Supporting Small and Doing Right

My Secret Stash is home to 100 Michigan makers, a whole lotta plants, and a safe space for all

By Ren Brabenec | June 1, 2024

May 18, 2024, marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of My Secret Stash, Traverse City’s retail hub for all things Pride. We caught up with Karen Roofe, owner and founder of My Secret Stash (MSS), to talk about the last 10 years, the next 10 years, and what it means to create a safe space and a queer-friendly environment in a local store.

“I’ve always been a crafty person,” says Roofe, reflecting on the moments that brought her to today. “I’d had a steady, successful career in retail business management, but what I really wanted to be doing with my time was making crafts, especially soap!”

Roofe jokes that soap is heavy, and carting several crates of soap to and from markets and festivals is no small task. How great would it be to have a storefront where folks would come to the soap, rather than her bringing the goods to them?

Roofe’s idea took shape, and in 2014, she opened My Secret Stash, a downtown TC business dedicated to showcasing Michigan and Midwest-made goods. “We’re proud to provide a storefront for over 100 Michigan makers, plus dozens of other makers from the Midwest and Great Lakes region,” Roofe says. “My goal is to meet makers where they are, to help them get their goods in front of people who will fall in love with them.”

MSS is more than just a storefront, though. “It really is all about the makers,” says Roofe, noting she’ll often provide coaching for up-and-coming makers on business practices and how best to get their products out in the public eye.

Plus, there’s a family-business aspect, as one of the driving reasons why Roofe left corporate retail to open the store was to have a flexible schedule so she could spend more time with her children. Ten years later, her kids can now be found working at the store.

As for what the store sells, it’d be impossible to list every item or even nail down its niche. MSS sells gifts, but it’s not just a gift shop. It sells plants thanks to its sister operation, I’m Planty AF, but it’s not just a nursery. MSS sells fine art, but it’s not just a gallery.

“You can’t put a label on the Stash,” says Roofe, grinning. “I gave up trying long ago, so now I just tell folks it’s a place where they can find anything from children’s toys to wedding presents to fine art, coasters, copper, ceramics, jewelry, T-shirts, stickers, and everything in between.”

It may be difficult to define what type of store MSS is, but it’s not difficult to define its mission and vision. “Supporting small and doing right” is the tagline, and that mantra is worn on the sleeves of all MSS employees and is present in the business’s day-to-day operations.

For example, a casual stroll through the store will reveal a plethora of Pride merch, most of which is designed and crafted by local makers and sold with proceeds going to Up North Pride (UNP), a 2SLGBTQIA+ nonprofit of which Roofe is a board member.

When the nonprofit launched, Roofe leveraged her nascent storefront to provide a brick-and-mortar place where UNP could sell its merch and other items to fund the organization. “We created a local place where folks who wanted to support UNP could physically go and shop at, eliminating shipping expenses and online middlemen,” said Roofe.

In addition to providing a downtown TC storefront for Pride shirts, flags, enamel pins, accessories, yard signs, and other products, Roofe has also worked with UNP board members to create a growing resource directory of safe, queer-friendly northern Michigan businesses and service providers. The list of organizations that have applied for and completed the vetting process (and are now UNP-certified Safe Spaces) can be found online at upnorthpride.com/resource-directory.

With hundreds of northern Michigan establishments and counting, that directory includes retail stores, designers, media organizations, event planners, florists, gyms, hospitality services, lawyers, medical practitioners, photographers, places of worship, nonprofits, therapy practices, real estate professionals, restaurants, salons, social services, veterinarians, wineries, and more.

Last but not least, Roofe says MSS is also a bonafide, nonpartisan safe space of its own, an aspect of the business that was core to the founder’s mission from the very beginning.

“I grew up during a period when folks who were different were lambasted and scorned,” says Roofe. “So my first commitment when creating the store was to make it a safe space for anyone and everyone. Feeling anxious or overwhelmed? We have a safe, quiet space inside the store where you can come in and relax, and we’ll be there for you.”

The store’s ethos is paired perfectly with the lighthearted product offerings on every wall and shelf, including T-shirts with grin-worthy slogans and designs. With so many shirts adorning the store, we had to ask Roofe about her favorite before we said good-bye.

Her answer brought us back to the deeper meaning behind MSS and the business’s desire to be more than just another storefront. “It’s the ‘Free Mom Hugs’ shirt,” says Roofe with a smile. “I wear mine all the time, because everyone needs a Mom hug once in a while.”

Find My Secret Stash at 122 Cass St. in Traverse City. mysecretstash.com

Photo courtesy of My Secret Stash