Ferndale Shop Sees Surge in Business for St. Patrick's Day

The Twisted Shamrock in Ferndale is having its second busiest season of the year as customers gear up for St. Patrick's Day with Irish pride t-shirts, parade and pub crawl wear and more.

Next to Christmas, St. Patrick's Day is the Irish and Celtic shop's most popular season - mostly the week or so leading up to the holiday, says owner Jim Monahan.

"It's kind of the build up to it," he says.

In addition to jewelry, gifts and other specialty items made by Irish/Celtic artisans, the store brings in a wide range of St. Paddy's day wear around the holiday including shirts, hats, purses, socks and more.

Monahan says he avoids the typical "kiss me I'm Irish stuff" and looks for new items to feature each year. This year he personally designed several shirts, including "Spirit of Detroit" and "Detroit Irish Tough and Proud" designs.

"We do some stuff that's more unique to our store that we'll design ... just because everybody has all the same stuff so we try to make it a little different," he said.

It's the shop's eighth St. Patrick's Day in Ferndale and each year brings a little more exposure to the business. "It brings new people in," Monahan said.