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Wanna talk about, and carve out, (local) love … It is dubbed Beloved, and comes from the painted-red heart, and that is where it’s at, flowing through the area-and-beyond in Midwest Makers with its varied themes. There are more than 50 of these on-the-near-end-of-the-two-state artisans with their multiple-method works all through the curated shop on mid-Locust Street.

You’ve heard it before, and from me: Local, local, local. Branching off into regional with their homemade goods from an assuredly deluxe display of diverse designers. And many times the more broad monicker Midwest is also referenced. 

This is the driving force and brainchild behind the Beloved Makers curated gift shop and boutique, which noteworthy is halfway up Second Street to Third, tucked cozily on the south side of Locust in downtown Hudson, but still with many hundreds of items to choose from.

— The Wild Badger in New Richmond is up to something new, which is not new for them. On Saturday, Oct. 5, wearing anything is said to be truly optional. As it is their party celebrating Anything But Clothing (ABC). It also could be known as American Beauty Collection, Attitude Belying Confidence, Altitude Before Clouds or Alliance of Bountiful Collectives, as we Assemble Bad Comedy. And you get to show up near naked starting at 9 p.m. but going until Almost Bar Closing. —

Their logo is lowkey but beautiful with its bounty, showing three flowery leaves just above the verbiage. You might see such, locally, in your own garden, even three-leaf clovers.

Online, with headshot photos, you get a chance to meet the makers of these wonders, 50-and-more of them in total and many recognized local artisans and some the accomplished up-and-coming, just starting with Hudson and the immediate surrounding communities and then branching out into Stillwater and beyond, to encompass virtually every berg in the St. Croix Valley. This shop is truly the sum of its parks.

Going on that theme of local, broadly, we invoke Windows 10.0 or even 11.0, on what is on their main window: On the right is a sign touting to be very (thankful) always for things like tasty beer and cheese and burgers and whatnot in our state(s), On its flipside is that cool, wide-brimmed brown hat, and a banner kid’s tee that is just doggone funny stating “nearly feral.”

On all sides are enough multi-tinted leaf prints to shake a stick at that could, wholly, with fall here, render a whole yard of what could be oaks or maples.  

Some of the other diversely-topiced items are like map-like pieces of inch-thick wooden art, portraying all kinds of things you can find across the two states and beyond, such as state and maybe even national parks shown in so many pieces, here and there and far beyond. Pro ballfield diamonds, shown housed in their stadiums, all around are also marked on some of the artistic maps.

“Hudson pride” is a slogan that keeps cropping up in the art. And even more topical are the items crafted like, again, brews that are called home “boo’d.”

There are more good vibes here, and the spiritual also is often referenced, and if you like slogans and quips about God and the divine and love, you will find them here. And if not, other themes too.

Do you love Taylor Swift, and her trademark red lipstick and blonde locks and such? There is a big set of matching baubles that dabble around things like the jewelry end of what she might wear, around her neck or ears or microphone stand or speaker stack. Swifties are swiftly shown. Necklaces and pendants for your neckline as it plunges.

On the other end of the age spectrum, hawked is the so-called hey, IM old (massive and with musk?) body spray. So there is help for us all. Like a silver edition to GQ.

And so much more along their long three-and-a-half walls, often stacked more than six feet high.

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