Photo by Mike Lamb Melissa Syring shows off a gift basket inside the Falls Boutique in Granite Falls.

When it comes to life and business, Melissa Syring says “you never know what life is going to hand you.”

In 2017, Syring started a vendor business in Granite Falls just before Christmas that drew a positive response to area shoppers.

“I few people asked us, ‘it would be nice if you could have something more permanent,’ ” Syring said. “So then in April of 2017, we started with a just a few products.”

They started small using one room in a retail storefront on Prentice Street in Granite Falls. They named the new business Falls Boutique.

“We all went to market and found different products that we thought would sell. I was nervous about it, so I just bought basically things, if it doesn’t sell, I can use myself for Christmas gifts,” Syring said. “Then everything we got, we just kept sticking into the business. And it turned out to be a hit. I mean people really sort of enjoyed having another shopping place in town and we sort of just expanded from there. Right now we have 12 in here. Twelve people that make it a big collaborative boutique.”

Syring said it helps that there are 12 different vendors and the success doesn’t just fall on one vendor.

“We’ve had some growing pains, like every business does,” she said. “It’s fun. I have gotten my kids involved in it too. It’s fun to include your family.”

Both of her sons and husband help out. One son’s wife, and the other son’s girlfriend, sell products.

“Everybody picks their sort of favorite things. And then my daughter-in-law, she’s a certain age, so she’s like ‘these are really trendy right now. You should get these in.’ So then that’s how she decided. We are all different ages, which makes it really good, because in a small town, you will get variety,” Syring said. “One of the best things is that we can have 8-year-old boys come in here and shop. If I can appeal to an 8-year-old boy and an 85-year-old woman, and everybody leaves happy with something, I feel like we’re accomplishing our task.”

She said she’s now more of a risk taker when purchasing merchandise for the boutique.

“I’ll buy some of the bigger pieces. When you try something new, and I’m not 100% sure, I always like, OK, I’ll do that,” she said. “I don’t feel guilty if someone does it and then it belly flops.

While Syring showcases products like flannel clothing, Minnesota shirts, coffee, lotions and soaps, there are other unique items that hang inside the store that now winds into other room toward the back of the building.

“We used every square inch of this place,” she said. “We’ve taken wall down, we put walls up. I used to have a photography business in here and tried to find unique stuff. We have a duck boat in here. We have cast iron bathtubs. I want to make it memorable so if someone is just stopping through, they’re like, ‘It’s more than just going shopping. It’s more of an experience.’ ”

At the same time Syring promotes her products to customers, she doesn’t forget to support the community.

“If I said it once, I said it 100 times. God has blessed me so I can bless others,” she said. “Somebody can come in here and you might be the only smile or hello that they see all day. I think about that a lot too, because it’s like when I’m having a bad day. On days you trip on the sidewalk or your coast gets stuck on the door handle. And then you will meet someone, but you just don’t even know them. I’ll give them a smile and say, ‘how are you doing?’ ”

Syring, however, has been known give more than smiles. She donates baskets containing a variety of items for silent auctions that benefit cancer patients, house fire victims and other people needing help.

“I have a soft spot for people who are going through hard times. I went through my share of hard times, and that’s when you depend on friends, family and the community,” Syring said. “I would say it would be rare if we don’t have someone come in every couple weeks. That’s where I pride myself the most because I try to give as much as I can, because I’m a firm believer God has blessed me so I can bless others. Because everybody’s sort of been in that spot where it’s like, ‘gosh, I could use a little extra help.’ And I know sometimes it’s hard on a small business because you get hit up a lot. But you know, if we can’t give back, what are we here for? That’s my view on it.”

Syring also carries what she calls devotionals. Examples are books with inspiring sayings or stories.

“I have bought a ton of them,” she said. “When people come in, they’re coming in looking for something specific, or maybe they are looking for a little downtime where they can just calm down and not think bout anything. And a lot of times, in those moments, they share stories, like, ‘I’m going through this hard time.’ Many times those devotionals I give, I’ll say, ‘take this, hopefully this makes your day better.’ ”

Syring believes in letting God take the lead.

“I hope we’ll be here for a long time to come and people still need different gifts, unique gifts — rather than going to your big box stores,” she said.