Established Home-Based, Family-Owned, Indigenous-Owned Business since 2004
Retail Store and Mobile Store
CARHARTT CLOTHING
ARIAT CLOTHING & BOOTS
DRAGONWEAR FR CLOTHING
BULWARK FR CLOTHING
DRIFIRE FR CLOTHING
IRISH SETTER BOOTS
RED WING BOOTS
MUCK BOOTS Invested INVENTIVE, INSPIRING AND … Committed to business success in Emmet County NORTHERN LIGHTS FAMILY OUTFITTERS: A top-selling Carhartt stor
e “in the middle of nowhere”. She’s “The Carhartt lady.” From a 600-square-foot garage-turned retail store in the dead-center of rural Emmet County, this Carhartt seller has become one of the company’s most profitable outlets, in both Michigan and the United States. And she doesn’t even sell online. “There aren’t many people like us around anymore,” says Redding, who at age 37 is ebullient in both her approach to selling what is arguably the most premier, durable line of work wear and being a mother to three active children who use the family’s 10 acres as a personal playground. Even in the winter, the Reddings’ long, steep driveway off the winding, sparsely populated Pleasantview Road doesn’t deter customers from steadily coming in to buy their Carhartts (“Conveniently located in the middle of nowhere!” she touts.) Each May, they arrive by the hundreds for a day of fun called the “Redneck Day Family Reunion” — all about grilling and gear. And year ‘round, Redding can be found urging customers of both genders to let her measure them for a proper fit — including the inseams. Traditional enough for you? “I’m like a private Carhartt fitting room,” she laughs. “And the wives love me. For 20 years I told him that his rear end looked saggy in pants!’ I just educate people about clothes.” The result of Redding’s fun, relaxed and upbeat attitude has proven to be a formula for success. Her store ranks fifth in Michigan out of 500 locations in sales, and 242nd in the nation out of 4,500 doors. Northern Lights has been in the top 10 for sales by location for the past three years in the state of Michigan as well. By the way, did we mention she doesn’t do Internet sales? “I don’t know how they find me in Texas, North Carolina, Virginia but they do!” Redding exclaims, as she hangs up after helping a Texas caller find the right workboots to suit his farming methods. (Editor’s note: If you Google “The Carhartt lady,” her name actually comes up!)
There are other traditional ways Redding does business, too. She offers free shipping, orders and offers quality products (such as Muck and Red Wing boots) at discounted prices every day, and allows customers to return items any time — even if years pass. “We are all about personal service,” said Redding. “That’s what we do.”
Shannon Redding “The Carhartt Lady” at Northern Lights Family Outfitters, in Levering Emmet County is the place where creativity, ingenuity and hard work are rewarded by a quality of life that simply can’t be surpassed. For generations, the most respected and internationally regarded families, entrepreneurs, executives, corporate leaders and retailers have set foot in Northern Michigan and found it impossible to leave. Summer homes have become year ‘round residences as technology allows people to be able to work where they want to live - not the other way around. The region’s diversified economy is a mix of successful retail, industrial, tourism-oriented enterprises, manufacturing, agricultural, building trades and health and medical professions. They’re buoyed by responsive local units of government, convenient transportation, state-of-the-art technological infrastructure and alliances of business professionals region-wide. As the following stories tell, Emmet County is a place where business opportunity is met with an open door, a cooperative attitude and ultimate success. INVENTIVE, INSPIRING AND … Committed to business success in Emmet County BECOMING ‘THE CARHARTT LADY’ A Levering native, Redding’s first experience with Carhartt was in the mid-1990s, when she was hired to work in human resources at the company’s Dearborn headquarters after she graduated from Aquinas College. Perhaps the inspiration for running her own shop two decades later came from witnessing corporate management at the 120-year-old company. “It is a family-owned business and they run it that way,” Redding said. “It was so simplistic. When Hamilton Carhartt discovered there was a need for quality work wear for those working the railroads of Detroit, he set up shop. A call would come in and they’d say, ‘All right, we’ve got an order! We need five sets of bibs and jackets’ and they’d just start sewing them. Now that’s service!”
