We were lucky to catch up with Elizabeth Clark recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I come from the social work world but have always been a creative soul and often used my creativity as a stress outlet from the daily mental stress of social work. Eventually I used my creativity to start a part-time business selling my creations. I tried selling my creations online but you really have to have a lot of time to dedicate towards keeping up with it and working a full time social work job it was hard to do that. Then I started looking for store front space to sell my creations. That was defeating. The only place I did find was a local shop and I only got in because my relatives owned it! I quickly realized there was very few outlets for local artisans in the Green Bay area to showcase and/or sell their talents. I started looking at the few places that did exist. Most of them had extensive waitlists to get into, high booth fees, and (in my opinion) didn’t really showcase the person behind the talent. You would see the product and know that someone made it but there was no face behind it. I found myself wanting to know more about these people. Perhaps its the social worker in me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to connect more to the artist behind the product.
I was in between jobs (in my regular 9-5 social work career) when my brother decided to take a chance on me. He had rentable space available very close to my house. He explained that even though we are family this would still be a business transaction and I would rent the space. He knew that I always wanted to open my own storefront to sell my creations and he was offering me the opportunity. I decided that I would turn the space into a place to showcase collectors and creators of all kinds. I would make it my own. But, as you all most likely know, social workers do not make a lot of money, so I had to be smart about finances.
I decided that I, with the help of family and friends would turn the space into my vision instead of hiring out a company to do it. It was A LOT of work. The building was previously an archery shop. There were holes in literally every wall. Power was working in half of the building, ceiling tiles were missing, Wires were randomly pulled and hanging out of walls, plumbing was turned on to one side of the building only. and what was left of the walls were painted black, yes, black! We started demo in January ’23 and I decided what i wanted the building to look like, what walls could go and what walls stayed. It was so refreshing to be able to make the space exactly what i wanted. in order to cut costs we used recycled lumber and discounted lumber. To get the appearance of shiplap wood we used cheap wall paneling. I used light colored neutral paint for the walls to ensure that it was bright and airy. I was able to build 33 booth spaces and 6 shelf spaces for potential vendors. What I decided to do that would set us apart from most business similar to mine was to add that connection to the person behind the creations. Each booth would have a space for the vendors photo (if they chose to display it) along with a write up about them, how they started and about their creations. I wanted to be able to give these people the credit for their talents and really showcase them.
By March I was able to add my finishing touches by hand painting walls, adding decorative light fixtures and decorating the space. I wanted the space to resemble the vision in my head, but also have little homages to me and my history.
The front walls of the store near the windows are adorned with small black and white photos of my ancestors, The windows have hand drawn flowers on them (i am obsessed with flowers) The back wall behind the checkout was hand painted by me and its abstract watercolor with gold leaf. The wall that you see when you first walk in has a large picture of my Great-Great Grandma standing behind the counter of the store that she owned in Chicago and then another photo of my father standing in the first gas station he ever owned and built from the ground up. I wanted people to walk in and see the heart and emotion that was put in to the building and I think I was able to accomplish that.

Elizabeth , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always been creative since little on. I always tell people that it runs in my blood. My Great-Great Grandmother actually came here from Poland and her job in the US was making wood fiber flowers. She would make floral arrangements as well. I think a lot of my talent stems from her. My love of flowers has always been destined to be. I grew up spending summers with my grandparents and their entire yard is a garden. Its a beautiful and tranquil space. Having grown up with them they were always showing me how to plant, taking me to greenhouses or walking me around the yard telling me the names of different plants. Naturally, I started planting my own flowers, gardening and making real and silk floral arrangements. I have done flowers for numerous weddings and events and continue to do so. My love of plants and flowers shows throughout the store too, as I have many plants throughout, a DIY plant terrarium station and I sell mainly floral décor.

As time went on I was looking for different mediums and ways to create. I have always been a big earring person and love accessorizing so I taught myself how to make earrings. I use clay and resin as my medium. I really enjoy making earrings because I love seeing the final product and no two are the same. Recently, I combined my passion for hunting for beach glass and earring making. I take beach glass found from Lake Michigan and make earrings using resin. These are by far my favorite!

I also do a lot of floral painting and resin geode art. My little area of the store has all of the products that I make and then I also hunt for unique vintage treasures or purchase boutique items to sell. I want it to be filled with unique products that you cant find anywhere else. I truly feel that there is something for everyone here. I think that you can find a lot of market style stores but what sets us apart from the rest is that there is a mix of vintage, new, and handmade products. Its not all just vintage. I think the other main distinguishing factor that sets us apart is the acknowledgement that we give to our vendors (like mentioned in the previous question)
I also try to be reflective of who I am as a person and where I came from throughout the store. I am proud of my social work background (and plan on going back after i get my masters online) I partnered with one vendor who is not charged any rent to be in the store because her products are made my local indigenous woman from Equador and all of the proceeds from purchases go directly to Golden House-a local domestic violence shelter (I do not take any percentage of the profits that she makes). I also have a little area that has a rock garden which contains hand painted rocks with inspirational sayings on them. The goal is so take a rock if you need motivation and leave a painted rock for inspiration. People can take a rock for free and either hide them in the green bay area for someone to find or gift them to someone who needs it and then I encourage people to bring in their panted rocks to share.

The other really unique and fun thing that we do here is have all kinds of different events. our previous events have included: sip and shop wine tasting, free donuts for national donut day, free portraits from a local photographer. We plan on continuing with various events and hope to start having classes teaching locals how to create different things hosted by some of our talented vendors. I also plan on having vendor nights where all of the vendors can come into the store after hours just to connect with one another. I want it to be a family feel where everyone feels safe and supported. We will also be having outdoor markets to provide a chance for vendors who are not currently selling in the store to still be a part of the store.

