THE QUILTED BEAR CARRIES COUNTRY-STYLE HANDICRAFTS : SUZIE ST. JOHN NOW OPEN.

With Christmas just around the corner, thoughts of hanging lights, baking cookies and shopping for presents are foremost in people's minds.

The first two can be fun and tasty but the shopping part can throw the calmest person into a tailspin. Trying to pick out a gift for the father who has everything or the mother-in-law who is very choosy can turn your holiday cheer into a holiday sneer.

If this sounds like you, the Quilted Bear in Northridge may be the answer you're looking for.

The 14,000-square-foot store offers patrons a broad selection of hand-crafted gifts ranging from homemade caramels selling for 40 cents to a life-size wooden treehouse tagged at $6,000.

``People can find anything they want in our store,'' said store manager Sharon Rosinski. ``And our gifts are one of a kind.''

The store hosts wares from 200 vendors with approximately 20 percent of them coming from outside of California.

Every Tuesday, crafters are given the opportunity to become prospective vendors by showing their wares to store management. Rosinski said items are graded on quality, price, variety and level of customer interest.

``We're more into country/Victorian things and not as much into contemporary,'' Rosinski said.

In addition to the shelves and booths dedicated to the vendors, the store offers theme rooms.

In one corner there's Holiday House, where shoppers can buy lights and Christmas ornaments all year long. Right next to that, you'll find wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-ceiling teddy bears, hence the name - Teddy Bear Corner. Finally, at the back of the shop is the area known as the General Store. It houses stationery, candles, calendars and cards.

Rosinski said it takes customers an average of two hours to peruse the variety of gifts the store offers. So don't feel bad if you don't see everything during your first visit.

Some of the more popular items include florals, scrapbook-making supplies and garden yardsticks.

The Northridge shop is the 10th Quilted Bear store in the nation but the first one in California.

Owners Lou and Eliana Rosinski got the idea for opening the store after visiting one in Las Vegas during a family vacation in 1997.

The chain got its start with a 40,000-square-foot store in Salt Lake City nine years ago. Other stores are located in Idaho, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

Retail analyst Brent Schoenbaum said most consumers choose mall and online shopping over going to a craft store as a matter of convenience. With today's American consumer buying an average of 20 Christmas gifts, it's tough to know what each person wants. He said it's easier to shop at a mall where a majority of the stores offer similar merchandise.

``Clearly there's a demand and a need for (craft stores) because certain consumers are looking for something more unique than a commercialized gift,'' said Schoenbaum, a senior manager with the Los Angeles office of Deloitte & Touche LLP. ``It's a smaller niche market that is segmented by demographics and economics.''

Schoenbaum added that stores offering handmade gifts tend to be more popular in rural areas, where consumers are more into decorative items for the inside and outside of their homes.

Interested consumers can check out The Quilted Bear at 9021 Tampa Avenue from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

In other news at shopping centers around the area:

Business has been booming since last month's grand opening of the Spa Sanctuary and Salon, located at 18000 Chatsworth Street in Granada Hills.

President Eric Hershkowitz said services offered include skin treatments, massages, facials, body wraps, tanning, makeup and waxing as well as hair and nails. Prices range from $7 for an upper lip wax to $175 for dermabrasion. Holiday packages, gift certificates and gift baskets are also available. For more information, call 818-366-4718.