Redding’s boss took her under her wing and taught her everything she knew, not just about Carhartt but about growing a quality company without compromising its integrity. Still, Redding had a passion to become a school counselor, and the more she reflected, the more it swayed her to return to school. “I needed to live my dream. I didn’t see myself living in Dearborn; I wanted to be Up North and I had to get out of the city. So I said ‘money shmoney’ and I went back to school.” She left Carhartt, earned her teaching certification, married her husband, John, and accepted an internship with an inner-city school in Grand Rapids in 1999. At the same time up north, Redding’s brother, Jeff, and his family were experiencing a personal tragedy. His wife was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease and with three young children at home, he needed help. His sister volunteered. “John had a seasonal job and was about to get laid off, and I just finished student-teaching, so we turned to each other and said, ‘Let’s go north and let’s go help him.’ We agreed that this was our chance to go live up north.”
‘RAISING OUR KIDS IN THE PLACE WE ADORE’ ~ After returning to Emmet County and settling into the new routine of helping her brother and looking for work, John and Shannon started thinking about starting their own family. They hoped to find a way that Shannon could both work and be home for the kids. As they were building their home on Pleasantview Road, Shannon started earning some extra cash by hosting garage sales with end-of-season Children’s Place clothing that she would pick up at huge discounts from outlet stores. When locals snapped up the pieces, John, an employee of the Emmet County Road Commission, suggested she look into selling Carhartts. She called her former employer and they agreed to send up a sales rep to discuss the proposal. In the meantime, they had finished the 600-square-foot space that was to be the garage before it was revamped for retail space. The Carhartt rep told her, “’You’ve already got a business established here.’ And they opened me up,” Shannon said. While she worked to develop a loyal clientele, the babies started coming. Today, they’re all school-age and attend Pellston Elementary School: Mariah, 10, Levi, 9, and Axel, 6. In between feedings and diapers, errands and school projects, Redding has memorized the “Carhartt Bible,” remembering hundreds of item numbers and important nuances like which jackets fit different body types and which boots are the best for each job. She guides moms who are concerned about spending money on clothes that won’t fit their kids well; she builds confidence in girls who aren’t rail-thin in how to look their best; and she famously encourages men to actually try on their pants and boots before purchasing them, to assure proper fit. Taking the time and care to get to know her customers has catapulted Northern Lights Family Outfitters to the tops among Carhartt dealers. Today, she takes care of more than 300 businesses and many more individuals. “I keep it simple,” she says, rather simply. If you stop by to pay her for something and she’s not home, it’s OK to slip it under the door. Sunday is designated family day, and she appreciates customers waiting until Monday to drop by if they can. “We still don’t have regular hours,” she notes. “It’s a good idea to call first before you come and make sure that I’m here.” During this interview, a conversation is overheard with a customer about selecting the right boots. “There’s a lot of stuff I don’t know, but I do know about boots,” she tells him, “and I do know about Carhartt.” She returns from the shop to the kitchen table. “It’s like a counseling session in here sometimes,” she says with her trademark smile and laugh. “It’s like a barbershop. We want people to come here and feel at home. And they do.” And she feels at home, too, in Emmet County. “We get to live in the most beautiful part of the country,” Redding said. “We get to live the lifestyle in the place where people want to vacation. We get to raise our kids in the place we adore. It’s not just making a living; it’s making a life.”
Northern Lights Family Outfitters is located at 7037 N. Pleasantview Road, about 15 miles north of Harbor Springs. Also find at Northern Lights: Muck Boots, Red Wing Boots and Wonder Wink Scrubs. Find more online, www.northernoutfit.com. Phone (231) 537-2382. – BETH PIEHL, EMMET COUNTY IMAGINE MAGAZINE