The other thing that sets us apart is our little shop mascot, my dog, Archie. He is at the store with me everyday greeting everyone who enters. Our vendors all love him and most of our customers love him too! I swear people have started coming just to see him!

Since we opened fairly recently (end of April) we will be having a big grand opening party that will have a food truck, live music (by one of our talented vendors), an outdoor market and some games for kiddos. We are really excited for that!

Currently our store consists of 34 different vendors: A Little Bit of This & A Little Bit of That, Esme and Chrissy’s Corner, Angie’s She Shed of Treasures, Curse of Curves, Zac’s Emporium, Misc, Bean Cosmetics and Vintage Co, Bernardine’s Cardinal, Rae of Sunshine Sublimination, The Artsy Fartsy Donkey, Zosia, Gili Glass, Stella Blu, The Fairy Dog Mother, RP Designs, Olive + Renn Candle Studio, Blossom and Blooms, Chalking at the White Elephant, Melanie’s One of a Kind Creations, Chip’s Treasures, Moody Cat Vintage, Pearly Grey, True Roots, Ecozen Store LLC, Dora’s Dream Vintage, Retro Sunsets, Finishing Touches, Caffeine, Chaos and Crafts, Random Trader, Grandpa’s Attic, Lavender Lane Unlimited, Pieces of my Vintage Heart and This Ol’ Thing, Sunflowers and Grace, LB Mystery Games, and Kait’s.
We have makers who make things such as: purses that are made out of recycled office materials, stained glass art, candles, 100% natural skin and beauty products, paper flower art, chalk signs and decor, wood flowers, tumblers, resin art, pot holders, clothing, jewelry and more.
We have collectors collecting things such as MCM items, cookie jars, vintage mushroom themed items, and more!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I briefly share about this in a previous question, but I will give further detail. I come from a social work background. I worked for Salvation Army for numerous years as the lead social worker there. I loved the job and my work family. My boss ended up retiring and I was nervous about the change and at the same time as this happened I was offered a lead role with another agency that has a significantly higher pay rate and a nice fancy office. I thought, at the time, that that is what I needed. I ended up hating it. Because it was a higher up position I had literally no client interaction and that was my favorite part of social work-case management. I ended up leaving that position before having anything else lined up because it was bringing me down so much. Around the same time as this occurred my brother was loosing a tenant from a building that he owns. We are twins and its just the two of us so we are pretty close and he has always known that a huge dream of mine was to have my own boutique storefront to sell my creations and beautiful things. He came to me and said that he was willing to take a chance on me but that I would still have to pay rent. I was unemployed at this time with a little bit of savings to my name. I had to think of a way to be able to make rent payments without a 9-5 job so that I could put my effort into turning this dream into a reality. That’s when I brainstormed with my brother and we decided on turning it into a market type store with rentable space. The rent booth fees would help pay my rent for the building. The entire store wouldn’t be boutique style items like I originally dreamt, it would be better. It would be things that people cant find anywhere else and I could control who i chose to sell in the store and what type of products we would have. It would be a community of like minded creative individuals showcasing their talents. I knew nothing about business so my brother (a local business man) had to mentor me and help me get started. He sat with me for hours helping me to figure out margins, booth fees, finding a POS system that would work, and much more. I really wouldn’t have been able to do it without his support and help. My mother was also a big support, helping to be my voice of reason and supporting me financially at times if I needed it. I am so very thankful for both of them,
Even though I miss my Salvation Army family and the job that I had there, and that I ended up taking a chance by leaving Salvation Army to try the other job just to end up being unemployed for a bit… I don’t think that I would change it. Everything happened for a reason and has lead me to here. I can continue to create and work on getting my masters degree online while I tend the store.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think that I show resilience everyday. I do not come from the business world. I come from the Social work world. Let me tell you, that shift is drastic and it is hard for me. I am used to people coming to me for help or assistance but when they would come to me it would be with earthshattering things, like, I’m going to loose my home and be on the street. And now owning my own business, people still need me all of the time, but its not earthshattering. Its, “hey how much is this?” “is this for sale?” “How come I cant see what I sold?” It sounds crazy to say that its hard to go from the two extremes but it is. It seems trivial and is hard for me to be customer service pleasant all the time. Often times I question if I am doing the right thing and if I should just close up shop and go back to social work. As most of you already know, social workers do not make a lot of money, and this business is not a profit making business. So often times I struggle with thoughts of “do I want to make such little money actually making a difference in the world or owning a store?” And I know that I am making a difference in a different way but its hard to feel fulfilled and purposeful in this business venture compared to social work. I am not business savvy and there is a huge learning curve here. I make mistakes everyday and ask my brother a million questions which most likely drives him nuts, but I keep going for a few reasons: 1. to be able to have this community of like minded creative individuals and to be able to give them the acknowledgment that they deserve for their talents. 2. to be able to create 3. and to be able to show people that you can do it all, you can make all of your dreams come true. I have always wanted to be a social worker and I don’t plan on giving up that career, I plan on furthering it by getting my masters at the same time of running the store. I have always wanted a store and I am not going to give that up either. I will find a way to keep it up and running when i go back to social work. you can have the best of both worlds.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisandthat1188/

Image Credits
J. Mckaeve Photography….. Ecozen Store LLC, Moody Cat Vintage