SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — Happiest Tees On Earth is the winner of Best Small Town Store in 2024's Best Northwest Escapes viewer's poll.
A shop on Sedro-Woolley's Metcalf Street is transporting customers to Main Street at Disneyland.
"It's really important to me that it feels like Disneyland, because I just want to go there all the time,” laughed Erica Howard, founder of Happiest Tees On Earth.
She opened the small business to share her love for all things Disney with the Skagit Valley.
The theme park has been a part of her family for generations, dating back to a memorable moment her grandparents shared in Tomorrow Land.
“The Skyway buckets (are) where my grandpa proposed to my grandma," Howard said.
The magic lives on with her own husband and kids, who travel to California several times a year to use their annual passes to the park.
Happiest Tees On Earth began as an online venture, featuring Disney-inspired t-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with phrases from classic movies.
"One of my most favorites is ‘Look for the good.’ And that is inspired by ‘Pollyanna,’” Howard said. "The other one is 'Think of the happiest things,' inspired from ‘Peter Pan.’"
After selling virtually for seven years, Howard’s dream came true when she opened the brick-and-mortar location in 2023.
In addition to clothing, she also carries Disney tribute accessories, stickers, magnets and candles replicating scents at the theme park (like churros, Dole Whip and “Shipwrecked,” which smells like the inside of Pirates of the Caribbean.)
There's also an entire line dedicated to Dick Van Dyke, featuring some of his own sketches.
"He just lights up the room wherever he goes,” Howard said.
Customers are greeted with complimentary fresh buttered popcorn and are encouraged to look for “hidden Mickeys” around the store.
Howard wants Happiest Tees On Earth to be more than just a space to shop. She thinks it can be an escape from reality and believes there's power in choosing joy.
"When you're dwelling on things that are negative and bringing you down, it just keeps getting heavier and heavier. But if you can choose to think about what is good, it really does lift our hearts and our spirits and our mood - and that effects everyone around us, too,” she said.
Like-minded customers have come from as far away as California and Canada.
“Even just being from Seattle is a big deal! To drive all the way up just to come see us, it's crazy. But I'm really grateful,” Howard said. "Kindness is not dead. It still exists, and there are so many good people. Those are the little things that make people remember, we're all in this together."
Happiest Tees On Earth is open Thursday-Saturday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. It’s located at 816 Metcalf Street in Sedro-Woolley.
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