The Landing Shop Offers Creative Outlet

Photos: Chris Emeott

Local artists and crafters offer cornucopia of goods for sale.

Are you looking for quality, locally handmade items for your home or as a gift? The Landing Shop has carved out a niche as a one-stop shop for such items—all carefully made by local crafters, who are 55 years and older.

Since its inception in 1975, growing from an informal group of seniors to a fully-operational store overseen by the City of Minnetonka, The Landing Shop’s message has remained the same: To provide a recreational outlet for older adults by selling their quality crafts and handmade items.

For Geri Broome, president of the store’s board and its display manager, it similarly began as a simple outlet. After retirement and looking to give away some of her knitwear and baby items, Broome began selling her wares in the store and became an active member. At the urging of the then board president, Broome soon began volunteering for the store and setting up displays. A decade later, The Landing Shop and the people in it have become an integral part of her life.

Geri Broome

The shop thrives with the help of nearly 30 volunteers and 67 crafters just as much as patrons. More often than not, those same contributors and patrons are one in the same. “When I’m working at the shop, frequently, I’ll buy something, like as a gift. And whoever I’m working with, nine times out of 10, they’ll [purchase] something there, too,” Broome says. “We support each other.”

It’s that sense community that keeps the shop running, and Broome appreciates the importance of supporting the work of her fellow crafters. “I get excited when a crafter’s items sells when I know something of theirs hasn’t sold in quite a while. And I don’t know if that’s because I’m the president, but just the success of the shop is so important to me,” she says.

Supporting local crafters is just the half of it, as the shop sells one-of-a-kind items, which provide shoppers with a host of goods to choose from as they make their way around the shop. Some of its best-sellers are kitchen towels and ultra-durable scrubbies for kitchen dishes. In addition to kitchen pieces, the shop sells: baby items, doll clothes, greeting cards, home décor, jewelry, lawn ornaments, paintings, photographs, purses, seasonal items, winter accessory essentials and much, much more. (Tip: It’s never too early to begin holiday gift shopping for unique items.)

Where to Shop

• The Landing Shop is open from noon–5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at its location in Westridge Market, 11280 Wayzata Blvd., Minnetonka.
• Goods are also available at the winter farmers market at the Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka.
• Visit the summer farmers market, where The Landing Shop is on hand biweekly, Tuesdays June through September at Ridgedale Commons (south parking lot), 12590 Ridgedale Drive, Minnetonka.

Before you go, confirm dates and locations at minnetonkamn.gov, 763.591.4868 (The Landing Shop) or 952.939.8200 (the City of Minnetonka).