For love of barns and quality-made old things
By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor
A massive hay catcher left in a Leelanau County centennial barn. The barn’s owner passed away, and his daughter, a client of Refuge Salon in Suttons Bay, sold it to woodworking craftsman Mitch Meoak. Mitch and his wife Charynn own Refuge Salvage Works and Refuge Salon, which coexist in the former Business Helper building on Broadway St.
“They had me out to pick through everything their father had bought over the years and stored on his property after a massive fire claimed the centennial barn,” said Mitch. “I really didn’t know what to do with it,” said Mitch. “But I knew I really wanted it.”
Mitch turned the hay catcher into the frame for an ornate light fixture, which will hang from a long copper pole in the vaulted stairwell of Leslie Maclin’s home in Leland.
“It will have a happy home and be much appreciated, as this farmer’s daughter will be reminded daily of her father and their farm in Central Kentucky,” said Maclin. “I was thrilled to connect with the talented Mitch and discover our mutual passion for curating old artifacts.
“I wasn’t looking for this piece, but when I saw it, I knew immediately it would grace the beautiful and light-filled stairway space.”
Mitch Meoak is a craftsman, a salvage master, and preservationist. Every item on display at Refuge Salvage Works has a unique story.
“I have a real appreciation for quality-made old things,” he said. “We live in such a disposable society. If something breaks, you throw it away. It’s sad.”
But not Mitch, who recently bought a 1963 Chevy truck that’s meant to last. “It has an owner’s manual that tells me how to adjust the valves and rebuild the motor,” he said. “People used to be able to do these things. The average person has lost that ability.”
Speaking of historic renovation, Mitch, Charynn, and their three children, Ezra, Elsie, and Elden, all of whom are under 6 years old, currently rent the “Brammer house” on the property owned by Turner Booth and his brother Charlie. Turner’s efforts to preserve and revive the historic grist mill on the Crystal River, and rezone the Brammer property, have generated many headlines this summer.
An ice house preceded that Brammer house, which a sign on an electrical panel indicates was built in 1939. “The home has old features and incredible detailing,” said Mitch. “We look out the window and see the mill and the Crystal River.”
The Meoaks’ longterm plan is to build their “forever” home on 5 acres they own on Big Glen Lake near Burdickville.
Mitch and Charynn landed in Leelanau County in 2018 after plans to open a salon in West Bloomfield fell through. Mitch is originally from Eaton Rapids near Lansing; Charynn is from Jackson.
“We’ve been all over the U.S. together, both coasts. We moved back to metro Detroit 10 years ago, bought a house and started having kids,” said Mitch. “The plan was always to move up north. I’ve been coming up here as long as I can remember, on family trips, camping, to visit grandparents. So when Ezra was 1 and a half we came up here, rented a house in TC, had no jobs and no plans, but a pocket full of money from selling our house downstate.”
Refuge Salvage Works had a presence at the Suttons Bay farmer’s market in the summers of 2018 and 2019. Mitch would pack his truck full of cabinets and tables, and hang beam lights on his 10-foot by 10-foot tent.
“When we got up here, we visited estate sales, garage sales, and claimed things from the side of the road,” said Mitch, who used to work in demolition, salvaging old Victorian mansions from the 1800s. “I’d strip every piece of casework, hardware, doorknobs, windows, and stained glass. Anything I could get my hands on before they tore it down. I wanted to keep it from the landfill.”
“At the farmer’s market we saw there was a demand for what I was doing.
When Mitch and Charynn saw an opportunity on Craigslist to rent the space previously occupied by the Business Helper in Suttons Bay, they jumped at the opportunity.
“We fell in love the moment we walked in the door,” said Mitch. COVID-19 landed just as they were about to open in March 2020, but the delay proved a blessing in disguise. “We weren’t quite ready to open when everything shut down.”
Refuge Salvage Works and Refuge Salon opened on June 10, 2020, as soon as orders were lifted on hair salons.
“When salons finally opened, every other place was inundated. Being brand new, we could take anyone who needed hair services. All that overflow came to us and we were able to build a massive clientele right out of gate. That’s unheard of in the salon world.”
Business these first two years has far exceeded their expectations. In fact, Refuge Salon now has a 6-page waitlist to get in the door.
“We’d open a second location right now if we could staff it,” said Mitch, who concedes that finding enough help is the challenge. The businesses, which are open year-round, Tuesday-Saturday, currently have three employees.
