring the love in,” Boaz said.
She said smudge sticks could be paired with other items at the shop to make someone a personalized energy clearing kit.
“I have many different crystals that can cleanse the space and charge it as well,” Boaz said. “And you can get incense and incense sticks and stuff like that.”
A gift idea she had is to fill an empty advent calendar with small items from local shops. People would have to already have or find an advent calendar to fill but Kokopelli’s Korner sells things that could be put inside one.
For those with a sweet tooth
Oh My Lolli! owner Keith Karp said it is the season for stocking stuffers and customizable gifts at his Brighton candy shop.
The shop, 421 Mill Pond Lane, makes a variety of hard candy creations on site.
Karp said the shop’s line of Lolli Art do-it-yourself lollipop kits make great gifts.
The kits feature plastic heart-shaped molds, four different flavors of hard candy and lollipop sticks.
“We put everything in the kit to make it at home. You break the candy into pieces and combine colors to make your own creations,” Karp said.
He said buying candy from the shop for stocking stuffers is an annual tradition for some local families.
“The kids always request their favorite flavor.”
This season’s special flavor is peppermint and cream, inspired by peppermint ice cream.
Contact Livingston Daily reporter Jennifer Timar at [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @jennifer_timar.