Spotlight On…. Tamarack Builders with Owner Mike Potts

Tell us what Tamarack Builders is all about.

Tamarack Builders is a small company primarily doing remodeling and light commercial construction in Marquette since about 1998. We specialize in older buildings, some that might be considered tear-downs. I like that kind of stuff compared to more modern houses and buildings.

Very nice, talented, thoughtful people work with me. When we’re doing projects, we make sure things are done correctly. Sometimes previous work by others has to be corrected. It can be easy to breeze by those things and say they’re fine, but we try to make sure things are done properly.

For example, with remodeling for energy efficiency, we do insulation and venting to prevent ice dams, which can be a huge issue here. Water infiltration issues, proper flashing techniques—all are very important. By doing so, you extend the life of that building, increasing its energy efficiency and decreasing the likelihood that it will get torn down later.

By extending the life of a building, you’re minimizing its carbon footprint because of the embodied carbon in the materials.

For instance, concrete lasts a long time but it’s really carbon-intensive to make. If you can save a building, you’re preserving that embodied carbon. When things get torn down, it all goes in the landfill, plus you use new materials that have their own carbon footprint.

A lot of these old buildings in Marquette were built with old growth lumber. As they get torn down and their components are thrown away, it’s just gone. I try to save building materials. It often doesn’t take that much effort to save stuff. I put old two-by-fours in a pile. When you get enough stuff, you can make something—countertops, sheds—out of the recycled building parts. I’m a little bit of a hoarder of vintage building materials and try to re-use them the best I can. Old studs are beautiful. I try to save those for re-use.

The other day when it was raining, we had enough stuff saved up that we could build a couple of things at the shop out of recycled materials. It’s rewarding and fun to be able to do that. Not always cheaper, but very rewarding. We built a small boat shed entirely out of recycled materials. We installed a couple of recycled doors using recycled materials and re-purposed what we took out. Small stuff but it adds up.

It’s a personal thing.

It feels really good to be able to put something together, like a boat shed, from salvaged materials. It’s good practice for my employees to think it through and make things work. It’s always good for people to practice all these techniques, use them on a small scale. It’s a good way to gain more experience with something like this.

Three good-size commercial projects we did recently were in buildings that were in really bad shape. Little updating had been done to them; one even had some original wallpaper. We spent the time and money to bring them up to code. One building was far from meeting current codes. If there had ever been a fire there, it would have been devastating. We extended the life of these buildings for a very long time.

One of them was the McLean Chiropractic building on Third Street. It had been slated to be torn down for the last twenty years. Now since we’ve done the work on it, it’s up and running, and good for another hundred years.

I’ve worked on a lot of historic buildings—Donckers, Downtown Eye Care, Evergreen Market, what’s now Queen City Running Company on Baraga, the previous flower shop there, and many vintage residential buildings. I really enjoy that. It’s a lot of fun.

How did you get into this line of work?

I’d worked as a carpenter on Mackinac Island in the ’80s and ’90s. I moved to Marquette and building was a way I could make a living with my skill set, and offered a flexible schedule. When I had kids, I could take time off to be with them, go to their events, drive them around, or whatever. was needed. That was a huge draw for me, enhancing my life and hopefully the life of my family too. Having the ability to take care of someone when they’re sick is important. You can’t do that as easily if you run a retail store. Contracting gives a little flexibility. I extend that flexibility to my employees too. It usually doesn’t make a huge difference if we need to take a few hours off. People need that time to have a healthy balance. Work-life balance is number one. I’m not doing this to get rich, and that’s okay because my work-life balance has been very good.

What do you find most challenging about your work?
Doing the paperwork–billing and trying to keep track of that end of the business is not something I like to do. I love being on the job, being with my employees, and working on projects.

Anything else you’d like our readers to know?
As a builder, I think people should know these old buildings are worth investing in. It’s worth coming up with a systematic, comprehensive approach. These older structures are valuable and contain a lot of embodied carbon. If we have any hope for climate change, we need to take care of them.

