Page 5 The Ferndale (California) Enterprise

Francis Creek Inn and Red Front Store both friendly stops for visitors
The Red Front Store and Francis Creek Inn are located on the corner of Shaw and Main. The inn features spacious non-smoking, Victorian-style rooms, color cable TV, free wi-fi and phones all at the lowest rate in town. The Red Front Store, a family business since 1976, is best described as a conEnterprise staff photo

venience store and comes fully stocked, open early and late to provide for your needs. The store is famous in town for its hot dogs. The dogs buns are made especially for The Red Front from an old Danish recipe. They also have fast food to go, beer, local wines, soda, ice and a great variety of grocery items.

Stop in at the Red Front Store and the Francis Creek Inn and say hello to the friendly folks, while picking up a few Ferndale postcards to send home.

T H E F RA N C I S C RE E K INN AND RED FRONT STORE 577 Main Street Tel. 707/786-9611 www.franciscreekinn.com

The Francis Creek Inn is right around the corner from The Red Front Store Ferndales version of a convenience store.

The Ferndale Arts Gallery

The Ferndale Emporium celebrates 15 years

Cross over that historic bridge and take one of the most beautiful five mile pastoral drives and you will find yourself in the Victorian Village of Ferndale. According to Forbes magazine, Ferndale is one of the prettiest towns in the United States. The Ferndale Emporium can be found at the head of Main Street in the historic 1899 Eastlake Victorian that was originally built for the Lowenthals Ferndale Reliable Store. Since that time the building has housed many things including; a Buick dealership, theater, skating rink, mortuary, church, and art gallery among others. The Ferndale Emporium continues the legacy of a quality store in this location. Over the past 14 years we have made friends and customers that we ship to all over the world. We invite you to visit our store in person or via the internet at (www.ferndale-emporium.com), or on Facebook. The store has always been known for their nature items, such as Larry Eifert pen and ink drawings depicting the areas natural beauty and the birds that frequent the north coastal region. In the garden section you will find things to adorn your garden such as spirit balls, wind chimes, birdfeeders, hanging votives, ornamental birds, and books. Our unique and affordable boutique specializes in items for that special friend, girlfriend, sister, or mom. Make her day special with one of a kind jewelry, purses, scarves, or travel accessories,

Courtesy Ferndale Arts Gallery

The Ferndale Arts Gallery can be found in the Ferndale Art & Cultural Center at the corner of Main and Shaw.
Courtesy photo.

Home of The Ferndale Emporium.

including a full assortment of Baggillini bags and purses. The Ferndale Emporium is honored to have been chosen by Vera Bradley to be the exclusive source for their products on the North Coast. We are the only source for your fine Vera Bradley purses, bags and accessories north of Santa Rosa and south of Ashland. To enhance your bath and spa area, mirrors, towel racks and accessories are matched together with our broad range of bath products and candles, including candles from Northern Lights The and Archipelago. Thymes Company provides body lotions, hand therapy, foot care, fancy soaps, bath salts, and bath and shower gels in several fragrances. For that elegant gift, of course, there are Crabtree and Evelyn specialty gift packets. Our European Soaps still remain a favorite of locals. For that cozy gift our plush robes, bed socks, slippers and jackets are a treat for all. Our PJs and light gowns are always stylish and adorable. Please plan your visit and shopping experience soon. We will be glad to greet you and make new friends. Be sure to give us your email address so that you can be made aware of special events, sales, and coupons. The Ferndale Emporium is open Monday-Saturday, 10 to 5 and Sunday, 11 to 4, with after hour and internet shopping. Be sure to Like us on Facebook. Gift certificates, personal shopping service, gift registry and complimentary gift-wrapping are part of our services.

THE FERNDALE EMPORIUM 344 Main Street Tel. 707/786-9877 Fax. 707/786-0882
www.ferndale-emporium.com

The arts are an important piece of the Ferndale community. Galleries come and go on Main Street, but one venue has remained steady. No place to view and purchase art has been around longer than the Ferndale Arts Gallery. Celebrating its 23rd year in 2013, the gallery is a cooperative of local artists that has survived floods, earthquakes, movie-making, and economic boom and bust. Located in what is now known as the Ferndale Art and Cultural Center at the corner of Main Street and Shaw Avenue, the gallery was first opened in April of 1990 by 21 local artists in the converted auto sales showroom of the Peers Building. The membership has changed over the years,

but the gallerys goal remains the same: to encourage and support the growth of member artists through the display and sale of their work. The gallery is unique not only for its longevity, but also for the variety and quality of the work on display. Visitors to the gallery will find not only the usual in fine art offerings: paintings, photographs, pottery and jewelry, but more unusual offerings, as well: woodwork, fabric art, stained glass, origami, and poetry. Many of the artworks are simply objects of beauty, but many of the pieces are utilitarian, as well: scarves, cutting boards, coffee mugs and vests. And, because the gallery is a cooperative, prices are reasonable and affordable. The gallery remains a

steady and strong part of the Ferndale business community. The gallery earns its way solely through the sale of its members works and accepts no grants or donations,. Through rental payments, supply purchases, tax collection, charitable donations, and other business expenses, the gallery remains a vital contributor to the local economy. Stroll down Main Street and celebrate 23 years of art in Ferndale at the Ferndale Arts Gallery. Located at 580 Main Street, the gallery is open daily from 10 to 5.

