Step into The Piping Plover in downtown Manistee, and you’ll find not only a clothing boutique, but also an art gallery and community gathering space.
Lauren Carlson opened the store in May 2024 and from the beginning, she knew she wanted to do more than sell women’s clothes. Lauren wanted to create a place that encompassed the community, elevated artists, brought families together, and promoted local and sustainable brands.
This spring, with the help of a small business grant from 20Fathoms and Venture North, Lauren is also working to expand the boutique’s digital presence in order to strengthen year-round sales.
We spoke with Lauren recently about her unique boutique, her experience as an entrepreneur, and how she plans to better connect with tourist shoppers.
The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
20Fathoms: Can you tell me about The Piping Plover and what sets your store apart?
The idea behind the store was I wanted a way for a local business to act like a third space, which is a public and private sector mix where people can informally run into each other and keep active social connections in a downtown community. It was really important to me as a community member to do what I can to support our local businesses and make our downtown vibrant, inviting, and inclusive.
20Fathoms: Tell me more about how your store serves as a community space.
Lauren: I wanted the business to be able to support arts and creativity in our community. In addition to being a retail clothing store, it’s also a gallery space showcasing West Michigan artists. We’ve also hosted poetry reading and “meet the muralist” events.
Plus, I wanted it to be an intergenerational space – a place where grandma, mom, and grandchild could come and find a little something at the store. I love shopping and I have great memories of shopping with my mom and grandmother when I was a little girl.
20Fathoms: How do you approach the seasonality of managing a retail space in a town like Manistee?
Lauren: Visitors are an important community sector and a significant part of our place. It’s hard when you live in a tourist town, and it can be easy to take sides. But I feel like we can overcome our initial prejudices about visitors and see all of us as wheels on a spoke that have a similar center. Manistee – this place – is important to all of us.
My hypothesis is that through building a professional, high-quality website, I can harness the visiting customer traffic and use it throughout the year. There are people who visit Manistee one time, buy something from the store, and then they’re gone. How can I maintain a connection with that person? I am working on leveraging electronic media, social media, and our website to keep that connection.
20Fathoms: You recently received a small business grant from 20Fathoms and Venture North. How will that help your business?
Lauren: The grant will allow us to standardize the product photography across our website in order to build that connection with our visiting customers. It will fund photo equipment and a photo space including a backdrop, mannequins, display fixtures, lighting, and a computer for photo editing.
20Fathoms: What was your background prior to opening the store?
Lauren: My background is in retail, as well as art space community development. I started my career in Minnesota and worked as a member of the arts council and for ArtPlace America.
I’m also a poet and just published my first book!
20Fathoms: What was it like transitioning to business ownership and opening your store?
With business, my growth area is taking a risk and trying something out as an experiment. My background as a writer is so analytical. I want to analyze everything and feel like I have all of the information before I act, but this is not like that at all.
20Fathoms: How has 20Fathoms been helpful to you?
It’s been helpful to me in terms of feeling extra support from the broader business community. I know who to call if I have a question, or if I’m looking for a mentor, or if I run into funding problems.
It’s like having a fourth leg on a three-legged stool. You just feel a little sturdier and more aware of where the resources are.
20Fathoms: What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Lauren: Think of failure as a stepping stone on the road to discovery. If something doesn’t go well, don’t think that it’s all over. Instead think of it as information that you have that you didn’t have before.
