Christmas comes early to Queen City with new C-Street shop

A husband and wife have expanded their Christmas-focused e-commerce venture to a brick-and-mortar shop on Commercial Street.

March 15 was opening day for North Star Christmas Co. at 301 E. Commercial St. Owned by husband and wife Derek and Jennifer Baker, North Star is a year-round Christmas retailer that sells myriad options for the holiday, including lights, nutcrackers, ornaments, ribbons and stockings. Baker said a dozen trees decorated by his wife – each individually themed – occupy a significant portion of the 2,000-square-foot store.

“Everything's pickable off the trees and for sale,” he said, adding the couple would even consider selling the fully decorated trees.

Baker said the couple signed a one-year lease for an undisclosed rate with building owner Kelsey Rogers. North Star replaces Rogers’ Bees Knees Roller Skate Shop, which shuttered last year.

The Bakers have over a decade of experience in Christmas-themed business ownership. Derek Baker said they started selling and installing Christmas lights in 2012 when living in California. That business, Christmas Lights Are Us LLC, was halted briefly when they moved to Oregon but resumed upon their relocating to Springfield in 2019. By then, they expanded their Christmas collection, leading them to become an e-commerce venture selling lights, ornaments, household items and more.

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began, the couple opened a booth at Relics Antique Mall. Open for two years, the booth’s success motivated them to launch a year-round store, he said.

“It gives us a chance to put everything up because we have several thousand different ornaments. Selling out of the house, you had them in boxes and you had to make sure they were labeled and you always had to go get them,” he said, adding the couple’s large inventory kept startup costs to around $4,000. “It was just nice to be able to clear out our house and kind of get everything hung up so you can physically see everything.”

North Star Christmas Co. is a fictitious name registered with the secretary of state’s office, Baker said, adding he continues to hang decorative lights for residential and commercial clients under Christmas Lights Are Us. The venture is a family affair, he said, as the couple and their five children all help at the shop.

While online sales for the shop will be available year-round, Baker said he envisions the Commercial Street store will temporarily close for a few weeks at the start of each year to revamp the store inventory and tree themes.

“You can’t have the same thing going year after year after year,” he said.