THE FERNDALE ARTS GALLERY C o r n e r o f M a i n S t re e t and Shaw Avenue Tel. 707/786-9634 ferndaleartgallery.com

Wide variety of handmade art at The Blacksmith Shop locations

sculptural pieces for sale are cast bronze, like Mark Hopkins fishing sculptures and Tim Cotterills (aka The Frogman) frogs. While the majority of the Blacksmith Shops inventory is made from metal, they also sell fine hand-made products in other media, some of which is made locally like Holly Yashi jewelry, Fire and Light recycled glass dishware, glass paperweights by Jesse Taj, and wire sculptures by Elizabeth Berrien. Other Courtesy photo unique offerings include The Blacksmith Shop at 455 Main Street houses an Orient & Flume glass and extensive collection of contemporary blacksmithing Bovano enameled copper items. wall hangings, both for The Blacksmith Shop hand-forged pieces, it is which the Blacksmith at 455 Main Street was clear that blacksmithing Shop is the exclusive established in 1979 with is alive and well. The retailer in Humboldt one objective: to create products offered for sale County. an extensive collection cover a wide range from The Blacksmith of contemporary black- functional art such as Shops extensive invensmithing. Thirty-four cutlery, bottle openers, tory has put them on the years later, this objective clocks, mirrors, lamps, map among retailers of has been achieved, as the tables, beds, fireplace hand-made art. shop buys from over 250 tools, wine racks, pot For five years the shop blacksmiths, mostly racks, and candleholders has been honored by from within the U.S. to decorative items such NICHE magazine as one The shop has two rea- as wall art and sculptures. of the Top Retailers of In 2003, they opened American Craft. The crisons for maintaining this size of collection one a gallery two buildings teria for receiving these is to support blacksmiths down from the main awards, which are deterby purchasing their shop at 491 Main Street mined by polling over work, and the other is to to increase their display 26,000 professional craft introduce the general area for larger furniture artists, include treating public to an art form that and sculptural pieces. artists with respect, givmany people think has Most of the products for ing back to the craft comdied out or associate sale are hand-forged iron, munity and mentoring solely with horseshoeing. but there are also pieces emerging artists. In the Blacksmith made using brass, copper According to BlackShops collection of and bronze. Many of the smith Shop owner, and
blacksmith himself, Joseph Koches, these ideals have always been central to his business practices. I think of it as investing in an artist, Koches said. If there is a young blacksmith who shows potential, I like to help them out by buying their pieces, so they can buy new tools or whatever they need to keep on going. Merchandise is purchased from artists who love what they are doing. They put their love into their work and one can see the difference. Indeed the difference is visible to the numerous customers impressed with the unique, quality products. As the popularity of the store continues to expand, the shop has grown by launching a website (www.ferndaleblacksmith.com) that allows visual communication with the merchandise. Amidst updating the business and planning for the future, the Blacksmith Shop will always stay true to its beginnings selling an extensive selection of beautiful hand-made products by talented artists. The histories of the buildings that currently contain the Blacksmith Shop add to the atmos-

Courtesy photo

The Blacksmith Shop Gallery can be found just down the street from the main store, at 491 Main Street.

phere of craftsmanship. The 455 Main Street shop in Ferndale was originally the G.W. Williams building and housed a hardware store upon its completion in 1888. The same people began building the 491 Main Street gallery in 1895 when their hardware store needed a larger space. The store at 455 has seen some changes, as it was damaged in the 1902 earthquake, was modified in 1954, and was damaged again in the 1992 earthquake, at which point Joseph Koches remodeled the building to look like the original storefront. Through all these changes, the store at 455 Main still has its original wood floors, giving an old-time flavor that is heightened by the 1914 cash register made by the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio, some antique display cases, and a whiz machine for hand-writ-

ten receipts. Visiting the Blacksmith Shop will not only expose you to beautiful hand-made artwork by American artists, but also you are sure to see something made in metal that you have never seen before. The Blacksmith Shop is open seven days a week. The staff has gift certificates available and can ship all over the U.S. Make the Blacksmith Shop a definite stop on your way down Main Street.

T H E BL A C K S M I T H SHOP T H E BL A C K S M I T H SHOP GALLERY 455 Main Street, Ferndale 491 Main Street, Ferndale Tel. 707/786-4216 Fax: 707/786-4516 ferndaleblacksmith.com