Elijah Nykamp might need to start sewing a little faster: As the proprietor and lone employee of nykamping, a brand-new clothing boutique in Suttons Bay, Nykamp handmakes every single clothing item he sells. This month, in his first two weeks with a storefront, Nykamp sold through half his inventory. That popularity, Nykamp says, is the latest surprise in a whirlwind business journey he describes as “deciding to push my five-year dream to a six-month dream.” The Leelanau Ticker has the scoop on this new shop and its unique origin story, as well as a few other pieces of restaurant and retail news from around the county.

nykamping

According to nykamping’s website, the business “originated from a love both for oversized outerwear and thrifting – along with the desire to take textile sustainability, circular fashion, ethically sourced and zero waste to its absolute max.” The shop specializes in cozy, roomy, one-of-a-kind clothing that stays true to nykamping’s tagline: “A tent for your body.”

Up until a few years ago, Nykamp figured he was headed for a life of teaching. In 2018, he earned his bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Hope College, and then spent the next year teaching kindergarten at a school in Nigeria. “But I realized in that year that, while I loved working with the kids, the pieces that I enjoyed the most were around creating,” he says. “I knew I wanted to do more design work.”

A move to Leelanau County followed, as well as a three-and-a-half-year stint at The Leelanau School, where Nykamp worked as a house parent – and later, as a head of house. The job afforded him more free time than a teaching gig – enough time, he tells the Leelanau Ticker, to pursue his creative interests. When COVID hit, Nykamp found himself with even more flexibility. nykamping was born out of those spare moments.

“I don't have a degree in design, or in sewing, or garment production, or fashion, or anything like that,” Nykamp says. “It's all skills that I was taught as a child by my mom, and then picked up way more intensely during COVID, when all of us were figuring out what we actually really liked to do with our extra time.”

The other piece of the puzzle, Nykamp says, came from simply spending time in thrift stores and developing both an eye for style and an idea of what he wanted his brand to be.

“During COVID, I was buying and selling thrifted clothing,” he says. “I was finding really great pieces, and just reselling them on my Instagram. Soon, I started to alter pieces. I’d do a new hemline, or change up shirts in different ways, and I started to sell those designs. Now, in the past year, I’ve finally started to get into garment production and designing my own pieces from scratch.”

While Nykamp’s business model has changed from thrift clothes to original designs, he says he’s still passionate about sourcing quality, sustainable fabrics from local secondhand shops like Samaritan’s Closet and the Women’s Resource Center. “It’s really a hunt every time that I go into Traverse City or just around the area to find really cool fabrics. The materials are all local and ‘pre-loved,’ as I like to say.”

Earlier this year, Nykamp jumped at a chance to take his all-online business into brick-and-mortar retail. A space opened up in downtown Suttons Bay, just a few blocks from his apartment, and he snagged it. That gearshift into public-facing retail happened much quicker than Nykamp expected – hence his insistence that his five-year plan somehow ended up on a six-month fast track.

If life in the fast lane has caused any challenges for Nykamp, it’s in the production process.

“It’s a really tough business model, because you are selling everything that you've made, and you have to put the time into every piece,” he explains, noting that some of the items in his store took “up to 15-20 hours” to make. “It's very different than being able to go through a catalogue and pick out pieces that you want to carry in your shop. But that's my whole business model: I want everything to be made locally and to be ethically made.”

The result? Anyone who steps into nykamping will find not just a selection of handmade clothing, but also Nykamp himself, likely at work at the sewing machine, assembling his next creation.

“I think people have liked seeing that,” Nykamp says of his tendency to multitask as both a creator and a shop runner. “People have been coming in and saying, ‘I see your sewing machine in the back; are you telling me you made all of these pieces?’ And then they get it: They get that this is a labor of love, and that the prices reflect that everything is handmade. You are seeing the person who has not only designed but also fully constructed every piece right in front of you. I think there is definitely a draw to that.”

In other Leelanau restaurant/retail news…

>The Traverse City-based coffee company Mundos announced last week on Facebook that it was “nearing the time when we will no longer make the daily drive from Traverse City to Suttons Bay” to operate the Mundos North location on St. Joseph Street. As Mundos prepares “to step away from the operations at Mundos North,” the company is handing off the reins to Leelanau residents Landon and Nicole McDaid, who “will create their own brand and style for the location.” That brand, called Hive Coffee Co., is now active and posting updates on Instagram. Mundos North will operate at the Suttons Bay location until October 31, after which operations will switch over to Hive Coffee Co. Mundos stated in its social media post that it is “planning a meet and greet” for Landon and Nicole at the Mundos North location for “sometime in September,” with dates and details to be announced later. Despite the brand shift, Hive Coffee Co. will continue “to serve and sell Mundos Coffee” in Suttons Bay.

>Glendale Burger Shop opened its doors in the former Silver Swan restaurant space at 13692 South West Bay Shore Drive earlier this month. The restaurant is the first brick-and-mortar endeavor from Brittney and Bray McCabe, best known locally as the owners of the popular food truck Glendale Ave. After years of operating the truck at The Little Fleet in Traverse City, the McCabes ventured out to open a restaurant. Glendale Burger Shop offers a menu of smash burgers, sandwiches, beer-battered French fries, and more, with plans to add more menu items in the future. According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, each week of operations so far “has somehow been busier than the last,” with Glendale even selling out of food some days. The traffic has prompted the McCabes to halt online ordering and call-ahead orders for the time being, but the restaurant is still open for business six days a week on a first come, first served basis.

Pictured: Elijah Nykamp at his sewing machine (left) and a view of the nykamping shop (right); photo credits: Mae Stier