Downtown Lansing Inc. launches its fifth Middle Village cohort

Ten years ago, Britt Houze designed a tattoo he never ended up getting.

“I chickened out,” he said. But he liked the design — the words “I am me” styled as a vision test — too much to let it go. So, he decided to have it printed on a few shirts instead.

Last week, he was one of three business owners welcomed into the fifth Middle Village cohort, with the “I am me” design as the flagship item of his urbanwear shop, BHouzeOriginals. The market, run by Downtown Lansing Inc., is kicking off its second year in the city’s historic Atrium building.

The cohort also includes Simone Gaines of BeBe’s Boutique and Ashia Williams of Blueprint of Beauty Boutique. While their offerings differ, the three shopkeepers share a vision for a Middle Village with more activities to draw in community members.

“I want this to be a place where women can come and elevate not only their style, but their mood and purpose,” Gaines said of her shop.

BeBe’s Boutique is intended to be “somewhere where women can come and feel like this is an extension of their closet, but we’re just here to help them put the pieces together,” she said. With a focus on comfort, many of the shop’s offerings feature pockets — even the dresses.

The Middle Village storefront is one of two BeBe’s locations; the other opened last year in Flint.

Blueprint of Beauty Boutique sells natural wellness products. Williams said she wants the shop to serve as a gathering place for wellness-minded locals.

“I want to have events like a tea-talk Tuesday, where people can come in and talk about herbal or home remedies, and stuff like that,” she said. “I want to have a wellness community space.”

Houze comes to Middle Village from the Meridian Mall, which he said was more hectic and less business focused. He likes the new environment, but he thinks it could do with a few more events.

“I want to get to where we can do social or community programs, like a card night or a euchre night, to get people out and more active,” he said.

He added that Downtown Lansing Inc. has been receptive to his vision for the market.

The cohort will last one year, but don’t expect this to be the last you’ll see of these shopkeepers. Previous Middle Village graduates went on to open downtown shops like Capital Hippie, A Novel Concept, Nubian and Sylvia’s Sudsery, DLI community development director Kate Litwin said.

Litwin added that forthcoming developments in the Atrium building, including a Craig Ryan Fine Clothing location and a walkway over Grand Avenue to the Tower on Grand skyscraper, will make it even more fundamental to the downtown landscape.

“This space is really invigorating some new life into this building,” she said of Middle Village.