As communities across the country prepare to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary next month, Michigan makers and small businesses are counting on patriotic fervor to cash in on the historic commemoration of the nation’s birth.
From striped candles and patriotic cookies to wooden lanterns and commemorative plaques, local entrepreneurs say the milestone is giving customers myriad ways to cheer the semiquincentennial.
“It’s obviously a big year for America,” said Lindsay Wood, owner of Kymora Kandles in St. Johns. Wood has introduced a line of red, white and blue striped candles to light up 250th celebrations.
“I wanted to make something that our brand could offer that was nice for 250, so I came up with a striped candle, which is our first,” Wood said. “We don’t normally do layered candles, so this is kind of something new for us.”
Making the special candles requires more time and precision because each layer must cool before the next is poured, Wood said: “It takes a fair amount of skill to make sure that it turns out correctly.”
Customer response has been strong, with about half of the initial inventory already sold. In addition to selling her candles at her shop in St. Johns, she sells the candles at Michigan Barn Wood & Salvage in Mason, which offers other types of patriotic merchandise, too.
Kendra Patterson, co-owner of Michigan Barn Wood & Salvage LLC, said she suggested that vendors consider creating products tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“We kind of throw it out there to our vendors, ‘Hey, this is the category that we’re doing,’” Patterson said. “We always leave it up to our vendors to decide what they make and how much they make.”
The store, which has carried products from more than 100 Michigan small businesses, has an Americana display that is drawing customers as July 4 nears, Patterson said.
“We’ve seen a good amount of people,” she said. “I think a lot of people are hosting this year, so they’re coming up with some fun things to decorate their homes and tables with.”
Shoppers often seek out locally made products: “I think there’s a level of pride when people see that it’s made in Michigan by local people,” Patterson said. “People know our store for quality handmade and Michigan goods. I think that adds to people wanting to keep their dollars here in Michigan.”
Among the vendors creating anniversary-themed products for sale at Patterson’s business is Dave Butler, who sells laser-cut wood creations under the name Daydreamer Crafts.
A Holt resident, Butler is an Army veteran who was stationed in Germany during his military service. He said he draws inspiration from patriotic themes and then develops his own designs.
“It gives me ideas, and then you start creating and blending and putting things together,” he said. His 250th anniversary merchandise includes lanterns and plaques featuring eagles, American flags and references to 1776 and 2026.
One featured piece is an 11-by-18-inch plaque that was created for a store giveaway. The design features an American flag as the background, with an eagle and a torch overlaid on top of it. It includes the years 1776 and 2026 and the phrase “250 Years of Freedom.”
“It was a good day or so for the design, to get it all together,” Butler said. “You can actually see and feel the depth. The wings, the feathers — it’s all-dimensional.”
The sweet taste of celebration
A sweet treat can also be a canvas for celebrating America.
At Cupcakes and Kisses in St. Johns, manager Courtney Sharick said the bakery designed red, white and blue sugar cookies featuring “250” and “USA” designs for customers planning Independence Day celebrations and other gatherings.
“With it being the 250th anniversary, birthday, we definitely wanted to put our own spin on that,” Sharick said.
The bakery, part of a nationwide franchise, allows individual stores freedom to tailor products to their communities, she said.
“Everyone is super excited,” Sharick said. “A lot of people are requesting them, coming in and buying them because they have barbecues and cookouts and parties planned for the Fourth.”
She said the bakery has received numerous custom orders in recent weeks, including several orders of 48 tri-color cookies for holiday gatherings.
“It’s a big year, it’s a big anniversary,” she said. “And my own opinion is the world can be a dark place, and anything that we can do to put a smile on our face and give back and show that we’re patriotic, we love our country, we love our community, anything that we can do — it’s important to us.”
Nailing it for the Fourth
The celebratory trend is also making its way into nail salons, where customers are requesting red, white and blue designs to decorate their digits for the Fourth.
The salon’s nail artists are receiving requests for patriotic-themed designs every day during the lead-up to the holiday, said Nicole Devereaux, owner of Nicole’s Salon and Day Spa in St. Johns.
“Each of them have about seven clients a day, and at least one person in that day asks for either red, white and blue Fourth of July nails or to incorporate the 250 because it’s special,” she said, adding that inspiration can come from Pinterest and other social media sites, with the nail artists creating the final design freehand.
Devereaux said she expects the demand for America-themed nails to carry through the Fourth of July before shifting to other summer designs.
Among the customers this week was Jeannie Williams, 75, who decided to mark the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary with a red, white and blue manicure featuring “250th” lettering and a starburst firework design.
Williams, of St. Johns, said she went in planning a Fourth of July-themed design and worked with her nail technician to incorporate the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary into the manicure.
“My family’s very patriotic,” she said, noting that her father served 36 years in the military, her brother served 20, and multiple relatives across generations have also served across all branches of the armed forces.
Williams said her appreciation for the country is also shaped by extensive travel and the time she’s spent living in multiple states and abroad.
“I have lived in and have been to a lot of countries in this world growing up as a military daughter,” she said. “I just think even with some of the issues we have, we’re still the greatest country. When you’ve lived in other countries and experienced them, you know how they just don’t have the freedoms of everything that we’ve always had here.”
cwilliams@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan makers go all in for America’s 250th celebration
Reporting by Candice Williams, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Candice Williams, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
