ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Many small businesses have been working hard, creating unique gifts this time of year. 

Whether a trip to the holiday market or a virtual trip to her Etsy shop, business owner Laura Williams is making her mark in the world of handmade holiday gifts, one "cookie" at a time. 

What You Need To Know

  • MonteVistaDesigns is a small business out of Candler that makes hand-painted ornaments
  • The ornaments have a special touch of North Carolina, depicting characters and renowned views and sites in the mountains 
  • The ornaments can be used for more than just trees. Some have used them as fan pulls and hung mini ones on their rearview mirrors 

“They call them cookies, which I think is really cute,” Williams laughed. Not cookies that are eaten, but the ones transporting you to a place, from a memory or a dream destination.

“You're ready to be done, and you're on this very steep, sudden drop of this face rock, and it's a stunning view of looking glass and all the mountains,” Williams said, describing the experience depicted on one of her ornaments.

She wants her wood slices to make people feel something.

“Reminds you of a trip in a way that any good souvenir would, but also that they know like what they have is one of a kind, that’s made from someone who is in the area,” Williams said.

When she began selling her ornaments, she started taking personal requests.

“Someone just reached out and asked about certain scenery,” Williams said. “They'll ask, ‘Do you have this yet? Because we got married here or my parent really, really loves this place.’ So sometimes that will inspire me. Like oh, I never would have considered that.”

Living in the canvas of western North Carolina helps inspire her.

“It's neat to have such beautiful subjects to paint, too,” Williams laughed. “I don't mind that”

The mountains of western North Carolina often hold weddings and special occasions. She wanted to give a tangible gift representing those places.

“So many special occasions happen there, but it's not a typical venue where there's a gift shop and there's a place to commemorate the experience you had, other than maybe a photo kind of thing,” Williams said.

With each sale, Williams enjoys wondering where her creations end up. Sometimes customers send her photos, and she can see their new homes.

“I think about where they end up and maybe how many years it ends up appearing on a tree,” Williams said. 

Her wood cookies come from a small farm in Georgia, bringing another handmade touch from a small business.

It isn’t just trees these ornaments call home.

“They're just kind of something that would last both as a Christmas tree ornament, I've got some people that use them as fan pulls, which I was like, Oh! Look at that. Yeah, that works!” Williams said.

Williams is grateful that she gave her ornaments a chance at a market in 2019. She has painted thousands of creations since then.