Burton resident Ed Malovec had toyed with the idea of opening his own store for several years. He made that dream a reality as his artisan vendor store, Blue Spruce Mercantile, has flourished for two months since opening its doors at 14258 North Cheshire Street on April 1.
“The goal is to have something for everyone but you just work toward that — a lot of the stuff in here, because it is made locally. They can take with them and have a remembrance, whether they are eating it on the way home or taking it home to use for different things,” Malovec told The Weekly Villager.
Malovec’s new store is comprised of a wide variety of materials crafted by local vendors around the Geauga County area, including pottery, jewelry, health care products, glassblown creations and locally sourced food such as bread, eggs and milk.
Malovec said that he has discovered owning an artisan vendor store in a tightly connected community like Burton has been a perfect fit.
“It is so positive, people are so happy that I brought something like this to town,” he noted. “They come in for their bread every week, they come in for their microgreens and their eggs but they can also do some other shopping here. That is why I call it a “mercantile” so it can have anything that I want in here.”
Having worked as a machinist for the last 34 years, Malovec is accustomed to working with his hands, having owned a repurposing business on the side while working full-time. According to him, craftsmanship has run in his family for generations.
Malovec’s home creations have always been items that he can get practical use out of around his house.
“I use a lot of barnwood. I used metal, of course, because of my metal background — benches and home décor and lighting,” he said. “Basically, stuff that you can actually use. I don’t make a lot of decorations.”
He credited his father, who repurposed furniture as a hobby, for inspiring him to become a craftsman.
“He was doing it when it was not cool, using old things to create new things and whatnot. That was his thing, that is what I grew up with and that is how it all got started,” Malovec added. “I just carried it through.”
While operating his own repurposing business, Malovec said that he could recall the several trips he made to trade shows to showcase his work and wondered what it would be like if he made craftsmanship his full-time work.
Malovec rented space in the then-vacant store in February and put the wheels in motion to open his own shop. So far, everything has fallen into place.
According to Malovec, he named his store after the Blue Spruce tree, which his family used to sell from their tree farm during the Christmas holidays. He said that the tree itself stands for strength and resilience, traits which he features in his store’s goods.
He said that several of the artisan vendors whose work he features in his store are contacts he made while operating his repurposing business but he also has made new partnerships with local artisans, thanks to word of mouth, as his store’s popularity has rapidly grown.
In addition to displaying work from local vendors in Geauga County, Malovec said that he curated each artisan’s creation so he can explain its relevance and has enjoyed providing background information to potential customers.
“I try to learn as much as I can about every product,” he noted. “I don’t know everything about every product because that would be overwhelming, but I know enough to just tell these people, that when they are looking at it, what they are looking at and what is used and the background on it.”
As popular as his store has quickly become in just a few months, Malovec said that he is anticipating an even busier period as the calendar year rolls into the summer months, the most popular time for tourists to come visit Burton.
As much as Malovec has taken pride in showing the best of Geauga County in his store, he said that the items that he currently sells appeal to any tourist passing through Burton.
Maloevec added that he is not just receiving consumer interest but interest from other local artisan vendors seeking an opportunity to get their work into stores.
“I have people coming to me know asking if I still have this product in my store, so it is still spreading like the internet,” he said. “It is just how it is, and we are also going to local farmer’s markets to find different people.”
