A Celtic Rose

March 14, 2007

Everybody is considered Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.
Owner of Celtic Rose in the arcade in downtown Traverse City, Sheila Rose Bias said she felt a close bond to the culture before she even knew she was Irish.
“I couldn’t figure out why I was so drawn to it, and now it’s in my blood,” she said.
The Irish paraphernalia store is a one-stop shop for any St. Patrick’s Day festival and Ireland enthusiast. Authentic merchandise from Ireland, from perfumes and Guinness beer apparel to shamrock stickers and glow sticks are available year-round.
St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the national apostle Saint Patrick who is credited with introducing Christianity to Ireland. Some people believe he drove snakes out of Ireland, but according to St.PatricksDay.com there were no literal snakes; they were a symbol for pagans.
People now celebrate this day all over the world, especially within the Irish com-munity. There are many theories as to why March 17 is the day for celebration, but many believe it is the day St. Patrick died.
Bias said the history of Ireland is hard to keep track of because of its oral tradition.
“So much of their history is oral - they’re good story tellers,” she said.
Bias said hearing stories from customers regarding their Irish heritage is the best part of her job.
People also get caught up in the meanings of their names. Bias has a book on hand to look up surnames.
Bias first became interested in the history when she started working in a similar store called Abbey Green in Pennsylvania. While working there she had an opportunity to visit Ireland, where she became hooked.
“Ireland is everything you imagine it to be,” she said.
Bias started thinking of opening a similar store in Traverse City, which she also calls home. “All I could do is fantasize to be in Traverse City and open my own Irish shop,” she said.
With the help of her brother-in-law, a retired construction worker, Bias opened up on April 1, 2004 after two years of working two sales carts of her own in the Grand Traverse Mall.
In a small room dubbed “the pub room” Bias sells authentic Guinness beer apparel and collectibles she orders from Dublin. She said the authenticity is the only thing she has on mass merchandisers like Target who sells cheaper knockoffs.
Bias also had issues getting the store name out to the community.
“You can have all the advertising in the world but it takes a body to actually come into the store,” she said.
The store’s busiest time of year is in July and August during tourist season. When it comes to deciding what to order, she said it’s a guessing game.
“I found out that turtlenecks don’t do good here. It’s retail -- it’s a guessing game no matter where you go.”
Bias looks for merchandise no one can find at mass merchandizers and knows that people look to gaudy and flashy outfits when shopping for St. Patrick’s Day. “If it lights up, I have to have it.”
Jewelry adorned with Irish symbols and designs are one of the store’s best sellers. Top favorites are the Claddagh rings showing two hands holding a crowned heart.
The symbol is named after the town Claddagh on the coast of Ireland. A man named Richard Joyce was kidnapped and sold into slavery, returning several years later, he presented the Claddagh ring to his lover.
Bias said that when worn different ways, the ring has different meanings. If worn on the right hand, crown down, the heart is unoccupied. If the crown is worn outwards the person is considering love, and if the ring is worn on the left hand with the crown outward, then the person is spoken for.
Not all symbols today are true Irish symbols, said Bias. A popular one is the Celtic Love Knot.
“There is no such thing as a Celtic Love Knot. It’s all marketing; its all speculation,” she said.
Bias said the population of the Irish culture is overwhelming in the U.S. By 1840, Irish immigrants constituted for half of entering immigrants, and after 1950 represented one fifth of all foreign-born in the U.S.
“If you’re not Irish you know someone who is,” she said.
Celtic Rose is currently going
on-line with its own e-Bay store at www.celticroseirishshop.com. During slow months Bias said it helps.
She now sells an abundance of baby clothing and merchandise as far as Alaska. She said every demographic likes to shop Irish, but if it wasn’t for Irish grandmothers, she would go out of business.
“I am having so much fun with that. After last year I had to come up with a way to supplement,” she said.
Bias keeps learning more about her heritage and continues to add to Celtic Rose by introducing new merchandise.
“The older I get, the more Irish I find out I am,” she said.
Celtic Rose will also be sponsoring the fourth annual Irish and Scottish Celtic Dance Ceiliah on April 15 at the City Opera House. A workshop takes place from 2-2:45 pm and the dance, 3-6 pm. The store is located at 140 E. Front Street.