By Maddie Bocian
The beloved small business Rebel, in Eastown Grand Rapids, launched their holiday collection on Nov 2. The collection was created to inspire joy to shoppers and rediscover childhood memories from Christmas.
Rebel co-owners, Dann Boyle and Chip Minor, have owned the small business for almost 15 years. Placed on the corner of Wealthy Street and Woodmere Avenue in Eastown, Rebel is an eclectic boutique that sells all sorts of gifts and nicknacks ranging from unique jewelry to socks and greeting cards.
Boyle took to Instagram on Oct 30 to explain the reasoning behind this year’s holiday shop. “After almost 50 years of Christmases as a human, my heart feels more guarded and the pressure of the season can pile up like a ton of bricks,” Boyle said. “The more we planned, searched and curated, the more I felt the desire to be transported back to that sense of magic and comfort created by the coziness, color, and whimsy of my childhood.”
The Rebel team did just that. One can see the sparkle and vibrant colors from outside the windows. For the holiday shop, Rebel brought back lots of nostalgic products that can cause people to relive memories from their own upbringing. Some holiday products featured this Christmas season at Rebel include classic bubble light sets, vintage three-dimensional snowmen and Santa Claus yard decor, and many unique tree ornaments. A young couple laughed near the shop windows about the sparkly ceramic ketchup bottle ornament wondering if it would have a place on their own tree this year.
Charcuterie board themed tree – Photo by Madelyn Bocian
There were even different “variations of Christmas” represented throughout the shop. One included a more sophisticated Christmas table and tree with a lot of food representation. This Christmas tree had holiday-hosting decor and many variations of charcuterie board and champagne bottle tree ornaments. Another variation of Christmas, was the vintage nostalgia which was highly represented throughout the store and very vintage blue and pink felt elf decor and of course lots of Clark Griswold references. Then for the colorful and whimsy Christmas, there were two bubblegum pink faux pine trees covered with eclectic ceramic and glass ornaments like cosmic brownies, Carebears and Lucky Charm-inspired marshmallows.
Childhood whimsy tree – Photo by Madelyn Bocian
The overall environment of the store was directly correlated to the hard work and genuine thought that Boyle and Minor imagined this launch. A woman browsing by herself near the front of the store was so excited when she laid her eyes on an owl-shaped bird feeder that she loudly praised its “cuteness.” Others in the store smiled at the woman but nodded in agreement about her overall excitement.
Just like the people who wandered into Rebel on Nov. 2, the online response the shop and Rebel team have experienced has been so positive and filled with excitement, happiness and Christmas-inspired emojis. Rebel customers are going to the store’s Instagram to comment and share their own childhood holiday memories.
“We hope our collection will transport you to your own childhood memories of color and twinkle and silliness,” said Boyle.
To learn more about Rebel, the team, and store hours visit https://rebelgr.com/pages/rebel-store.
The Saint 