It’s astounding to see what’s thrown away—it’s unreal, all the building materials. It’s heartbreaking to see what goes in the landfill. I’m not saying we can recycle everything, but we can do more. We’ve got to make efforts toward sustainability. I’ve encouraged green building, energy efficiency, and presrvation. The luxury of building a new green structure is not achievable for a lot of people, but in every structure, there’s potential for comfort, energy efficiency, and financial savings.

Spotlight On…. Amelia’s Craft Market & Boutique with Owner Amelia McDonald

Marquette MI craft market and boutique, UP holistic business

What is Amelia’s Craft Market & Boutique all about?

It’s an opportunity for my husband and I to sell products that we create through woodworking and laser in my hometown, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, while also providing an outlet for other creators to sell their products too. We know how difficult the whole craft show business can be.

Thirty to thirty-five other local creators and small Midwest businesses are represented in our store. We carry a wide variety of clothing, home décor, gifts, personal care items such as soaps, essential oil chap sticks, bug sprays and home cleaning products. We have merchandise for all ages and both genders. It’s not just a ladies store; it’s for everybody. We are always looking for other products to meet the interests of our UP audience!

What prompted you to open your shop?

In August 2021, my mom, Barbie Ward-Thomas, was looking for other opportunities and I asked if she’d be willing to manage and run a store with my husband Nick and I. We live in Wisconsin so it wouldn’t have happened if she wasn’t willing to run it for us day-to-day. I thought my mom and husband would say I was crazy, but both said, “Let’s do it!” The idea came to life on August 26 and we quickly began preparing. We opened on Front Street in downtown Marquette on October 9. The support of my mom for my dream had a huge impact on making it happen.

The UP is a huge part of my and my husband’s heart. I was born and raised here. Nick was raised in Lower Michigan and moved to the UP to go to college. We both went to Northern Michigan University. We moved to northern Wisconsin for job opportunities for ourselves and our children, but our hearts are still in Marquette and the UP. That’s why we wanted our shop in Marquette.

What skills and experiences have helped you to open and run it?

My parents ran the Red Horse Ranch in Gwinn during my childhood. Mom has been in food service or retail ever since. My entire post-college life has included lots of customer service–first in the restaurant business and then in education. My husband went into construction and woodworking after twelve years in law enforcement. I just left my education career this spring so I could navigate my businesses. I was Dean of Students at an elementary school and an elementary school teacher prior to that.

How did you and your husband become interested in making wood and laser products?

Nick grew up in construction and has always had a passion for woodworking. We started remodeling our home and then branched out. He stumbled upon videos about CNC machines and we took the leap and purchased one, and that led us to our lasers.

What do you find most challenging about running Amelia’s?

It’s technically business number three, and I’m a mom of four boys. Navigating family and multiple businesses can be challenging. I’m able to be successful due to the support of my mom and my family. Also, the weather in the UP makes a huge impact on small business, so you just never know what your business activity will look like from month to month.

What do you enjoy most about running the business?

My favorite part is that I can share our hard work and our passion for what we do and also support other small businesses.

Sharing your work through craft shows and vendor events, you have to carry all your products there; you have to set them up and take them down. Wood products are very difficult because they’re very heavy and can also get damaged being moving around. You have to fit multiple days on end into your schedule. We have set up our business so that our vendors don’t have to work in the store. They can set up their merchandise and then it stays. Many also share their products at craft shows or other places. My husband and I have been able to downsize the amount of events we do.

What do customers enjoy most about your shop?

Customers really enjoy our product choices. We try to be very selective to reach the Marquette area. They also comment on the openness and airiness of the store, and the customer service experience. My mom has a lifetime of experience through food service and customer service. Our customers really appreciate her welcoming, friendly help.

What are your future plans for Amelia’s?

We will be having more classes on site, in our room at the back. Two of our other creators have already taught classes – one taught an acrylic painting class and another taught some jewelry making. Craft opportunities are there. We’re also working very hard to have youth classes so kids can experience making crafts and other projects. We were recently approved to start selling off-premise beer and wine, so in the near future, customers will be able to purchase beers and wines from Michigan and the Midwest.

What else would you like our readers to know?

This has been a crazy dream and a lot of fun! We decided “Let’s just have fun with this!” And we’re really glad we can help other creators and the people who love their work.