Dec 21, 2010

Christmas bringing Midlands shoppers to storesBy John MonkTheState.com

Pre-Christmas shoppers were out Sunday scooping up everything from Blue Sky paintings worth thousands of dollars to iPods starting at $229 to cuddly Santa Bears that cost $24.99.

“This is a one-stop place,” a pleased Laurie Stuckey of Columbia said Sunday. She was one of a slow but steady stream of customers at Creative Kids Toy Shop on Saluda Avenue in the cozy Columbia business district of Five Points, a few blocks east of the University of South Carolina. Stuckey, who has two children, left with several gifts, including a girl’s lap desk, some doll accessories, a watch and a butterfly glow-in-the-dark doorknob.

Down the street, artist Blue Sky and his wife, Lynn, had opened their shop on a rare Sunday afternoon on the off-chance that someone might buy one of his artworks.

They were right.

Along came Michele Parnell, who had been so taken by an earlier viewing of a Blue Sky impressionistic-type painting during an earlier visit, that she dropped by midafternoon to buy it for a price in the $5,000 range.

“We just moved in to our new house, and this is kind of our gift to ourselves, for Christmas and for moving in,” said Parnell, laughingly adding. “My husband’s like, ‘This is your Christmas present — and don’t expect anything else!”

Blue Sky’s painting — which the artist titled “The Dancing Yellow Tree” — kind of spoke to her, she said.

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