ONTARIO — Linda Quinn says there are hidden gems in the hallways of Richland Mall.
Across from Ashcroft & Oak Jewelers and JCPenney, Quinn sets up five booths for the holiday shopping season. She sells food gift boxes, personalized ornaments, popcorn, toys and home decor.
Quinn said her favorite booth changes from year to year, but she always likes personalized ornaments.
“It’s a fun product and I can watch all the different names that people put on the ornaments,” she said. “Some families come back each year.”
Her newest booth is succulent and air plant decorations, locally made by Andy Secrist. Secrist and Linda Dowalter help Quinn run the booths and answer customers’ questions.
Quinn has been running booths in Richland Mall for about 10 years, and she tries to keep her gifts locally sourced from Ohio.
She said customizable gift boxes usually sell well each season. Quinn can design gift boxes with a number of meats, cheeses, popcorn and other food products.
“They can spend in any price range they want to,” she said. “We can put more items in or take some out, whatever they want to do.”
Quinn said her booth and other locally-owned booths close to hers are “a great opportunity to shop local.”
Husband-and-wife team Larry and Kathyann Fuller run a jewelry booth across from Ashcroft & Oak Jewelers.
Kathyann Fuller said their inventory changes each year to keep up with what is popular. She said they recently added multi-strand bracelets to their inventory.
JewelryByBelieve offers individualized lockets, rings, cremation jewelry and pocket watches. Fuller said the couple tries to keep a good portion of their gifts around $20.
“I think there’s a lot of people that do $20 gift exchanges, so we have a lot of pieces around that price range,” she said.
JewelryByBelieve is open during mall hours weekends in November, all of December and for the holidays of Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter.
Fuller said she is happy to help people customize their jewelry with colors, chimes and photos.
“We’ll help people build whatever they need,” she said. “And if you only have $5, we’ll find you something. We’re trying to sell gifts, but also bring happiness too.”
Customized clothing from sizes of newborn onesies to 5X are available around the corner from JewelryByBelieve and Quinn’s booths, and across from Bath & Body Works.
Jeff Huff and his wife, Teri Huff, print designs from a Cricut and screen them onto shirts and hoodies.
Jeff Huff said a custom design might take 15 minutes to print, while a design from the stock selection they have only takes a few minutes.
“We have thousands of prints you can choose from, and we make it on the spot,” he said. “We can even take a photo from your phone and print it on a shirt.”
Jeff Huff said the pair takes their business to festivals and fairs in the summer, but they can’t do custom prints in the trailer. JT’s Custom Apparel is open during mall hours through the months of November, December, February, March and April.
With the ability to print any design on a variety of colors and sizes, Jeff Huff said, “we have something for everybody.”
Teri Huff said she is grateful for customers who come back to the booth for multiple gifts.
“There’s still plenty of businesses in the mall that depend on people visiting and buying to stay open,” she said.
Richland Mall has special hours in the days leading up to Christmas. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Christmas Eve and closed Christmas day.
