Opening a country craft shop has been the dream of Caroline Hall for a long time. When Bob Welsh retired he was able to help her get it started.
The Coocoo's Nest opened this week at 1052 Morrell Ave. in Village Plaza, Connellsville. Welsh is the owner of Pizza King so having the two businesses located next to each other is very convenient.
"Vaughn McDiffett owns Village Plaza and has been very helpful in getting us started here. He knew we wanted to be in before the holiday," said Welsh.
Customers visiting the store will see a nice selection of interesting items.
"This venture really began years ago when Bob made some things for our house, our friends saw them and liked them and wanted him to make the pieces for them too. Pretty soon we were selling things out of our garage," said Hall.
"I was working at Anchor (Hocking) at the time and had the pizza shop and it just got to be too much. But now I'm retired from Anchor and this is a good time for us to start again," added Welsh.
Hall laughs as she explains, "The name Coocoo's Nest came from a nickname in my family."
"Bob enjoys doing the woodworking, the cutting and the sanding, and I like to stain and paint and add the details like vines and ribbons and hangers," said Hall. There are seasonal items and year-round country decor. Right now there are autumn and harvest-type items as well as Christmas decorations, including ornaments.
"We've created a lot of nice things for Christmas, lots of great gift ideas, many one of a kind. We're always looking for new ideas of things to make," said Hall. And the prices are very reasonable.
"I know things at craft shows and other specialty stores can be quite expensive. I don't think we have anything priced over $30. We are keeping everything affordable," said Hall.
"It's like we've done for 20 years at Pizza King, we try to give a great value knowing that people around this area recognize and appreciate that. We hope to see our Pizza King customers shopping at The Coocoo's Nest," said Welsh.
Welsh uses old doors to make chairs, benches and tables that look great and hold up well on porches. There are many unique door hangers, wooden stars, light posts, plaques, garlands and so much more, in mostly antique and country colors. There are plates with easels for displaying that can become family treasures and keepsakes. A shelf is full of hand-crocheted hats made by Hall's cousin, Brenda Ross. There are several styles, including headbands, in many bright colors.
The store's hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 1 to 5 p.m. Fridays and 1 to 8 p.m. Saturdays; phone number is 724-208-8354.
