Classic Designs BY Doreen Thomas, instantly became my favorite place to order floral arrangements…read more Doreen not only created the bouquet from her personal garden and delivered the flowers to my MIL, she also discussed how to care for the beautiful bouquet.

I hope no one else has to go through what I did on my wedding day because of Doreen Thomas. I had…read morefive bridesmaids and only four bouquets despite specific written instructions to her for five (she told me it was my fault and I never told her - I showed her the email that she replied to in which I advised her there were five girls). She charged my two bridesmaids who helped put together the bouquet less than an hour before my ceremony on the spot in cash for the bouquet she forgot to do. I specifically said NO carnations in any of my arrangements and every single centerpiece had many. The vases I picked out were not at the reception and she said they had been broken and she didn't tell me because there was nothing she could do about it. That resulted in many of my flowers looking like they were being drowned and cheap. Doreen charges a premium in Alpena for her services and I trusted her because of her blindly. I paid her 90% of my bill (which was large!) up front a month before my wedding and on the day of my wedding as soon as I arrived at the church she was standing there waiting to collect the other 10% in cash. I paid again, even though I expressed concern about how the reception area looked. I have tried to speak with her reasonably and she refuses to talk to me or my mom in order to sort things out because she claims her "lawyer advised her not to." I haven't seen one dime back for all of the things that she did not do that she said she would and the things she did just horrifically. I cannot express the extra stress this caused throughout my wedding day and I hope that no one else has to go through that. These are just a FEW of the things that went wrong with Doreen. Please find someone else to help you on your special day...no one deserves to have it ruined. Also, if you notice, she won't even let anyone comment or post on her Facebook page - I doubt I'm the only unhappy client out there.

I left my wedding ring to have my prongs replaced around my diamonds. It was repaired well and…read moreexactly when they quoted me. Reasonably priced and friendly!! They now have my ruby ring too!

Aug. 23rd 2025 I walked into the Bolenz Jewelry Store in the afternoon with a Citizen's Eco Drive…read moreWatch with a missing pin on the Band. A young lady, pretty young lady asked me what I needed help with and I pointed to my watch, she took it from me and 10 minutes later, she returned with a fixed band and didn't charge me a cent. I want to thank that your lady for her help and I did, but never got her name. Bolenz Jewelry, you have the best staff.. Sincerely, Randy L. Cole

Because I happened to be in the scrapbooking store next door, I saw this place and stopped in here…read moretoo. Sure enough I found three patterns I liked, reasonably priced, and arranged for a free pattern I liked to be sent to me since they were out of copies of it. The lady wouldn't even let me give her 50 cents for the postage. They also had both purple and lavender Aida cloth so I bought two pieces of each. If you like needlework you will probably like this store.

This is an awesome cross-stitch store. You can get numerous patterns, fabrics, threads and…read moreaccessories. The framer at this shop is incredible. He makes sure the designed is framed perfectly. I drive hours to leave him the projects I want framed, and it is always exceptional workmanship. If you are looking for a store where the owner actually stitches, this is your cross stitch store. I do wish there were weekend hours still.

Cute little yarn and fabric store. A+ for friendly shopkeepers and welcome atmosphere. Is a small…read morestore and not a huge selection, but worth a stop.

I'm always happy to find a knit shop in town. And Michigan shops seem to have such a wonderful…read morevariety of yarns to choose from! I headed here right after checking out of the lovely Dew Drop Inn, a motel I highly recommend if you are travelling. This store was a little hard to spot, mainly because of traffic on the main street and trying to be careful. I had to park about a block away--street parking only. It's an older building but a pretty big space with a lot of yarns and samples packed in it. I wish I'd gotten an indoor shot. I added a few skeins to my collection and got some advise on how to use some of them. I saw a pattern for a braided hat I really liked and the pattern was free with the yarn but the yarn was like $22 or so. I later found the same pattern in another store and town near Grand Rapids and they let me have the pattern with my purchase so after Xmas I want to try making it. After making my purchase I asked the lady (owner?) if there were any places she recommended to eat and she said she really liked the Cabin Creek Coffee Shop across the side street. Another score! I stopped back in here after my meal to thank her for the excellent referral.

Lovely little scrapbooking, paper and rubber stamps store with a very nice owner. It is in a…read moreshopping center I pulled into to look up motels on my phone internet/Yelp or I might not have seen it. And it is right next to a cross stitching supplies store. I found one stamp I had seen in San Diego and liked but it was out of stock so I just bought it here. And I got a little bottle of gold embossing powder. But the real find was about $20 worth of mostly used but some never used stamps at $1-3 each that she was selling to help someone else out. Can't resist a bargain. With the dearth of rubber stamp stores in Michigan, this was a real find. 102711 10/28/16--Here I am almost exactly 5 years later and again I pulled into this parking lot to look up the location of a local knit store LOL. I guess I'm destined to find this store and the one next to it that sells cross-stitch items. Unfortunately the cross stitch store was already closed since it was nearly 6 but I caught the lady in the scrapbooking store before she left for the day and we had a nice visit. I bought about 3 items at 30% off because she is having a going-out-of-business sale. I wish her the the best of luck in her next endeavor!

You'll find lots of unique items at this shop. I stop there everytime I'm in the area.read more

This is no longer a gift shop unless you are gifting wine or cocktail items. It is an upscale…read morecocktail bar with multiple cozy conversation areas.

Lovely shop full of home goods and gift items. We didn't try the bar but want to go back to do so…read more Purchased some lovely clothing and gifts.

Traveling Ladders has to be one of the coolest home decor and vintage gift shops that I've been in…read moreto. The backdrop for this shop is a turn of the century drug store that has now been creatively repurposed to meet the needs of any shopper looking for new and some vintage home decor. My favorite part of this shop are the ladders that were used to access items on different shelves at one time. There are two of them made out of wood and cast iron hardware. The store has two levels with the main entry level consisting of mostly modern items that will fit in with the antique farmhouse look. In the back of the store towards the right, there is a set of stairs that will lead you to the upper level where you'll find a large selection of vintage items and household decor. Make sure to take the view once you make it to the balcony, as this is really incredible for what it is. The shop owners were friendly and had a pretty good working knowledge of the building itself. There is a lot of history displayed on the walls and shelves. You're going to need a few minutes to take it all in. If you love vintage decor and small gift items, I would definitely recommend you stopping in on your next visit to Alpena. You'll be glad you did.

I LOVE this store!!! They offer such a variety of artful and unique things for your home and gift…read moregiving! The old drugstore is still there with tall walls of old medicinal bottles and antique ladders to get to them. Just as it was way back when. But below... are TODAYS treasures!! So FUN! You will truly enjoy shopping this shop! Promise!!

Le fave pharmacy is one of the most efficient I have ever been to. The staff always greats you with…read morea smile and a friendly greeting. I love that they offer so many different services. They were very kind to my father when he had surgery and had to purchase a lot of things. The wait for your prescriptions refills is short.