DeShia: A 25-year local success story

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

One local business celebrating its 25th anniversary this coming year owes its existence to the fact that the owner’s husband was a prolific woodworking enthusiast.

Karen Miller, co-owner of DeShia, said the business she and husband Rob own was started basically as a way to sell off Rob’s many woodworking projects.

“Rob would never make one or two things, but five or six,” Miller said, noting that the fact the couple was running out of space to store the projects was a big motivator in finding a way to market them.

Fortunately, the couple had bought a house lot and a barn as mile south of Van Wert on U.S. 127 when Rob became superintendent of Ohio City-Liberty Schools. After Rob found a furnace for the barn, it became the perfect venue for the new business.

At first, though, the business was more of a hobby for Karen, who opened at first only at Christmastime. That changed when Rob, who was thinking of selling the barn, gave her an ultimatum: Do something with the business or sell it.

So, in 1988, she created DeShia — a unique business that now brings in thousands of people to the Van Wert area. “There are people who come here because we are here,” Karen said with pride, adding that her weekly email list now has something like 4,000 addresses on it.

Today, the store whose name is based on an Amish word for “barn,” sells a plethora of collectibles, fashion accessories and one-of-a-kind handmade items created by area artisans and crafters.

Collectibles include Boyd Bears, BearStones and FolkStones, Yankee Candles, Attic Babies, Pat Richter, Town House Square houses, Edith Ann Samplers, Wysocki prints and Lang and Thomas Kincaid calendars. Karen admits, though, that her store is only so big and she can’t stock everything; however, she’s happy to find and order something people like that she doesn’t have.

Locally-made items include lamps and lampshades, baskets made in Findlay, picture frames made by Rob Miller out of barn siding and pottery and paintings created by Karen Miller, as well as wreaths made from her own flowers.

Karen also travels to trade shows all over the country looking for new and unique items, including jewelry and fashion handbags, that she feels her customers would like, while also providing free recipes and decorating and party tips to customers. “We provide party ideas and samples of beverages and party food items,” she said, noting that she has displays during the holiday season showing various ways to decorate and entertain.

Over the years, as their business grew, the Millers added a 1,000-square-foot addition to the barn to house more items, while a more recent addition inside is a café that serves lunch from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

DeShia is a testament to the small business tradition — something Karen Miller said she believes in. “I support strongly the small business concept,” she said, adding that she has taken a number of classes from Wright State University-Lake Campus’ Small Business Development Center as a way to become a better small business owner.

DeShia, which has earned accolades over the years, including several nominations for the Van Wert Area Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year awards, also conducts a number of marketing promotions throughout the year, while Karen is also using social media Internet sites to promote her business. A good example is a current Facebook promotion she calls the “Parade of Sweaters.” Customers bring in favorite sweaters and Karen takes photos of them and posts them to her Facebook site. Customers then get their friends to “like” the sweaters and the customer whose sweater gets the most “likes” wins a $25 gift certificate.

Karen also believes in giving back to her community and DeShia supports a number of local projects, with the latest providing free cookies and hot chocolate for those who participated in the recent unveiling of the “Christmas Garden” at the Children’s Garden in Smiley Park.

In the final analysis, though, while DeShia has lots of unique and handmade items, Karen Miller feels it is the service the store provides that keeps customers coming back. “We give customers service that no ‘big box’ store can,” she said.

That’s also why DeShia has thrived in an old, out-of-the-way barn for nearly 25 years.