| Linda Leavitt and her daughter. Susan, 18, make many of the items offered for sale in Countryside Crafts, located at 152 West Main Street in Mt. Pleasant. They also staff the store, and handle the bookkeeping and other aspects of the business. Linda's mother, Lucie Swensen also works in the store a few hours a week so that her daughter and granddaughter can work on their crafts. Leavitt does tole painting, while Susan does painting and some quilting The store also sells other handmade items supplied by local crafters and stocks painting and craft supplies. Leavitt relies on local wood cutters to supply many of the items she and her daughter paint. Countryside Crafts also includes a gift store, and is in the process of opening a section for fabrics and sewing supplies. Leavitt recently bought out the shop "Sew and Save"' after its owner retired. The fabric and sewing section will be housed in a second side of the building. All of it is still new to Leavitt, who opened her craft store only one year ago. "It is just something I've always wanted to do," she says of the shop. "I always made things, in), daughter has always made things, so we decided to open up a store."
The Leavitt's came to Mt. Pleasant 11 years ago when Keith Leavitt took a job teaching school in town. Linda Leavitt kept busy caring for the couple's children who still lived at home (Susan is the youngest of eight). But after she decided to go into business, Leavitt sought help from her parents, Max and Lucie Swensen, who helped her get the businesses going. Leavitt has made her craft store unique by offering classes, ranging from tole painting to watercolor and oil painting, to knitting, needlework and scrap book making. Courses are offered for both children and adults. "We have excellent teachers, and we carry all of the items needed for the classes," Leavitt says. The store also is housed in a unique, historical building along Mt. Pleasant's thriving Main Street. The building has two sides, so once the sewing store opens,. it will be operating at full capacity. Leavitt says much of her business is local, but festivals such as Hub Days, Pioneer Days and the Scandinavian Festival help attract new business. She says she looks forward to being part of the craft corridor, which will bring new visitors to town. "We felt this area was right for us, and big enough for another craft store," she says. |
