By Ed Shannon, staff writer

A wide variety of gift items and home decor articles are available for purchase at Something Special in the Nest owned by Carol Riskedahl. This particular business is located at the southwest corner of West Main Street and Euclid Avenue in what&8217;s considered to be Albert Lea&8217;s oldest church building.

&8220;I have some items which are specially made like hardanger,&8221; she said.

Riskedahl added that hardanger is old-style Scandinavian needlework.

&8220;About a fourth of what I have for sale is locally made and on consignment,&8221; she explained.

&8220;I go to the markets, and sales representatives also come here, &8220; Riskedahl added.

All three levels of this former church building and art center are devoted to the displays of myriad merchandise for sale. In the balcony she commented is where &8220;it&8217;s Christmas all year.&8221; There are also greeting cards, an &8220;Up North&8221; section, items based on chickens, roosters and gardening, and an abundance of gift selections and wall art.

This present location is the second in Albert Lea that Riskedahl has operated as a gift shop. She purchased the Something Special store at 226 W. Clark St. in the late 1990s. Riskedahl changed the name to Something Special by Carol and was in business at this location for about a year and a half. (Thrivent Insurance for Lutherans is now at this address.)

In early 2000 she acquired the gift shop then known as the Bird&8217;s Nest on West Main Street near the viaduct. In March of that year she blended the names to the present Something Special in the Nest.

Information from the Freeborn County Historical Museum says this building was dedicated in 1887 as the Zion German Methodist Church. By 1918 the place had become the German Lutheran Church.

In later years the building was used by several small church congregations. From

1975 to about 1987 the place became the Albert Lea Art Center, then the Country Pleasures Craft Shop.

Riskedahl said one interesting aspect for this business comes when an always welcome tour bus happens to stop near the store. Sometimes half the passengers will go to the tea house across the street, half come into her store, then the passengers make a switch between the locations.

The present hours of operation at Something Special in the Nest are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays.

Age: &8220;Not needed&8221;

Address: rural Clarks Grove

Livelihood: owner of Something Special in the Nest

Family: husband, Donn; children Kia, Cindy, Chan and Jodi; four grandsons

Interesting fact: Flower arranging is her specialty.