The Saginaw Bay Trading Company brings outdoor lifestyle items to Downtown Bay City

What began as a desire to do something different with their warehouse and receiving space, ended with My Secret Garden opening a new retail store downtown.

The store is the exclusive provider of several brands in Downtown Bay City including Rumpl blankets.Tyler King, co-owner of Saginaw Bay Trading Company, says the outdoor lifestyle store opened in early June.

King, whose mom, Terri King, owns My Secret Garden, says the family had a warehouse on Adams Street, and were thinking about opening up the space next to it as an Airbnb.

“While we were looking at that, we noticed that the Sherwin Williams building next to My Secret Garden was for sale and decided to pursue that instead.”

While buying the old Sherwin Williams building, they realized it was much more space than they needed for warehouse and receiving, so Tyler, his wife, Nicole, and his mom put their heads together to come up with a retail option for the space.

“We decided to go through with a concept of wanting to make an outdoor store that wasn’t necessarily geared toward hardcore outdoor enthusiasts, but was approachable for everybody,” he says. “Maybe you enjoy going for a hike, but you’re not going to spend four months on the Appalachian Trail. That was the kind of differentiation we were looking for.”

The store stocks clothing, water shoes, and other products to help people casually enjoy the outdoors.They created the Saginaw Bay Trading Company. It fits well for the King family lifestyle. Tyler and Nicole are parents to two young children and spend a lot of time outside.

The store came about when My Secret Garden moved its warehouse into a larger building, but found it had too much space.“There are also a lot of brands we personally like that we haven’t seen around yet in Bay City,” he says. They’re finding ways to bring those brands into the store. “We’re the only dealer within 150 miles that carries Rumpl blankets,” for example, and they’re the only retailer in this part of Michigan carrying Unsalted Coast apparel.

The family that owns the Saginaw Bay Trading Co. also owns and operates My Secret Garden.In addition to apparel and blankets, the Saginaw Bay Trading Company carries gourmet food, swimwear, water shoes, outdoor-themed décor, and limited equipment.

“It’s been really well received so far,” Tyler says.

Along with creating the new retail space, Tyler says they renovated the building and gave My Secret Garden a facelift.

“We painted, added new windows and new awnings. What we wanted to do was create a cohesive look. We had the buildings painted to match, then had the canopies on My Secret Garden recovered to compliment the new building, style-wise.”

My Secret Garden may look different on the outside, but step inside and you still will find garden décor, apparel, and the other products that made My Secret Garden unique.

Find out more about Saginaw Bay Trading Company and follow the progress on its Facebook page.