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A fresh start
Cedar Springs Brewing Co.’s CSBrew Farmers Market has returned for the second year this summer, featuring an assortment of fresh, locally farmed fruits, vegetables, meats and other products. The brewery’s restaurant also will source ingredients from market vendors for dinner specials throughout the season. The market, located at 95 N. Main St. in Cedar Springs, will be open 3-7 p.m. every Thursday through September. For more details, go to csbrew.com/news/farm market.
Risk-free beauty
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WHEN KC SPRINGBERG learned many store-bought nail polishes could contain potentially harmful toxins, such as toluene and formaldehyde, she decided to take matters into her own hands, creating a nail polish formula that is 7-toxin free. “It eliminates possible exposure to chemicals like endocrine disrupters and carcinogens that are found in the mainstream nail polish,” said Springberg, who operates Northern Nail Polish out of her Traverse City home studio. “Painting your nails is supposed to be fun, and I wanted to provide a safe alternative for both women and girls to enjoy.” In the last six years, Springberg, who makes all of the polish herself by hand, has gone from producing just four glittery colors to a wide range of 75 colors to choose from, many inspired by “the places, events and people of Northern Michigan that I hold so dear,” she said. Find Northern Nail Polish online at northernnailpolish.com.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY ELYSE MARIE WELCHER (TOP RIGHT); ELLA CROCKETT (BOTTOM); THINKSTOCK (TOP LEFT)
EAT, DRINK, SHOP
After five years of serving the community as Parliament the Boutique, the locally focused boutique shop at 136 S. Division Ave. rebranded as Gemini Handmade in June. “In many ways, we will still be the same great Parliament — the highest quality of handcrafted goods from local and midwestern, independent makers,” said founder and creative director Elyse Marie Welcher, who co-owns the shop with her husband Jacob Vroon. “But, the shift in resident artists in the space means we were able to expand the shop significantly and are including more accessibly priced gifts in our curation, as well as a rotating selection of plants and plant-related goods.” The store also is working to define its offerings in private label, wedding and corporate gifts, and wholesale production offerings for other businesses. Welcher and Vroon’s personal story, in part, inspired the new name. The two were born just two days apart at Grand Rapids’ Butterworth Hospital in June 1988, under the sign of the Gemini. The store, fittingly, re-opened on the couple’s 30th birthday weekend. “Shifting the name of the store after five years in business as we move into a new decade of our lives together — it all lined up very perfectly,” Welcher said. “And sometimes, it really is nice when ‘the story’ does tie up with a bow before moving onto the next chapter.” For more information, visit Gemini Handmade online at geminihandmade.com.
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