Hug a Bear In the Pines
By Bobbi Zane

Scharlyn O'Connor, proprietor of In The Pines, demonstrates how to hug a bear.

He's a life-size bear, hand-carved out of a tree by local artist Don Madison, the biggest of the singular mountain-themed items available at Scharlyn O'Connor's In the Pines, a home décor shop she opened in the Stonewall stores in 2006.

Actually, O'Connor has two of these bears. One is a picnic table with benches and the other is a coat rack adorned with antlers. She also has tons of western-mountain-cowboy themed décor items. Many are like the bears, one-of-a kind works created by Julian-area artists. Others are more commercial.

A full-sized cutout of John Wayne presides over shelves of movie western memorabilia. A corner holds a collection of western and mountain themed Christmas ornaments. Stacks of boxes of Lincoln Logs fill a kids corner, where you can find last-minute birthday and shower gifts.

O'Connor, a longtime San Diego resident, had visited Julian regularly for 25 years before she moved here three years ago, not really intending to open a shop. At the time a single stay-at-home mom, she came for the quality of the Julian elementary school, where she enrolled her son Van, now 10 years old. "I wanted Van to experience a small-town childhood," she explained.

O'Connor gets cozy with the Duke.

However, when she learned the prime shop location in Stonewall was being vacated, visions of piney things began to fill her head.

The shop holds a little bit of everything that might have an outdoors theme. She describes them as "gifts and décor items for cabin, camp and lodge." And many of them reside happily in local homes.

Although O'Connor intended to focus on the tourist market, she quickly discovered that her furnishings, natural and synthetic buffalo rugs, mountain-themed bedding, photos by Melanie Snowhite and Ansel Adams, gourds by Deb Tillman, mountain-themed coffee table books, stuffed animals and apparel were very appealing to many locals as well.

In the Pines is open daily, although hours vary. For information, call 800-939-5894 or visit 2000 Main Street, Suite 201, Julian.

Photos by Bobbi Zane