Refound Glory expands repurposed furniture and home decor business to a new Mt. Pleasant storefront

Jennifer Reid and her husband, Dwane, took a big step recently moving their home-based business into a storefront. The Reids found a new home for Refound Glory, their repurposed furniture and home décor store, at 3965 E. River Road, on the corner of E. River Road and Old Mission Road in Mt. Peasant.

Opening Refound Glory in a commercial building is something they have always wanted to do, and they shared that the timing was right with their kids being off to college. The new store allows for expanding their unique collection of furniture and home decorations. With 17 vendors and plenty of their own merchandise, the store shelves are well-stocked.

We talked to Jennifer about their big move, how their business is going in the first month, and what their plans are for the future. 

Kathy Backus / Epicenter Mt. PleasantSpecializing in repurposed furniture and unique home décor, Refound Glory features handmade crafts from 17 local vendors alongside their own custom creations.
Epicenter Mt. Pleasant: How do you describe your store?
Jennifer Reid: We are a boutique shop with a unique collection of handmade crafts from local vendors and a variety of repurposed furniture pieces. There’s really nothing like it in the Mt. Pleasant area. 

Epicenter: How long have you been in the business? 
Reid: In 2016 we converted the barn at our house into a wood shop where we worked on furniture projects and the other half was a shop where we sold merchandise. We knew the owner of the former party store location. He had the building available for lease and approached us. Timing was right with our youngest son graduating from high school last May. 

Epicenter: What are some customer-favorite items?
Reid: People love the idea of taking something old and making it new. Vintage is so popular. Our collection of repurposed items includes things like a rocking chair made from an old whiskey barrel, lamps made from snow shoes and boat motors and dressers converted to benches. One of the most popular things for the holidays this year was the oversized poinsettia flowers my husband made out of wood pallets. 

Epicenter: Where is your merchandise from?
Reid: We currently have 17 vendors from around mid Michigan selling crafts and handmade wares, and many repurposed items made by my husband and myself. He does the building. I do the painting. And our daughter recently started a clothing company offering t-shirts with trendy designs. We have an assortment of her clothing in the store.

Epicenter: How is business the first month in the new location?
Reid: One of our goals in moving was increasing foot traffic. Working out of the barn at our home, we were off the beaten path on a dirt road. Since our grand opening in early December, we’ve continued to have more people stopping by everyday. This location has lots of traffic and people are curious to see what’s in the store. 

Epicenter: Looking ahead, what are your hopes and plans for the store?
Reid: We’re still getting used to our new store, which has a very different feel to it than the rustic surroundings in the barn. Lots of renovations were necessary to change the party store into a home furnishings retail space. We worked hard and fast to get things set up to open in time for Christmas shopping. We will continue to fine-tune merchandise displays and we want to increase the number of vendors we work with to fill the store with even more inventory. 

Vendors interested in selling wares at Refound Glory reach out through the store’s Facebook page.