An ornament gifted to Stephanie and Paul Fidlin following their wedding day 18 years ago “still hangs in a very special spot near the top with dozens and dozens of others added over the years with the birth of children, graduations and vacations — all from Callister’s.
An ornament gifted to Stephanie and Paul Fidlin following their wedding day 18 years ago “still hangs in a very special spot near the top with dozens and dozens of others added over the years with the birth of children, graduations and vacations — all from Callister’s.
BROOKFIELD — After 33 years of helping customers make Christmas memories, the founding sisters of Callisters Christmas — Melanie Jensen, Sandy Kalczynski and Michele Zelenak — are retiring as of Dec. 28.
The sisters will hand over the reins of the business to the retail team at Master Z’s.
“They share our passion for creating magical Christmas experiences and have already expanded the company to bring its unique charm to even more people. We are confident that under their leadership, Callisters Christmas will continue to shine brightly for many years to come,” according to a Callisters Christmas Facebook post. Melanie Jensen remembered when they were located in the Brookfield Fashion Center, 16900 W. Bluemound Road, and had to find another location. They ended up temporarily leasing the former space for Laacke & Joys, 19233 W. Bluemound Road.
This year they tried to figure out how they could stay permanently in that location and Master Z’s ended up buying the business.
“We (the sisters) are all in our 60s. I have children who wouldn’t take over. Master Z’s, we all got along, and they see the vision we have and it’s working,” Jensen said.
The sisters hope the business grows in its location and that employees will stay on. Many of them have worked together for over 20 years. Jensen’s hope is to stay on as a part-time employee.
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They started the business in 1991 with only 600 ornaments and now they offer 6,000 ornaments. Jensen said Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Michigan, a Christmas store, inspired them to open their own store.
“We all love Christmas and it was something we always wanted to do,” she said.
At first it was challenging as there wasn’t a ton of stuff out there and would find flat wood ornaments mostly Disney or golf related.
“The industry has grown so much. We jumped into the industry when it was young and had great potential. I wish I was 45. I would love to ride this ride for another 20 years because it is an excellent place to be,” Jensen said.
Callisters offers an online store which will continue, but the pop-up stores will not. The personalization of ornaments customers love will continue.
“Nothing is going to change expect who the main owners are,” Jensen said.
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