Springing ahead: Retailers ready for busier sales season

Published 11:15 am Sunday, February 22, 2026

New and seasoned retailers reflect on winter and look ahead to spring

LONG BEACH PENINSULA — Local retailers are breathing a sigh of relief with less than one month remaining in the winter season.

It was the first ‘flat’ winter season for NiVA Green gift shop owner Heather Ramsay, now in her 15th year in business in downtown Long Beach.

“It was a little off from last year, just a little,” said Ramsay, who first opened her shop at 104 Pacific Ave. in Long Beach in 2011. “I think the uncertainty in the economy is holding people back.”

A slower winter season can bring mental anguish to even the most experienced business owners on the block.

“This time of year, I always freak out, because it’s such a contrast of quiet,” Ramsay said. “And every year, I tell myself, you don’t have to freak out.”

Spring Break, starting in March and continuing through April, typically marks the unofficial start of the busier retail season.

The spring season also awakens businesses from winter schedules, some opening more days and others offering longer hours.

“For about six weeks (in the winter) I close two days a week instead of one day,” Ramsay said, adding that the store has begun offering more stationary products and art supplies, from custom greeting cards to the increasingly popular draw-your-own comic books.

A season of growth

The fall and winter season, typically a slower time for many businesses, was one of growth for Pacific Coast Trading Co., now in their second year at 2542 Rt 101, in Ilwaco.

Owner Danielle Lynn has watched her apothecary business bloom to include more than two dozen local vendors, from handcrafted earrings to small-batch lotions.

The handmade broomsticks, made in Bay Center, have sold out almost as quickly as they’ve been stocked and the ‘Super Shrooms’ mushroom coffee blend, often sought by customers seeking stress or anxiety relief, has been a consistent best-seller.

“People have been really stressed with everything going on in the world,” Lynn said regarding the increased interest in all-natural products and remedies .

The locally made, all-natural skincare products, including those featuring beef tallow, have developed a devout clientele.

“They’ve built up brand loyalty,” Lynn said. “People come in for them pretty consistently.”

New OP business owner finds ‘perfect fit’

Among the newest to hang a shingle on the peninsula is a former nurse turned business owner.

In early February, Monique Ollie officially opened Harmony Soapworks at 1904 Bay Avenue in Ocean Park, the culmination of more than 20 years of natural soapmaking expertise for the former nurse turned full-time soapmaker.

The business will feature a couple different lines of locally made soap, including the incorporation of Harmony Soapworks, formerly owned by Diana Thompson, and Ollie’s own ‘Mama O’s Suds and Such’ line of bath and body products. The store will also carry luxury candles and lotions, as well as room and body sprays.

Changing careers and moving to the coast has been a ‘serendipitous’ experience, Ollie said.

“I was a nurse working the bedside in Yakima, but we always had a place over here in Ilwaco. We would always come to the coast, then we would be grumpy when we had to leave on Sunday (to go back to work). So we decided, let’s just do it. Let’s just sell (our home in) Yakima and move. We moved in December 2024 to become full-time residents here. It was serendipitous. I was wanting to grow the bath and body business, including candles and lotions. My husband was looking through Zillow and found Harmony Soapworks, which was Diana Thompson’s for more than 25 years here. It was her house and the business, it was perfect. We just dove in and went for it.”