Tiny Bit of Wood to open school, retail store in Lansing
LANSING — Just over a decade after Megan Shannon transformed a pole barn next to her home in Holt into a first-generation woodworking school, she's poised to move the business to Lansing's Stadium District and add a retail storefront.
The new space, at 507 E. Shiawassee St., was previously home to bike shop Riverfront Cycle and is nearly double the size of the school, Tiny Bit of Wood, that Shannon opened in 2012. It will offer both classroom and storefront space, where Shannon will sell her own woodworking creations, including furniture and artwork, along with items from other area vendors.
The move is a long-held dream come true, Shannon said.
"It's definitely the biggest thing I've ever done in my whole life," she said. "It's been my biggest dream, biggest goal and I still kind of can't believe we're here and I'm actually doing it."
More space for classes, retail
Tiny Bit of Wood has been outgrowing the space it occupies on Shannon's property since it opened.
In the school's first year of offering inclusive classes for everyone, and with an emphasis on welcoming marginalized groups including women, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people, nearly 400 people signed up for classes, Shannon said.
"So it became pretty clear that this was enjoyable and it was something that the community wanted," she said. "In the back of my head I was like, 'Maybe in a year we'll grow out of this space,' and sure enough, it was about a year and we kind of grew out of the space."
In Holt, Shannon's pole barn doubles as class space and her own workshop. At Tiny Bit of Wood's new building off East Shiawassee Street, there will be two separate spaces for both the storefront, about 700 square feet, and the school, with 1,700 square feet. A wall will be built to divide them, Shannon said.
"The retail shop will be on one side and then the school will be on the other," she said.
And efforts are being made to make Tiny Bit of Wood accessible to anyone, including those who have limited mobility or utilize a wheelchair, with an accessible bathroom and designated on-site accessible parking spaces.
"That was really important to me to make this more of an accessible woodworking school to everyone," Shannon said.
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Opening expected in September
Shannon never intended to take her business outside of Lansing. It's where her family lives, she said, and the building on East Shiawassee Street was exactly what she needed.
"It was actually the first building I looked at and I kind of knew right away that it seemed like it would work really well. It's big enough for me to continue growing but also not so big that I'm going to have a ton of extra space. It was just kind of the perfect size and the Stadium District does seem like it's a really good location, where a lot of the growth is happening."
Shannon expects to open the space sometime in September and looks forward to introducing new people to woodworking.
"This is a safe space for anybody, regardless of your sexual identity or your skin color or anything like that, to explore this craft and in a really unstructured way or with less pressure than at typical woodworking schools," she said.
Learn more about Tiny Bit of Wood and the classes it offers at www.tinybitofwood.com .
Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Tiny Bit of Wood to open school, retail store in Lansing
