Having trouble finding a gift for that special someone in your life? The solution may lay in the childhood rhyme, "A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket .

Monday, December 18, 2000

Having trouble finding a gift for that special someone in your life? The solution may lay in the childhood rhyme, "A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket …"

At least A Tisket … Tasket owner and operator Rhonda Montavon believes it does. Montavon opened her gift shop Nov. 24 and has been excited with the response from the community.

Her shop is filled with goodies of all varieties, and from many different locales. She stocks chocolates from Seattle, syrups from Vermont, soup mixes from Canada, crackers from Holland and candles from Rose Creek Honey Co. in nearby Rose Creek.

Montavon decided to move to the area more than a year ago after regularly camping at the Beaver Trail Campgrounds. She gave gift baskets and edible bouquets to friends and family and wondered why no one was offering that service in Austin.

Montavon, a self-described people person, considered the idea of going into business for herself for about two years, before pulling her money from the stock market and investing in her new store. It’s the perfect outlet for her talents, she said. She is the owner, operator and sole employee, although her daughter, Joanna, occasionally helps to stock shelves.

It takes her about a half-hour to an hour to put together and wrap each basket.

"I like to organize things and make them orderly," Montavon said. "If a basket doesn’t look right, I work with it until it does."

She stocks premade baskets containing goodies in her store, as well as the items and wrapping materials to create new baskets. Customers even can bring in gift items and certificates to be included in a basket with in-store items.

She already boasts several satisfied customers. One woman was searching for a gift for her strict vegetarian sister, who was missing the Minnesota snow. Montavon suggested vegetarian chili, tea and a teapot, along with a small bottle of fake "Minnesota snow." The items were wrapped in a sleigh-shaped basket, placed on a cardboard field of fake snow and wrapped for shipping.

"She was so excited when she left the store," Montavon said. "She’d found the perfect gift for her sister."

One popular store item is the Italian basket, which includes napkins, a strainer, pasta, sauce, sparkling cider and Italian cookies, all supplied from Manicaretti in Oakland, Calif.

Golf items also have been a hit with customers, including tee-shaped pens and golfball truffles.

Additionally, she stocks special baby supplies such as baby memory kits (which include handprint, footprint and lock of hair keepsake boxes), burp sets and piggy banks, all of which can be wrapped in bassinet- and stroller-shaped baskets.

Customers won’t be able to go back to Swiss Miss after trying the Mexican-spiced cocoa she carries, Montavon said.

With all the items she carries, you might expect the shop to appear cluttered, but Montavon has made her shop user-friendly.

"I have spread out the items, because I have a lot of space and I want customers to be able to see what’s available," she said.

Montavon is surprised at how many people have bought tea and teapots, including stackable combination cups and teapots. Gourmet coffees and caramel- and chocolate-dipped cookie spoons have been fast-sellers.

Though her store is off the beaten path (off 10th Drive SW), Montavon said that word of mouth has brought customers to her door. In addition, she has advertised on the radio and in the newspaper. She is currently working on a Web page, which should bring additional business to her shop through mail orders. She is willing to ship baskets via UPS to anywhere in the United States. Recent shipments have gone to Arizona and Colorado.

Although she is pleased with the number of customers she has received thus far, she hopes that the upcoming Christmas season will bring even more to her doorstep. Montavon plans to stock holiday-specific items as Easter, St. Patrick’s Day and Mother’s Day near. She plans to sell candy roses wrapped in floral boxes for Valentine’s Day.

For simpler tastes, she stocks a selection of mylar and latex balloons.

"I’m supplying an alternative to the normal gift-giving options," she said.

A Tisket … A Tasket is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.