The former Gabe’s Country Market building in Maple City has new life.
Leelanau County resident and local business entrepreneur Meg Paxton has rehabbed the desolate building over the past four years into a retail space called The Blue Maple Corner to show her creations .
Rehabbing the building has been a long journey for Paxton who purchase the property in 2019. Now she has to get used to a profession that she hasn’t done in 25 years—retail.
“I am able to do anything that I want here. I’ve got all of my toys, so I can make the clothes, I can make the bags,” Paxton said.
The Teenie Weenie Store operates while she attends to her various other projects, which include embroidery, sewing, photography, and more.
From jackets to leashes and collars, Teenie Weenie in Maple City has it all for any sized dog.
“If you have something silly you want to put on their collar or whatever, we can now embroider their name and your number on their collar in many different fonts.”
All of the fun for the dog shop happens in the sewing and embroidery space where you can find Paxton and her sister, Emily, passionately focused on whatever garment is next for creation or repair.
“That’s where we get to make anything and everything possible,” Paxton said.
One project includes making a Harley Davidson leather jacket patch for a client. The patch has 56,000 stitches, while a normal logo on a shirt typically has 12,000.
“You can pick a dog and put it on a towel, sweatshirt, a bag, or whatever. We have many versions and abilities to make it realistic,” Paxton explained.
Paxton admits she has purged the house and made plenty of extra space by moving the dog store into the Maple City store Paxton is preparing to deal with the summertime traffic, as she is one of the area’s most refined and renowned photographers with her business Meg Paxton Photography.
“My jobs are early in the morning... I’m trying to adhere to the schedule I set,” Paxton said. “Until I get someone in or we’re in a place that supports having an employee, I’ll just be here when I’m here.”
If Paxton is not there, making an appointment will be the best course of action.
It doesn’t matter which breed of dog it is; Paxton, a certified dog lover, respects all breeds.
“You can pick who you want, and then you can put them on whatever hat. It’s custom enough that if you know somebody and you need to get them a gift, get them something with their dog’s breed or their dog’s name on it, and they’ll love you forever,” Paxton said.
A customized sweatshirt with your dog’s face will cost under $50, depending on the fabric.
As the storefront project nears completion, Paxton can’t help but think about other projects on the horizon.
“I need to keep going, or I’ll sit down and get super depressed. So a project of this magnitude has kept me occupied for a good four years,” she said. “It kept my brain where it needed to be. I still have another room that’s 1,000 square feet, and still have 2,000 square feet upstairs. So I have to keep biting off projects here.”
This project may have taken her four years of hard work, but she certainly made a dream a reality.
“The entire place is like the hobby farm of keeping my brain entertained,” Paxton said.
Paxton knows her customization stands out as a small business from the larger production runs. She also does business cards, website design, t-shirts, and more as another side project.
“If tomorrow you’re already prepared with a full, proper, functioning business all set up and done, you don’t have to freak out when it becomes an issue,” Paxton said.
