BY ANNA GILGOFF

Special to The Press

Christmas comes but once a year and that’s where the Twisted Reed gets its cue.

Open for only four weekends before Christmas, the holiday gallery offers a rare shopping experience that gathers the best of the season, with not a humbug in sight.

Proprietor Kim Borgman values the work of heart and hand.

Her basket weaving was the first step into opening her unique shop.

“My husband (Harley Newman) came up with the name for my basket weaving business and now it’s the name of the shops,” she explained.

Twenty years ago, she joined forces with her friend, Shirlene Silfies, and Twisted Reed was born.

“Shirlene does Santa figures out of wood that are exquisitely painted,” she said. “And, I was weaving baskets, so we pooled our resources and pulled in a couple of more people.”

The shop features wreaths, pottery, clothing items, Christmas ornaments, gnomes and jewelry.

“Our artisans are top notch,” Borgman said.

“My daughter (Emily Newman) does handmade jewelry. I guess you could call them forged.”

Twisted Reed rejects the commercialism often associated with the frantic side of the holidays.

“Shirlene and I used to do shows, so we gathered names of other artisans,” she explained.

“The sign brings people in and the personal network of artisans reach a lot of people, as well.”

Sister Janice Borgman adds the family connection to Twisted Reed.

“Kim is No. 1,” she said. “She not only makes the baskets, she started the business with Shirlene. I’m an elf. I’m just a helper.

“I worked in retail for 46 years, but I was an art major at Kutztown.

“Twisted Reed has given me the opportunity to get back to what I love, the artistic piece.

“I make the gnomes, fresh wreaths, holiday baskets and fabric art.”

The supply of fresh wreaths on display outdoors between the two buildings that house Twisted Reed was nearly depleted on the first weekend of December.

Janice Borgman has also created a line of internationally inspired gnomes that have been popular this year.

“I research their background from places throughout Europe,” she said. “It’s not easy parting from them. I started with 36 gnomes and now we have only six left.

“It’s not work. It’s enjoyment for me. They’re super fun and like a piece of me.”

Janice Borgman said the shop has been in the same location for 20 years.

“When they outgrew the summer house, they moved into this space, the basement of their house,” she explained.

That only adds to the charm of the shop. Customers can walk between the two spots for a breath of country air and enjoy natural vignettes of stone, water features and greenery.

“There’s definite customer loyalty,” Janice Borgman said. “Kim bases the business around local talent. Everything has to be made by human hands.

“We have around 13 crafters between the two areas.

“A lot of people are associated with Twisted Reed because it’s been here so long.”

Sarah Horvath is one of the artisans at Twisted Reed.

“I have a small business named Raffa, which is a Hebrew word for healing,” she said. “I’m in two other locations and Etsy shops, too.”

Horvath crafts lip balm, soap and body balm.

“Kim asked me to do more and more over time,” she said, adding that led her to add candle making to her repertoire.

Horvath names her candles that she said were inspired by nature and childhood experiences.

Kathleen Hooper-Milositz is another artisan whose high fire porcelain clay pottery is displayed in a cupboard ready to find a new home.

The Bethlehem potter brings the porcelain clay to life on a 40-year-old electric kiln.

“I do under glazed drawing and every piece is individually painted,” Hooper-Milositz said.

Kim Borgman said the camaraderie of the artisans is her motivation for running the shop.

“Money is nice but not my motivation,” Kim Borgman said.

“The last time we were open was 2019. It was jammed on Black Friday. We had a large crowd.”

Most of the people who come to Twisted Reed have been to the shop before.

“I want people to come here,” Kim Borgman said. “For a lot of our customers, this is part of their holiday tradition.”

Twisted Reed will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19.