Wondrous Works is a boutique vintage gift shop with a legacy of doing business in Arlington (and across the country) for over 40 years. 

Sherrie Phillips’ family bought the building at 125 E Front Street “back when Arlington was just fields and pecan trees,” Phillips said. Her parents were entrepreneurs who tried numerous business ideas before something finally stuck. Phillips explained that her father was an auctioneer and the family did furniture refinishing, which eventually evolved into the manufacturing of wooden mugs.

Wondrous Works in Wood’s signature wooden mugs are sold at their gift shop storefront (with a manufacturing facility in the back of the building) and at Renaissance festivals around the country, according to Phillips. 

Phillips runs the operation with a staff of anywhere from nine to 20 employees, including help inside the gift shop, manufacturing the mugs and sales on location at various events and festivals. The gift shop is her passion project, while the wooden mugs are the backbone of her business. 

“You can find things here that you can’t find somewhere else. All of these things were curated with an eye for bringing joy in giving it as a gift or bringing it home for yourself,” Phillips said.

Their use of building has evolved over the years, mirroring how Arlington has changed since the Phillips’ family started their business – the current storefront used to be where customers would pick their fabrics back when the family did furniture upholstery, for example.

“In woodworking, if you’re turning something on a lathe, and you’ve got a vision of what you want it to be but it gets messed up – we say it’s a design opportunity, instead of a mistake,” said Phillips.

Design opportunities are what has led Phillips to adapt her business to continue to stay relevant, especially with Arlington’s ever-changing landscape.

“We’ve gone from fields and pecan trees and a few other buildings to apartments, a big campus and all kinds of restaurants and bars. Arlington has changed so much, and the gift shop is a way to fit in with that change. You can change or you can stagnate. This allows me to still have my business here, fit in with the city, open up something I’m passionate about and it all kind of goes together,” she said.

Learn more about Wondrous Works in Wood by browsing the gift shop’s website, calling (817) 277-6831 or visiting 125 E Front St. Or you can visit the One Start Development Center, on the second floor at City Hall from February 24 – 28, 2025, during Small Business Promotion week. The City’s Planning and Development Service Department is also hosting Customer Appreciation Week during the same time and will be providing refreshments and bottled water for the customers visiting the Small Business Promotion table.

The City of Arlington is highlighting small businesses throughout 2025. Canales Furniture, another Small Business of Arlington, who has grown substantially in the last few years, wants to give back to the community and is sponsoring this program with the Planning & Development Services Department for the year 2025. In their new headquarters at 102 E. I-20 Highway, they have dedicated a training room for their growing community, including free English-speaking classes, citizenship classes, and teaching small businesses on how to utilize social media as a marketing tool.