More room for curiosity
At the Trading Post, one stone can lead to a question, a guide, a polishing wheel, a finished piece, and another trip to the beach. Jennifer and Scot are exploring a future where that whole journey has more room to unfold.
These are concept illustrations, not final plans. They show one possible way the ideas Jennifer and Scot are exploring could work together.
Inside the current shop, the larger idea is visible in pieces. Visitors can compare labeled specimens, ask Jennifer and Scot about a find, browse the field guide and tools, watch a stone change at the wheel, or choose something made from Michigan materials.
Classes turn the process into a hands-on experience. Customer stones become polished keepsakes and custom work. Online conversations and summer treasure hunts carry the questions back to the beach. Together, those experiences form a path from finding a stone to understanding it, working with it, and sharing the result.
The next chapter is about more than adding shelves. It is about making that path easier to see, enter, and follow.
It may begin with a pattern that appears when a wet stone catches the light. From there comes identification: what is it, how was it formed, and where might someone find another? The next question is what to do with it.
Some stones belong in a pocket or on a shelf exactly as they were found. Others invite hand polishing, time at the wheel, or a finished piece that keeps the place and the memory close. The Trading Post already touches every part of that journey through its displays, book, classes, services, jewelry, and practical guidance.
With more room, visitors could follow those connections more clearly in one place, from shoreline geology to hands-on craft.
The details are still taking shape. Each of these possibilities begins with something Jennifer and Scot already do.
A collection people can read. The labeled specimens already in the shop point toward richer, museum-quality displays where visitors can compare patterns, origins, and finishes. Books and the Trading Post's early puzzle work could carry that learning from the display table into the field and home.
See the puzzle workMore room to learn by doing. Today's small classes make room for questions and close guidance at the wheel. A dedicated teaching area could support more hands-on learning, demonstrations, and new class formats without losing that personal scale.
Lake Michigan as the larger classroom. The field guide, online rock community, and summer treasure hunts already connect the shop to beaches across Leelanau County. Future walks, field lessons, or outdoor demonstrations could help people carry what they learn back to the shoreline.
A home for what comes next
Our current space has helped Northport Trading Post grow, but its long-term availability is no longer something we can take for granted. A permanent home would provide the stability and room to expand hands-on learning, lapidary work, Michigan stone displays, and the Trading Post experience for years to come.
Help make it possible
Contribute directly through the Trading Post's PayPal Business page.
Northport Trading Post is a for-profit business. Contributions are voluntary, are not represented as tax-deductible, and do not provide goods, services, ownership, repayment, or investment return.
Recognition levels and full detailsQuestions about the vision?
Send Jennifer and Scot a note about the project, the future space, or anything you would like to know.