A little before noon on Oct. 5, Richard Morrison was hanging a glass ornament that resembled a head of garlic on a small metal tree. It was one of several trees that had been installed inside a John Derian store in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood, where Mr. Morrison, a floor manager, and his colleagues had been setting up holiday décor since Sept. 30. It was the earliest that John Derian, 61, had begun the Christmas season at his store since he started his namesake retail business in New York in 1995. Mr. Morrison, 36, was one of five employees unpacking and arranging ornaments at the shop on Oct. 5, a balmy Thursday. “People don’t buy furniture as Christmas gifts,” he said, “so I thought it might be fun to do it in here.”

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Persons: Richard Morrison, John Derian, Morrison, ”, Claire Cook, Mr, Derian Locations: East Village, New York