Livingston County’s stores are ushering in the winter holiday shopping season. 

Locally owned small gift shops, boutiques and other retailers abound in the county. There are a few unique gift ideas.

From insect-eating plants to limited-edition T-shirts commemorating nostalgic local businesses in the past, here are four ideas that might be perfect for people who want a different year. 

A new carnivorous plant nursery in Hartland provides a solution for growing Venus flytraps and pitcher plants indoors.

Killer Plant Co. sells plants and planting equipment online. Local customers can pick up the goods at the nursery store at 3554 Avon St. in the historic village of the town. 

Carnivorous plants capture and digest insects, spiders and other creatures as part of their diet. They require special growth instructions, including direct sunlight or grow lights for 14 hours or more a day. 

To help people grow them indoors, Killer Plant Co. sells special indoor Venus flytrap glass containers with a 16-hour automatic lighting timer for $59.99 plus tax. Glass containers are made for three to four plants. 

The nursery sells King Henry, Red Dragon and Flexx varieties of Venus Flytrap. It also sells pitcher plants, including pitcher plants, purple pitcher plants, and pitcher plants.

Related: New Heartland Twp. The nursery found a niche market selling Venus flytraps and carnivorous "killer" plants

Orders can be placed online on killerplantco.com

For those who miss the past, Wallflower Mercantile is selling T-shirts with the logos of three businesses that once operated in Brighton. 

Owner Natalie Buckley said that graphic designer Nikki Bagdady Horn used photos to recreate vintage logos for Uber's Drugs, Cardona's Pizza and Miller's Sport Shop. The local shop Ivory Vines printed these shirts.

Find T-shirts for sale at Wallflower Mercantile at 427 W. Main St. Each piece is priced at US$25, of which US$5 benefits the Brighton Regional Historical Society. 

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"People miss Cardona's Pizza very much. Many people work at Uber's and Miller's Sports Shop, and many people buy sports equipment there," Barkley said. 

She said the store plans to print three different old-fashioned Brighton commercial logos on shirts early next year.

Earlier this year, Ivory Vines opened a new physical gift shop to provide more local style equipment.

Related: Locally-themed swag, Michigan products on display at the new Brighton gift shop Ivory Vines

The store is full of T-shirts, hats, handbags, glasses, decals and other items with local and Michigan themes, including school-style clothing from several local schools.

The store also sells a variety of products from other small businesses in Michigan and products that complement the theme of the store. There are candles, lotions, candy, jewelry and other products.

Howell has a unique spiritual shop, which is stocked with supplies for removing bad energy and bringing positivity.

Cathy Boaz, the owner of Kokopelli's Korner, said that several items she carried in this store at 111 E. Grand River Ave. can be combined into a gift for those who need a good atmosphere.

"First of all, the saint. You want to clean up this place. Then you can use sweet grass to bring love in," Boaz said. 

She said the applicator can be used with other items in the store to make someone a personalized energy removal kit.

"I have many different crystals that can purify and recharge the space," Boaz said. "And you can get things like incense and incense sticks."

One of her gift ideas was to fill an empty Advent calendar with small items from the local store. People must already have or find an Advent calendar to fill in, but Kokopelli's Korner can put things in it. 

Oh my Lori! Owner Keith Karp said that now is the season to shop for fillings and customizable gifts at his Brighton candy store.  

This shop at 421 Mill Pond Lane makes a variety of hard candies on site.

Karp said that the Lolli Art DIY lollipop set from this store is a great gift. 

The kit has a plastic heart-shaped mold, four different flavors of hard candies and lollipops. 

"We put everything in a kit so that we can make it at home. You divide the candy into pieces and combine the colors to make your own work," Karp said.

He said it is an annual tradition for some local families to buy candy from the store as a filling. 

"Children always ask for their favorite taste."

The special flavors of this season are mint and cream, inspired by mint ice cream.

Please contact Jennifer Timar, a Livingston Daily reporter at jtimar@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @jennifer_timar.