Jan McCormick says Dixboro, with its village green and annual fair, is just like an English country village. She used to say the quaint center of the town was a great place for a gift shop — and now she's the owner of the towns newest one, The Pear Tree.

McCormick, originally from Dundee — just north of Edinburgh, Scotland — and her English husband, John McCormick, moved to the United States 28 years ago when he took a job as a writer for Crain’s Auto Week. They’ve called Dixboro home the entire time, and McCormick says she’s seen the town come alive throughout the years.

The area on and around Plymouth Road has been growing, she said. "We have Moonwinks Cafe, the General Store, Balance Massage Therapy, Roger Monks and of course the Humane Society of Huron Valley,” she explains with pride as she talks about how the area is developing. As McCormick watched the property between Moonwinks and Balance Massage come up for lease more than a year ago, she started to devise a plan.

“I have been in fundraising, marketing, public relations and journalism and used to write for the Connection section of the Ann Arbor News,” she wrote in an email to AnnArbor.com. After watching her sister renovate and run a northern Michigan hotel, she said she really enjoyed working with her to assemble and create the hotel gift shop. With three growing children -— one in college, two in high school — she said the timing to establish The Pear Tree was fitting. “It’s now or never,” McCormick said.

McCormick, who has a degree in philosophy from King's College, London, started by attending a trade show in Chicago last spring and contacting local vendors. “I decided to buy only items that I would have in my own home or wear myself. After that I had carpenters and painters transform the space into the light, airy, lovely environment that it now is.” The location used to be home to an All State Insurance office, and has changed dramatically. “I love that I have four windows, a front door and a little flower garden with a path."

The name The Pear Tree came about, McCormick said, because the name evokes a fresh beauty the pear exemplifies with its yellows, greens and russet colors.

The Pear Tree sells a selection of handmade jewelry made by Michigan artists. The store also stocks a selection of unique products, including themed pottery, home goods, clothing, baby items, and and other items are brought in regularly so the store is never the same from week to week. She said she aims for Michigan-made products whenever possible.

She doesn’t feel that the store competes with long standing Dixboro General Store, across the street. “I was very conscious of them and what they sell and what they stand for. They are very country, and I am not — there is no intention to overlap,” McCormick said. “Hopefully what I am bringing to Dixboro is completely different so that people now have a wider choice. That was my goal.”

In fact McCormick thinks there is even room for additional growth along Plymouth Road. When asked about a broader selection of shops coming to Dixboro, she said, “Why not? It could use a few little things, but I would like for it to retain its village atmosphere.”

The Pear Tree, which opened June 1 of this year, is tucked away at 5153 Plymouth Road. The sign for the shop really only is visible heading westbound on Plymouth., but McCormick said she has been working with the township to allow for more noticeable signage.

Pear Tree Gift Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and is closed on Sunday.