HOLIDAY SHOPS: PONSHOP Studio
Where time, care, and creativity yield the perfect gift.
By Hailey Zeller
CORRESPONDENT
You don’t walk into PONSHOP Studio with a list.
You walk in for a feeling.
Maybe it’s the relief of stepping out of the cold, or the way light settles on glazed ceramic. Maybe it’s the quiet realization that nothing here is meant to be rushed. Shelves hold handmade pieces the way hands hold something fragile: gently, with care. Objects don’t compete. They wait.
This is the kind of place where the question shifts from “What should I buy?” to “Who is this for?”
With Christmas closing in, that question carries weight. The pressure to find the gift, the one that feels thoughtful, personal, and real, can feel heavy when time is short. Inside PONSHOP, though, the urgency loosens its grip. Gifts don’t announce themselves here. They reveal themselves.
A ceramic bowl conjures visions of a shared meal. A small print becomes the missing piece on someone’s wall. A card says what you’ve been trying to say all year. The shop holds art, home pieces, playful details, and wearable items—each distinct, yet somehow in conversation with the others.
“I love that our store offers a nice variety of items that all work together,” owner Scarlett Pons reflects.
That harmony shows up in how people shop. One recent visitor came in hoping to create a holiday care package for a close friend living out of state. Slowly, intentionally, they gathered a set of appetizer plates, a small bowl, and a walnut wood spreader. Separate objects became a single, thoughtful gesture. Nothing excessive. Nothing accidental. Everything chosen.
That’s the rhythm of PONSHOP, pieces that work together because people do.
And sometimes, the most meaningful thing isn’t what you take home at all—it’s what you make while you’re there.
At Creative Café, the shop shifts again. Chairs pull closer. Sleeves roll up. Friends sit shoulder to shoulder as cross-stitch projects, paper dolls, or earrings take shape one careful step at a time. Tea steams softly beside them. Conversation drifts, from laughter to silence to the kind of talking that only happens when your hands are busy and your guard is down.
“I love seeing friends come in and spend time with each other in this way,” Pons says. “Each project is served with a cup of tea, and it’s a relaxing environment to spend quality time together.”
The projects are self-guided, but the experience is shared. Forty-five minutes set aside. A pause claimed. In the middle of a season defined by speed and spending, something slower unfolds. Something human.
You can’t wrap that.
You can’t rush it.
You can’t order it online.
But you can take it with you.
“We hope that people walk out the door knowing that they not only bought something unique and handmade by a local artist,” Scarlett says, “but that their money stays in the community.” Shopping small here means the impact doesn’t disappear, but circulates, rooted in the same place where it began.
Maybe that’s why the space lingers with you, even after the door closes behind you. Because PONSHOP isn’t just about what sits on the shelves. It’s about the pause it offers in the middle of December. The invitation to notice. To choose carefully. To give with intention—because love begins in the way we truly see one another.
To explore PONSHOP Studio for yourself, whether to find the perfect gift or create a memory in the Creative Café, visit ponshopstudio.com or stop by 712 Caroline Street.
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If visiting this store is as pleasing as the writing style of this piece, I may have found my next downtown destination. #fxbadvance #ponshop