New in town

The baby supply store carries cloth diapers, specialty baby clothing, organic cleaning supplies and “upcycled” furniture and home decorations (old stuff that’s been fixed up and given an artistic coat of paint). Owner/ operator Lynn Ross opened Mother & Earth in 2011, but the recent move gives her a much wider audience.

“It’s exciting to be in Old Town and to have an actual storefront,” Ross said. “Before, people had to seek us out.”

Ross welcomed two other specialty stores into the space: ReLove is the upcycler and Molly & Oliver’s features fashionable babywear.

Ross was able to nearly double her business footprint to 1,500 square feet, allowing her to add the other businesses and offer classes and programs.

“I was also able to add five new product lines when I moved in here, and I hope to continue to add,” Ross said. “There’s lots of room for expansion.”

Ross also features home décor items from local moms done on a consignment basis to help them get their own businesses started. Items include upcycled lamps, handmade articles of clothing and jewelry. Everything in the store is made domestically.

“I was looking for (U.S.- made) cloth diapers when I got pregnant, and there wasn’t anyplace in town like that,” Ross said. “My husband suggested I open one. Everything else — the skin care products, the bedding, the cleaning product — led from that. Our (organic) dishwashing detergent is one of best sellers.”

There’s also a play area for kids. Emily Adams, owner of ReLove, also teaches classes on upcycling items from around your house. (Turn those old doors into a desk! That old metal frame can be a mail organizer!) And Melissa Sigh, a local music teacher, holds music classes that Ross said are “extremely popular.”

“We’ve only been open a short time, but we’ve already seen so many friendly faces,” Ross said. “It’s nice to be a destination.”

Mother & Earth Baby Boutique/ReLove/Molly & Oliver’s 1212 Turner St., Lansing 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday- Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday (517) 204-2248, motherandearth.com, mollyandolivers.com, mkt. com/relove