The Ginger House: An international adventure

Ginger Baron opened The Ginger House, a cozy boutique in the European-style Settlement Shops of Fish Creek, in 2021.

THE BUSINESS

The small business is a place to shop for both unique gifts and picnic items. Patrons can purchase locally-produced food and beverage items like chocolate, nuts, cheese and beer. The Ginger House also provides a serene courtyard setting with shade trees and hammocks where people can relax and unwind and enjoy their picnic items. However, the store offers so much more. 

Ginger offers alcoholic drinks, accoutrements and unique items from around the world to make this boutique extra special. Traveling for over 35 years has given her the opportunity to find hand-crafted items as well as one-of-a-kind products.

THE GIVING BACK

Ginger donates a percentage of her sales of the Ghanan hand-woven baskets back to the children of an art village in Ghana to buy supplies such as books, pencils and other school items. Sales of products she obtains in an Indian village help the “I Have Hope” project to stop sex trafficking in that area of the world. 

This small business owner gives back locally as well by being a sponsor to Door County Auditorium and a group called 100+ Women Who Care Door County. The group donates to nonprofit organizations in Door County. The fees generated from the happy hour yoga classes offered every Wednesday during summer are donated to the Northern Door Children’s Center. 

THE BEGINNINGS

Retail shops like Pier One and World Market were an inspiration to Ginger as a younger woman. That inspiration led her to work for an airline, so she could see where all the beautiful things in those shops were made. Little did she know, this experience would lead her to opening her own wine and picnic boutique. With the help of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Green Bay, and specifically the encouragement of SBDC consultant Dave Stauffacher, she believed she could make her vision come true. “Dave was very instrumental in getting me started and throughout the whole journey as well,” Ginger said.

Ginger obtained additional SBDC assistance in the form of QuickBooks classes and help with financial projections from the UW-LaCrosse SBDC. “The classes were so helpful! I can’t wait to enroll in the E-Commerce Academy offered at the SBDC this winter.” Using the knowledge learned at the academy, she hopes to bring her daughter into the business to incorporate an e-commerce division into The Ginger House.

She added that one thing she enjoys most about owning her own business is the look on people’s faces when they walk into the shop and smell and feel and experience the other parts of the world that exist right there in Fish Creek.