Ledge Craft Lane

The Past, Present, and Future

Carson Lemon, Staff Writer
March 17, 2023

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Gallery • 6 Photos
Carson Lemon/The Comets' Tale
Ledge Craft Lane stands across from the Opera House, right next to the baseball field. The building used to serve as Grand Ledge's city hall and fire house.

   In what used to be Grand Ledge’s fire house in 1885, on the corner of Bridge Street and River Street, an artist owned co-op filled with handmade art awaits! Ledge Craft Lane, a pillar of Grand Ledge, has had its doors open to local artists and the community since the 70s. 

  Nowadays, Ledge Craft Lane hosts +50 artists with different booths scattered throughout the store. Operated on a volunteer basis, every artist who sells in the store comes in and works a day, working the cash register and keeping the store open.

  Tam Wolfe, an artist who sells in the building says she’s been working with art,since she was a kid. However, she became involved with Ledge Craft back in its early days. “Back in highschool, my mom, my sister, and I got into a booth here at Ledge Craft back in 1974, then I went to LCC and kept selling my work here for a few years,”  said Wolfe.

  Annette Ryan, another artist at Ledge Craft, has a story similar to Wolfe’s. “…I’ve been selling here for 21 years, since I retired. But before that back in 1974 I painted tree fungus and sold it here.”

  According to Ryan, there’s something for everyone at the store. “I personally make paintings but other people have some beautiful stained glasswork, resin work, crochet items and jewelry. We even have a woodworking artist that gets wood from all over the world in all sorts of colors.”

“

You’ve got to like it, I had to learn everything I made, I had to learn from scratch, but I think I got better at it because I liked making it,

— Tam Wolfe

  When asked about advice for “bad artists” who want to change their mindset, “I dunno man, get a therapist,” Wolfe remarked with a snicker. In a more serious tone she started, “You’ve got to like it, I had to learn everything I made, I had to learn from scratch, but I think I got better at it because I liked making it,” Wolfe said.

  Ryan also added her own advice for struggling artists, “You just have to try it, you might like it and you might have talent. I’ve taken many classes but that isn’t a requirement, you just have to try.”

  Wolfe also offered some advice for people looking to get in touch with their artistic side. “Get some books, read up on what you’re interested in, and then maybe you can get into a class that fits your style, what you might like to do,” Wolfe suggested. She is currently offering sewing classes hosted at Ledge Craft Lane, and can be contacted by text: (707) 548-3666 to sign up for lessons.

  For other art lessons taught at Ledge Craft Lane, a popular painting teacher Kerri Goodman, has been teaching for over 10 years. According to Goodman, she herself became comfortable painting by taking a class at the shop. “I came in on a Thursday night, painted with a group, a three hour session like what I teach now. I made a lot of friends and I really loved it, I lived for Thursday nights,”

  After her teacher, Carol Basso retired, Basso left Goodman in charge of running some of her classes. “I didn’t want to [teach classes] at all to be honest, but she must have seen something in me and was convinced I would be a good fit,” Goodman said.

  “When I started off I was pretty intimidated because some of the people I was supposed to lead were really talented painters, and to think that I would have to teach people I didn’t even know was frightening,” she remarked.

  Goodman went on to take some classes in Flint to gain some confidence in her talents, and is happy running her own classes at Ledge Craft. She made sure to stress the benefits Ledge Craft brings to the community as well as the importance of their classes.

  “These classes are perfect for people who don’t really know what to do but they want to do something artsy, and on top of all of the knowledge they get they also walk away with a family of people that really care about them,” Goodman said.

Island Art Fair

  Coming up this summer, Jul. 29 from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. is the 50th anniversary of Ledge Craft Lane’s Island Art Fair. Stephene Lapp, the president of Ledge Craft Lane, says “This year is our Golden Fiftieth anniversary! We’re going bigger this year, I have 125 vendors selling on the Island, we’re getting some food trucks and some other special things we’ll be keeping a surprise for now,” Lapp laughed.

  “My goal for this year is to get the town to go gold…nowadays we average about 6,000 people each year, but back in the 70s and 80s we used to bring in 12,000 people each year, so we wanna bring back more people this year,” said Lapp. 

  The Island Art Fair is celebrating in conjunction with the Grand Ledge Opera House for their 30th anniversary celebration. The Opera House will be offering tours all throughout the day and will host a concert that evening.

  Like all businesses, Ledge Craft Lane was hit pretty hard by the pandemic, with a temporary shutdown and a more permanent dip in sales. The only reason they survived 2020 was because of their nonprofit status. According to Lapp, they only keep one person on payroll and the rest of the artists who sell at Ledge Craft are legally volunteers, who make their money from selling their art. Lapp hopes to be able to bring Ledge Craft Lane back from their financial drought with the art fair and get them back in the green.

Pandemic Impact

  Like all businesses, Ledge Craft Lane was hit pretty hard by the pandemic, with a temporary shutdown and a more permanent dip in sales. The only reason they survived 2020 was because of their nonprofit status. According to Lapp, they only keep one person on payroll and the rest of the artists who sell at Ledge Craft are legally volunteers, who make their money from selling their art.

  “We missed the 2020 art fair, and that is the only way during the year we can make the money to sustain the building for an entire year,” said Lapp. Her goal for this year is to get the art fair completely paid for by businesses around Grand Ledge. 

  Today, Ledge Craft Lane is open and hoping to get back on its feet. There are numerous classes available at Ledge Craft Lane ranging from painting to ceramics, however classes aren’t the only thing Ledge Craft wants to offer.

  “The future of Ledge Craft Lane has so many different possibilities, we can go in hundreds of different directions,”Lapp stated when asked what readers should expect from the business in the future. The shop hopes to start offering more classes as well as offering take-home art kits for families looking to broaden their horizons. “We want to give everybody an opportunity, if we can offer these hands-on experiences in the store, we encourage a whole new generation to express their emotions through a craft.”

  If interested in stopping by Ledge Craft Lane, they’re open Thursday and Friday from 11-5 and Saturday from 11-4. They also keep updates and new class opportunities on their Facebook, and post regularly on the Grand Ledge Community Page.