"I thought this would be a good way for me to settle myself down and it would put me downtown where I could see people," Lake said.
Nana's Place Variety & Gift Shoppe is located at 218 Main Street in Crab Orchard, next to the First Southern National Bank branch. Store hours are 9 to 5 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The business is closed Wednesday and Sunday.
"Joanne Smith (building owner) had the space available and I thought this would be the perfect spot," Lake said. "I chose Crab Orchard to help myself (settle down) and to help the people around here, too. This gives them some place else to shop."
Lake, who got her start selling the health drink "Himalayan Goji Juice", offers a wide variety of items in her store, including the juice, with collectibles and gifts for all occasions. Among her inventory are John Deere items, Boyd's Bears', kitchen accessories, framed prints, lamps, candlewarmers, flags, dolls, figurines and much more.
New items will be arriving weekly and what Nana's Place doesn't offer, "Nana" or Lake can get, with customers able to order additional items from the World of Products catalog.
Lake is the sole worker at Nana's Place but she does have her good friend and sister-in-law, Barbara Scheffler, alongside to offer assistance.
"She helps me out a lot," said Lake. "She's my main right hand. She has done all of the decorating in here and she helped me decorate my (storefront) windows. She's a big help."
The death of Lake's husband followed by her own subsequent bouts with breast and uterine cancer kept Lake from pursuing work outside the home after she left the factory, but, now that she is all well, she's ready to serve the community.
"It was time for me to try and do something and this seemed like the right thing for me to do," Lake said. "I'm excited about the business and I'm looking forward to having people come in and see the place."
To help introduce her new business to the community, Lake is holding a Nana's Place Variety & Gift Shoppe grand opening this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 15 and 16 with 10% off store inventory. There will also be drawings and door prizes during the grand opening.
Lake can be reached at Nana's Place at 606-355-7940.
