Road Trip to Virginia’s Ginger Cottages
Year after year, some of the most popular items in our Christmas Shop are the Ginger Cottages, which are hand-made in the heart of central Virginia. A few weeks ago I was invited to visit their factory and see where the magic is created. Of course, two of our Christmas elves (Patricia and Becky) were ready to go with me on the 2 1/2 hour drive. Patricia is a big fan: she has more than twenty of the Ginger Cottages houses. Instead of taking I-95 we decided to take Highway 301…and what a great idea that was! Leaving the dreary rain in Beltsville on Monday, we drove into sunshine in Virginia, enjoying the easy drive.
Once we arrived, we were greeted by Pam, one of the Ginger Cottages’ elves. She gave us a brief history of how this amazing company got its early start. As she was talking and we were eyeing the various houses, a tall gentleman strolled up and introduced himself. Glenn Crider–who started the company with his wife–took us to his workshop where he was assessing prototypes for 2019 and 2020. We met some of his graphic team and saw how they work on different ideas and projects. As we left that area we saw the team of “elves” (as Glenn calls them) assembling houses and beautiful carousels adorned with different animals in glorious, textured, vibrant color (we’re excited to have two of them for sale at Behnke’s).
Leaving the elves, Glenn took us to his wood shop and explained the process of making nutcrackers and how they have come a long way. Glenn is one of only four USA nutcracker makers and the only one that can make the entire nutcracker from A- Z, as he calls it. Then we watched a young man running ten different computer driven laser cutters. We also saw the painting room where still more elves painted parts of the cottages as needed. And finally, we given the opportunity to purchase some items that I might not have at our garden center. Patricia went crazy and bought four music boxes!
This company is a true ‘cottage industry’ where folks can work from their homes, assembling the tiny cottages or come in and work in the shop. I was impressed by the friendliness of everyone there and just how clean and neat the whole place was. Seeing the process of building our much-loved Ginger Cottages was another thing that really made me appreciate just how much work goes into each one. They are made from start to finish in the USA with products made in the USA. Every year I can’t wait to see what’s new.
Glenn’s mind is always working a mile a minute. He asked us questions about our customers and what we find sells well in our Christmas Shop. They also make special items for different places like Dollywood, the Biltmore, and Coca Cola. In 2008 Glenn was approached to have his nutcrackers made into USA stamps and they, along with his nutcrackers, were displayed at the Smithsonian. What an honor! You can read more about that here.
After we saw everything we were taken out to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant by our salesman Ray Stopper and Glenn joined us for more conversation. It ended up being a terrific day and a beautiful drive back home, once again avoiding all that endless traffic on I-95. I hope you get a chance to stop in our Christmas Shop and see some of the new additions to the Ginger Cottage line!
by Stephanie Fleming, Behnke’s Vice President
It really was a lot of fun.
Oh how fun. Do they have a website? My eight year old collects them.
Yes they do have a web site. They are not open for retail but but maybe someone near you has them. If not, if you let me know what your looking for and we have them I can send them to you. their web site is https://gingercottages.com/
This looks so cool – I love doing factory type tours and seeing how things are made!
Christmas houses are adorable! What a fun trip!
They are so much fun. We have been selling them for 6 or 7 years now and just love them all.
These are just adorable! I love miniatures.
we do also! And you should see the nutcrackers he makes.. Beautiful
Wow, this is so interesting! Love doing stuff like this. Thank you for sharing!
your welcome.Glad you enjoyed it
We recently visited Virginia. I had no idea there was anything like these Christmas Cottages. I think that a tour would be really fun.
It really was a lot of fun. You should check their web site since I think once a year they might open up to the public and do tours but not sure
This looks so much fun! I love factory type tours, but this one is just awesome! Thank you for sharing!!
This is so neat! I love learning about where things are made and who makes them!
We do too. We were very excited to have the chance to visit them. They are going to feature him on a RFDTV show called Small Towns Big Deals sometime soon
What a darling keepsake line! I love going to factory tours, you must have had a great time!
We sure did.
This is so amazing!
It really was!
This looks like fun. I always like doing factory tours and seeing how things are made. I appreciate things so much more once I see all that goes into making them.
It really makes one think about how many hours went into each item.
These are so adorable. So cute. I love them. That sounded like fun taking a tour.
It was a great tour. We are very thankful that our salesman for the Ginger Cottages set the tour up for us.
I love the little tiny houses. The craftsmanship looks really good!
It really was a lot of fun. You should check their web site since I think once a year they might open up to the public and do tours but not sure
Wow this is such an incredible craft. I love miniature things!
I do also! They are so detailed in what they do. And each one has so much work in them
I love behind the scenes stuff. Factory tours are the best!
Awe these Christmas houses are adorable! Looks like such a fun place!
it really was a lot of fun
So cute! I love seeing how things are made!
it was very interesting.
Looks like a great time. I love factory tours and seeing how things are made.
It really was a wonderful day. We were so lucky the owner showed us around and shared.
These are adorable and I’d be fascinated by the factory tour. Not to mention, I LOVE both Ginger Cottages and Nutcrackers!!!
It really was so much fun. They took the time to show us pretty much everything. Does not look like they do tours for the public so I was very happy that agreed to show us around.
Looks so interesting. Thank you for sharing.
your welcome! Glad you enjoyed it
What a neat trip! I made a little model in high school and know how much patience it takes. Beautiful pieces of art!
they are and each one has something special hidden in them
And now apparently made in China according to the sticker on the base I bought.
Hi there! Yes they are made in China now. Old World Christmas bought the company when the owner decided to retire a few years ago. That said, Old World owns their factory in China and has fair trade practices on everything they make. Like with their ornaments they still use the same methods that were used in Germany. I spoke to Glen right after he sold his company and he was excited that his Ginger Cottages would be made the same way he did. Just many more. Take care, Stephanie