By Cheyenne Stedman

The Happy Place is essentially a semi-hidden secret treasure that more people should definitely know about. The shop, located inside of The Courthouse Cafe, is filled with an assortment of items such as, but not limited to; gifts for every occasion, crafting products, and unique yarn that you can’t get anywhere else in the U.S.

Julie Rooney first opened her shop in 2016 just a few stores down from where she’s located now, but her love of yarn started way back in kindergarten when her great-grandma told her that the devil made time for idle hands. She can make everything from shirts, sweaters, shawls, scarves, hats, stuffed animals, and more. She holds classes and even personal lessons for anyone that has a want and determination for knitting or crocheting.

Everyone wants to shop local, how much more “local” can you get than right on the town square! The Happy Place is the only free-standing candy and yarn shop in Portales, NM. Not only that, but Julie noticed there wasn’t really much for the kids to do in town, so she brought in an arcade for everyone to enjoy! The Jetsons, Police Trainer, Arctic Thunder, and Beam are just a few of the arcade games available.

Julie does what she can to bring the best products into her shop, including from local crafters such as the handmade goats milk soap from The Artisan Clover. Western themed jewelry, eccentric mugs, and a small, but beautiful clothing selection are just a few of the things you can find inside this wonderful shop.

Her favorite thing about The Happy Place is being a part of a community that she can start a rapport with and start projects with, just this Friday she’ll be having a class on how to make reusable water balloons out of a special type of yarn, and they actually work like real water balloons, just without the environmentally dangerous plastic!
Julie just wants everyone to be able to come in, shop, and be happy. There’s no better place to be happy, than The Happy Place.
Being a family-owned business comes with a lot, but it also means that the money they make goes back into the community. It also means purchases come with “husband protection”, you know, when he doesn’t know you’re out shopping!

The variety of candy in The Happy Place is astounding! She has quite the gummy obsession as she typically has gummy lobsters, gummy teeth, Vitamin B soaked gummies, champagne gummy bears, tongue dye gummies, watermelon gummies, peach penguins, gummy bones, and gummy chicken feet in the shop. Not only does she have a multitude of gummy candies, she also has an assortment of other types, like sugar free taffy, candy cigarettes, honey stix, and homemade chocolate treats that she sometimes spends all day making.

New inventory is brought in at least once a month, sometimes more. Julie makes it a point to stay updated with the new trends coming up everyday so she can cater to the needs and wants of the community. There are also new promotions and discounts every month, sometimes more often. Starting next week, she’ll be putting every purchase receipt into a drawing for a new necklace. She’ll also be giving samples of the new olive oil and vinegars she has in stock. Julie wants everyone of all ages to feel welcome and encourages everyone to come in and stay for a while, just have some fun. “I love meeting new people so if somebodys never been in before I really encourage them to come in and just say hi. And I’m always open to suggestions.” The Happy Place in Portales is such a fun environment to be in and the people are always friendly. Why not stop by every once in a while?