MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – In honor of Women’s History Month, WZMQ 19 is highlighting female-owned businesses throughout the Upper Peninsula.
“This is a way to support my creations and our creations,” said Amelia McDonald, owner of Amelia’s Craft Market and Boutique. “And also many local creations.”
Amelia’s Craft Market and Boutique in Downtown Marquette opened in 2022 after a pair of Midwest woodworkers needed a place to sell their art year round.
“My husband and I started a woodworking company and during covid we weren’t able to sell some of our stuff and we decided that we wanted to have a place here in Marquette because this is where I was born and raised,” said McDonald. “So we opened around 2022 I believe in October.”
Now it’s home for not only McDonald and her husband’s woodwork, but also products from other Michigan Artists and small businesses.
“We have about thirty local creators,” said McDonald. “We sell Michigan beers and wines, we sell jewelry, we sell stained glass, we have hand-painted art, watercolor, literally there is a little bit of everything for everybody.”
McDonald said her woman owned business isn’t the only one in her family.
“I have two sisters in the UP that also, one is a part owner of a restaurant and one is owns her own trailer and trucking company,” said McDonald. “So we have a lot of female owned businesses in the UP that we support.”
Even though she lives in Wisconsin, McDonald said home is where the heart is.
“Marquette is where our heart is,” said McDonald. “My husband and I met in Marquette, like I said I was born and raised a Yooper so I love the UP, but then we went to college together up here at Northern, he’s from lower Michigan and I’m from upper Michigan, so this is where our heart is.”
Click here to view other stories in WZMQ 19’s Female Business Spotlight series.