GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – November may only be halfway over, but one Delta County business is already in full Christmas mode.
For Roger Chenier, making Christmas wreaths is in his blood.
“We started in 1980,” he said. “It was a family business. Nobody else wanted to do it, so I just thought I’d take it over.”
Chenier’s Wreaths fulfills just under 200 orders each year, which equates to about 800 wreaths.
“I just got done with the Escanaba Baseball Craft Show,” said Chenier. “I did an order for the Manistique Boy Scouts, and now I’m working on an order for the Knights of Columbus.”
Chenier combines white pine and balsam to create the perfect holiday look.
“These are my 24-inch wreaths, and then we do porch pots,” he said. “I do a 54-inch, then I go down to a 45, and then I do a 36, a 30, and I do swags. I also do a six-footer too, but I do only about four or five of those a year. I usually go through about three ton of balsam a year and about a ton and a half of white pine.”
For decoration, Chenier’s Wreaths offers 50 different bows, ornaments, and pinecones.
“Back in September, I usually start my pinecones,” Chenier said. “I roll all my pinecones, the tips, and I put the holly berries on. I do that all ahead of time, so it saves me a lot of time.”
Just before Halloween, the brush starts to become wreaths.
“I put the balsam in a group, and I take the white pine and I spread it,” explained Chenier. “You put them in your clamp ring and you squeeze. Usually the bigger the wreaths, it seems the faster it goes.”
Then, it all comes together to create the final product.
“You put the bow on the wreath, wire it in the back, give it a little tug,” Chenier said as he fastened a bright red bow to a wreath. “I take my glue gun and I just run it right down, and there you go! You’ve got a 24-inch wreath.”
Chenier says it takes a lot of love and effort to make each wreath special. His wish is that they provide some cozy holiday cheer for every customer, as well as anyone who sees the wreaths as they pass by.
“I hope they take pride and hang it up,” he said. “To be honest with you, I take pride in almost everything to do. I mean, it’s hard to say, but I do.”
At this time, Chenier’s Wreaths only has a limited number of orders available for the rest of the year. For more information on wreaths, pricing, and availability, visit the Chenier’s Wreath Facebook page.
