Marrying modern and rustic

Preparing to welcome you to the remodeled M-22 Store are co-owner Katy Wiesen, Elle Barrett, Whitney Weber and Dianna Polley.

What’s new in Glen Arbor this spring

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

Katy and Matt Wiesen’s M-22 Store has doubled in size.

The clothing brand homage to the state highway already anchored downtown Glen Arbor if you crossed the Crystal River and entered from the northeast. Now the M-22 Store boasts a second floor and a sleek, galvanized steel and soft, barn wood exterior.

The building’s façade marries modern with historic, urban with rural.

“We wanted to do something that would make a statement but also blend in,” says Katy. The Wiesens worked with Traverse City architect Andy Rink and Cooley Contracting. The store closed for the first time this past winter and re-opened in mid-May.

The new-look ground floor now features a vastly expanded line of M-22 apparel products, including “destination t-shirts” that showcase not just the highway but favorite vistas Pyramid Point and Whaleback near Leland. Much of the clothing is decidedly sporty. “We have active wear, cycling gear and running wear,” says Katy. “The brand continues to grow. We got to a spot where we needed more space.” That includes racks for kids clothing because, says Katy, the M-22 Store in Glen Arbor attracts more families, whereas the original store in Traverse City appeals to millennials.

The space also offers an expanded bar for wine tasting. Black Star Farms makes 14 custom blends for the store. (The original M-22 Store, on Front St. in Traverse City, doesn’t offer wine tasting: only Matt and Katy’s Glen Arbor location does.)

The M-22 Store’s second floor houses company offices that, Katy says, were sorely needed. The Wiesens also own The Cyclery next door and Crystal River Outfitters across the street. They employ 36 workers during the height of summer and 5 year-round. “We needed the extra space to be able to meet and brainstorm,” says Katy.

In other company news, Crystal River Outfitters has expanded its line of apparel to include brand names such as Quiksilver, Vissla, Reef, Olukai, Carve Designs, Dakine, O’Neill, Hatley, Synergy, Kavu, and Smith Optics.

“We like to say that Crystal River Outfitters isn’t just for renting your kayak or canoe,” says Katy. “We put the ‘outfit’ in ‘outfitters’. … Every other year we take our managers to a surf festival in Florida, just to stay current with the trends.”

Meanwhile, The Cyclery prepares to up its game now that the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail has expanded north toward Port Oneida.

Working out, old school

Stacy Jago has moved Total Results Xtraining (TRX), along with Total Bliss Yoga, from the Village Sampler Plaza to the Old Schoolhouse. The consortium of artists who exhibited in this space last summer moved to the building on M-109 formerly occupied by Ashmun Portrait Art. (Read more about their Arbor Gallery in the June 11 edition of the Glen Arbor Sun.)

Jago, a 42-year-old (you wouldn’t know it!) native of Newberry in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, spent two years in the Village Sampler Plaza before this move. This after running a fitness studio in Los Angeles. “Fitness should be an everyday thing,” says Jago.

Many in this community live by that mantra. Leelanau is consistently rated the healthiest county in Michigan, and among the healthiest nationwide. The expansion of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail toward Port Oneida for bikers, runners and roller bladers offers incentive to stay fit.

As does Jago’s cross-training method. TRX incorporates suspension training that leverages gravity and bodyweight and allows you to perform hundreds of exercises using a system of ropes. “Train the way you move,” is another mantra for Jago. At the studio, she offers hands-on personal training because, as she says, “people get lost in the gym when they work out alone, and that makes me cry.”

Glen Arbor’s boudoir

A woman who entered Heather Sack’s Arabella Concepts in early May compared the gallery to “someone’s boudoir”. The word refers to a lady’s private dressing room, particularly in France or Victorian England.

She considered the analogy to be the ultimate compliment. “This is more than a jewelry shop. I want to make it an experience to come here.”

Heather and Chris Sack own Great Lakes Tea & Spice, next to the Good Harbor Grill on M-109. But until this year, Arabella was confined to a 10-by-12-foot shed boutique behind the teashop, easily missed by some passersby.

This spring, Arabella re-opened a gemstone’s throw to the west, in the space formerly occupied by Dokan Jewelry. “It was time to grow up and take it to the next level,” says Heather. “I needed more visibility.”

Arabella, which launched in 2009, offers unique handmade items and jewelry and clothing that vary in style and design. Heather has curated her products from friends and artists all over the world. She has textiles from as far as Istanbul and Uzbekistan. Last fall she traveled to the Turkish city, which straddles the line between Europe and Asia. “I want to make it an experience to come here,” she says.

That experience will include champagne tasting, on Wednesday nights from 5-9 p.m. beginning June 24. Heather’s friends who own the Gold Medal Wine Club in Santa Barbara, Calif., sent her a case of their bubbly.

As for Great Lakes Tea & Spice, don’t be fooled by the “for sale” sign. The building is for sale, but the store will be open for business all summer.

Carol Spaulding joins Ruth Conklin

Another new additional to Glen Arbor’s western arts district, Carol Spaulding will exhibit her landscape paintings on a wall of Ruth Conklin Gallery through this summer and fall. Spaulding, who founded Peace Pole Makers with her husband Joe, has held many art shows over the years at Lake Street Studios.

“I used to help Ruth out at her gallery,” says Carol. “I’ve always been very fond of her.”

At Ruth Conklin Gallery, Carol will exhibit gouache paintings of landscape scenery. “I’m predominantly an oil painter, but this is a water method that has similarities to oil,” she says. “It’s gonna be great to team up with Ruth.”

Spaulding will also offer painting workshops this summer at her home gallery near Maple City. To visit her personal gallery, call ahead: 231-334-3377.

Nemecek runs WAG

Nicole Nemecek is not a new face to patrons of the Western Avenue Grill. She’s worked at the downtown restaurant for 12 years. This year, she takes over manager duties from Bill Skolnik.

“Being a former (Glen Lake) Laker, there is a camaraderie thorough the generations,” says Nicole. “I know many of the locals and I have been given a warm welcome taking this full-time job.”

This summer the Grill will offer karaoke every Saturday night at 9 p.m. The restaurant will serve breakfast and lunch from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., to accommodate both early risers and latecomers. “I think we can appeal to everyone if they’re looking for Eggs Benedict or a fresh whitefish sandwich,” says Nicole.