’Tis season to shop, be jolly
Bothell’s Country Village gives
visitors a chance to do both

Snohomish County Business Journal/KIMBERLY HILDEN Selling country-style home decor and gifts, The Weed Patch makes its home in The Old Mill Building, which has a water wheel made from the drum of an antique crane. The shop is among Country Village’s charming collection of nearly four dozen shops, restaurants and businesses.

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

The holiday season is upon us with all that it entails: spending time with family and friends, baking and cooking heirloom recipes, overindulging on those culinary creations and, of course, shopping.

But there’s no reason why time spent shopping can’t also include a spot of tea and a scone, be interspersed with a glass-blowing class or topped off with a complimentary wine-tasting session — and all done in an environment more akin to an old-fashioned rural township than an urban retail hub.

Therein lies the charm of Country Village, a cluster of shops located off the Bothell-Everett Highway near the I-405 interchange.

“We have about 45 businesses here, including four or five restaurants, a day spa and a live glass-blowing studio,” said Leeann Tesorieri, manager of Country Village and the daughter of its founder, Rod Loveless.

“Originally, he didn’t intend this to be a shopping center,” Tesorieri said.

Loveless, a residential land developer, had purchased the land in 1979 with the idea of using it for heavy-equipment storage as well as remodeling the existing farmhouse for offices, Tesorieri said. But then a friend of the family approached Loveless about renting the carriage house for her antique shop. The Farmhouse Antiques opened in 1981, the first shop in what would be Country Village.

“It just kind of snowballed from there,” Tesorieri said.

Snohomish County Business Journal/KIMBERLY HILDEN Keepsake Cottage Fabrics, which supplies quilting supplies, also holds quilting classes regularly at its retail location in the Country Village.

Today, Country Village has a mix of independent retailers (“We don’t lease to any chains,” Tesorieri said.) residing in an eclectic mix of buildings, from The Clock Tower Building, completed in 1989 with the recycled shakes of decades-old houses, to The Ericksen House, the original 1901 farmhouse.

Country Village Shops Address: At the intersection of 237th Street SE & Bothell-Everett Highway, Bothell, WA 98021 Phone: 425-483-2250 Web site: www.countryvillagebothell.com Hours of operation: Country Village is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Individual shops may have their own extended holiday hours. A shop directory can be found online at the Country Village Web site listed above. Country Village holiday happenings Throughout the month of December — Holiday Lights Enjoy thousands of twinkling lights and beautifully lit displays, including a giant sea serpent in the pond, a fiddling pig, trumpeting angels, an animated train, a dragonfly and others. Dec. 1 through Dec. 24 — Holiday Harvest Tree Sale Christmas trees, wreaths and garlands are available for purchase. Located in the back play area. Call 425-483-2250 for more information. Dec. 1 through Dec. 24 — Photos with Santa at Chapters Photography Professional photos with Santa from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Schedule appointments online at www.chaptersphoto.com or call 425-415-1267. Dec. 2 and 3 — Tree Lighting and Santa’s Arrival There will be caroling and train rides throughout the weekend as well as pony rides from noon to 4 p.m., weather permitting. Santa will arrive in his sleigh from the sky at 7 p.m. Saturday, followed by a traditional tree lighting. Call 425-483-2250 for more information. Dec. 3 & 17 — Stampers Afternoon Out at Stampin’ in the Rain Sessions runs from noon to 4 p.m., with attendees creating fun projects. Call 425-408-9050 for more information. — Country Village Shops

There is The Old Mill Building, which has a water wheel made from the drum of an antique crane, and The Milk Shed, one of the original outbuildings of The Ericksen House that was covered with shakes and converted to retail space in 1986.

In those buildings, visitors to Country Village will find vendors of antiques and art, children’s clothing and bridal apparel, home decor and garden furniture. There is Amai Day Spa for those who want a little pampering and Stampin’ in the Rain for those who enjoy the craft of stamping.

The village also has a number of eateries should hunger strike while hunting for the perfect purchase, with Peach Tree Bakery & Tea Room, Stella Mia, Country Cafe and Ohana Koffee Korner, among the restaurants nestled among the shops.

While Country Village attracts heavily from a customer base in south Snohomish County, the retail destination also is a favorite with residents in north county as well as near the Canadian border, according to a market analysis performed for the village, Tesorieri said.

“It’s a tourist destination for this area,” she said, noting that the village’s quarterly mailing goes to people from out of the state as well. “We’re an odd niche, a regional, distinctive ‘shopping village.’”

Along with shopping, Country Village holds events throughout the year to attract visitors, with a farmers market running weekly from May through September as well as car shows and flower shows, among others.

Vendors, too, plan their own events to attract customers, with Country Cottage Wine Merchants holding wine tastings on Fridays and Saturdays, Wildfire Glass Studio hosting drop-in glass-blowing classes on Saturdays and Sundays, Stampin’ in the Rain holding regular stamping classes, and the Ottoman Trading Co. holding belly-dancing classes.

Things really start to rev up during the holiday season, though.

“It’s our best season,” Tesorieri said. “For us, September through December, that’s our prime time, so we tend to beef up our advertising during that time, try to hold a number of events, and we do fabulous lights, which are really fun.”

Many of the lights are created for Country Village itself, and include a 40-foot sea serpent with a moving tail and a dragonfly with a 15-foot wing span.

On Dec. 2, the village will hold a tree lighting and Santa Claus will make his arrival, “flying in” from the sky on his sleigh.

“It’s pretty spectacular,” Tesorieri said.