SHELBY — Tonya Bishop envisions a crafting and shopping destination in downtown Shelby.
The owner of Whispering Willow Way boutique hosted her grand opening Friday with family members and community leaders.
Located at 41 E. Main St., the boutique carries clothing, accessories, furniture and home decor.
“I personally love anything with country music or Highland cows, so you’ll see a lot of that around the store,” Bishop said. “A lot of it has a shabby chic farmhouse vibe.
“We have a little bit of everything for everyone.”
Bishop’s husband Dave is from Shelby and she is from Willard. The two have lived in Shelby for about 25 years.
“We’re looking forward to seeing what activity this brings and excited to be in the Shelby community,” the store owner said.
“Hopefully in the next few months, we’re going to open this wall up and put a classroom next door for craft classes.”
Bishop said she loves to create round, wooden art, but she is open to other artists using the classroom spaces when it’s available.
Owner hopes to honor the memory of her family members
Bishop previously ran Mallory’s Treasures in the Shelby Masonic Lodge from 2015–2018. She decided to close the store after her father died.
“Last year, I lost my mom and sister two weeks apart. In a way, that gave me the energy to reopen and do what I love,” she said.
“I think they would really love it here. My sister always liked to come into my store and shop around and ask what I got.”
Jessica Gribben, Shelby’s economic development liaison, said the city is happy to welcome the Bishops to downtown Shelby.
“Echoing the sentiments of everyone else, we’re so excited to have you here,” she said. “It’s been so fun to watch East Main Street really fill up with fun little shops and make this a shopping destination.”
Tonya Bishop said the building has an additional two suites where she plans to locate other vendors or businesses.
Bishop teaches kindergarten at Sherman Elementary. The Bishops bought the downtown Shelby building in August 2022.
Whispering Willow Way is next door to Dove Candle Bar and across the street from The Little Shops of Shelby.
“It’s a diamond in the rough right now,” Bishop said. “We have some ideas on how to make the outside look a little nicer and make it pop.”
Bishop said her personal favorite home decor season is Christmas.
The name Whispering Willow Way comes from the Bishops’ 1-year-old basset hound.
“When I ran Mallory’s Treasures, my daughter Mallory would never go into the store because she didn’t like the recognition,” Bishop said. “I asked her if she would come into a store that wasn’t named after her and she said yes.”
Whispering Willow Way carries furniture, clothing and speciality items including:
- Freeze-dried candy
- Little Moose ornaments
- Car fresheners from Simply Shaffer Designs
- Kiki & Co clay earrings
- Back to Our Roots Apothecary body care items
- Candles
Anyone interested in becoming a vendor at Whispering Willow Way can contact the store at 567-844-0004 or stop in during its open hours.
Whispering Willow Way is located at 41 E. Main St. in Shelby. It is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
Customers can see store updates on Facebook.