There is no busier time in a Hallmark store than the winter holiday season.
Inside Becky’s Hallmark in Searcy, owner and namesake Becky Pierce has been preparing for the rush since January, when she first started selecting holiday merchandise. She never decorates the store’s trees the same way twice. This year she even found time to help glue together graham crackers, licorice and mints to create a 4-foot-tall gingerbread house for the front window. Over the winter holidays, the store experiences 10 times the crowd the business sees at Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
Pierce’s favorite moment of the season comes on Christmas Eve as last-minute shoppers come into the store.
“People come in from out of town and come into the store just to see other people,” Pierce said. “The same group of last-minute shoppers comes in every year.”
Pierce sets out cider and treats and helps shoppers find gifts and cards, and kids look around as parents chat.
“It’s like the old town general store where people just come to visit,” she said.
Becky’s Hallmark has been operating in Searcy for 30 years. For the first 10 years, the shop occupied a space in the old downtown center. In the early ’90s, the store was moved to its current location at 1551 E. Race St., and 10 years ago, the business expanded into the space next door. What began as the first Hallmark card store in town is now a gift destination with cards, gifts, candy and a section dedicated to bridal registry that offers dishes and kitchen appliances. Pierce and her husband, Paul, opened the store while Pierce was still working as a teacher in the area.
“We opened up in the old pool hall,” Pierce said. “At first people were really upset that the pool hall had closed.”
But the community warmed to the store, and Pierce and her husband got a crash course in retail. When they first started going to the big out-of-state markets, the couple were so caught up in purchasing everyday items that they’d forget to plan far in advance for the holiday season. Her husband ran the store for many years, with Becky — Ms. Becky, as the employees cheerfully call her in the store — taking over full time this year.
Pierce and Paul began dating at 14, when they met in Hope, and were married in 1976. The couple have two daughters, Jessica and Erin.
Born in Little Rock, Pierce was adopted by a family in Magnolia, where she lived until she was in the sixth grade, when her family moved to Hope. She attended Hope High School and later Henderson State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in reading.
Pierce took early retirement from teaching to put more hours into the store, where she serves as the main buyer.
“When we go to market, we look at all the showrooms and try to bring back a taste of what is brand, brand new,” Pierce said. “But we’re a very traditional store. With our community being as religious as it is, we also have a lot of themes with angels, crosses and Scripture verses.
With so much happening at the store, Pierce doesn’t decorate at home. She used to, but finding time to even pack the decorations up was difficult.
“We’re always going from one season to the next at the store,” Pierce said.
Even while Christmas is in full swing, Pierce is prepping for Valentine’s Day and thinking of how to display the puzzles she likes to feature when the weather gets cold.
When she’s not at the store, Pierce likes to relax by doing yoga. She works with the Downtown Church of Christ’s food pantry, organizing and purchasing the food that’s given out once a week. She also helps with fundraising efforts for Spark of Life, a group that helps sponsor weekend retreats for people who are going through the grieving process.
But when she’s not volunteering or taking a minute to relax, Pierce is in her store, interacting with customers and working to make sure everyone feels as welcome as possible.
“The store is such a connection to the people in this town,” Pierce said. “You meet friends. We go to so many weddings, baby showers, even funerals. They’re part of us, and we want to be a part of them.”
One of Pierce’s main goals as the store was expanded was making sure Becky’s Hallmark became more than just decorations and offered customers enough variety that they wouldn’t feel like they had to make the drive to Little Rock to find the merchandise they wanted. Over the holidays, Pierce makes a special effort to help Hallmark ornament collectors find what they’re looking for — even if it means that she drives to another city to get the items they need. The ornament lines have devoted fans, and it’s an obsession Pierce knows well.
“I personally am an ornament fanatic. … I have over 10,000 ornaments,” Pierce said. “I have every [Hallmark] series ornament made, except one.”
Her missing piece is from the very first collection of Hallmark ball ornaments, No. 7 to be exact. If anyone has a spare, you know where to find her.
Staff writer Emily Van Zandt can be reached at (501) 399-3688 or evanzandt@arkanssonline.com.