Two Bismarck women are lending a hand to the Easter Bunny by creating one-of-a-kind baskets.
KX News got an exclusive look inside their workshop.
Mother and daughter duo Jolene and Jennee first began creating one of kind Easter baskets five years ago.
Back then it was 50 baskets. Now the ladies are up to hundreds, covering their entire garage.
“She brought totes of Easter goodies. And I was like what do you want me to do with those? I don’t have a place for them. I already have enough of my own. So together we decided to start making baskets. And start selling them cheap because we were both single parents,” explained Jolene Thiel, the mother and Easter Basket Designer.
“You know, you go into the stores and you find the premade baskets that have two pieces of candy and a basketball and you’re paying $20 for it. And we wanted to give people nice baskets, that were full of good quality toys,” explained Thiel’s daughter Jennee Schauer.
The ladies shop year-round to ensure that no two baskets are the same, and they’re not just for kids but for every family member.
“Because we know that everyone has different interests, different tastes. We have teens, adult baskets. We have gender-neutral baskets. We have like the baby, you know baby baskets, boy, girls,” shared Thiel.
Putting together these baskets is more than just creating something special, it’s also bonding time between the mother and daughter pair.
“We’ve had some funny moments. When we first stacked all of our baskets up on our big table along the garage wall, they were all empty. And you’re so use to pushing open your big garage door. She pushed it open and it lifted all the baskets up. And it was like a basket frenzy that went everywhere. So that was kind of comical,” shared Schauer.
While some baskets are for sale, every year they also reach out to local organizations to see if they can donate and put a smile on some kids faces.
“So this year what we’re doing is we’re working with the evangel temple. They’re getting me a list of names of kids who are needy,” shared Thiel.
“Try to contact Sanford and St. A’s. And I’m hoping that I’m able to do donations to them to their pediatrics floor. And do their whole pediatrics floor is kind of our goal this year,” shared Schauer.
If you aren’t comfortable shopping with others because of COVID-19 they’ll give you a private session or will deliver a basket to your door.
The ladies because COVID-19 hitting right before Easter they received orders for baskets from 12 different states.
They anticipate getting more orders just like that.
If you would like a basket feel free to contact them at (701) 220-3552.