Wren Home, LLC was a long time in the making. Dimondale resident Lisa Gnass grew up with a passion for interior design, home décor and a love for small, interesting shops and boutiques. She took a career in corporate communications…
At the start of the pandemic, Lisa Gnass, owner of Wren Home, LLC, found herself with more free time. She decided to take it and run towards her life-long passion: home decor and design. She shares how the pandemic pushed…
When you walk into The Cheese Lady, owned and operated by Heather Zinn, in the Midtown neighborhood of Grand Rapids, you’ll feel welcome as soon as you walk through the door. With the eight location opening soon, The Cheese Lady’s…
Eric Hultgren, of MLive, interviews Michigan Retailers Association President and CEO William J. Hallan on how the association advocates and connects with their membership. Hallan also discusses the status of revenge shopping and what he predicts what sales will look…
MLive's Eric Hultgren interviews Michigan Barn Wood & Salvage's Kendra Patterson about how she and her husband created a unique brand and built their Mason, MI business into a showroom that now houses over 80 Michigan artists and makers. For…
The corner of Fulton St. W. and Valley Ave. N.W. has been the home of Ball Park Floral & Gifts in Grand Rapids for over a century. Always locally owned and operated, Ball Park Floral & Gifts opened its doors…
When you think of a family- and community-focused business, Hastings Ace Hardware would vie for top honors. Parents of current owner, Jerry Bolthouse, can prove it. Gerald and Anna Bolthouse had 13 children, 37 grandchildren and 62 great-grandchildren. The business…
Four years ago, Trevor and Kendra Patterson were selling lumber out of their 3,000-square-foot pole barn on the outskirts of Leslie and Mason. The business grew so quickly, they expanded to a 27,000-square-foot space in downtown Mason in the early…
Chesaning’s landmark business one of Carhartt’s oldest accounts By Rachel Schrauben One hundred years ago, Ed Rehmann and wife, Eva, began a clothing business in downtown Chesaning, a small, rural town located southwest of Saginaw. For three generations, the business…
Jim Mitchell isn’t a stranger to the hard work and dedication it takes to own and operate a business. As the fourth-generation owner of Mitchell’s Department Store in Leslie, he’s been around retail since birth. Michigan Retailers Association presents centennial…