Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Wilson.
Hi Robin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey has not been linear, but creativity has always been a constant thread throughout my life. Even while teaching full-time at the elementary school level in Detroit, I was creating fiber artwork and writing stories. Even then, I was a maker and creator. Over time, my creativity and discipline have evolved into building Vesey Lane Goods — not simply as a cultural mercantile, but as a space rooted in storytelling, cultural preservation, economic participation, craft and community connection.
Fiber art, especially crochet, has become a vehicle within the context of my business to further build community. Each week, we host a crochet circle in our space, and with every passing week the circle continues to grow. It has become about much more than making. It is a space where women gather to release stress, engage in substantive conversations, and connect with one another while working with their hands to create something that will ultimately comfort or care for themselves or someone else.
For me, that’s meaningful and powerful. Every stitch relies on another stitch, and that interconnectedness mirrors the kind of ecosystem I’m building through both my creative practice and my business. Along the way, I have sought ways to create opportunities for other artists and makers. I am also actively preserving community narratives through recording oral histories in our space. Beyond building revenue, I am building valuable relationships. I am building a space and business where people feel a genuine sense of belonging. Those values are deeply intertwined in everything I create and how I curate our space.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a creative entrepreneur has definitely come with challenges. Owning a brick-and-mortar space comes with greater responsibilities financially, physically, and emotionally. I think some people underestimate how much ongoing work is required beyond simply opening the doors.
My business is located in Detroit’s East Village neighborhood on a developing stretch of Kercheval Avenue between Cadillac and Pennsylvania. The building that our retail unit is located in is more than 100 years old. The overall building is an important part of East Village’s local history. Vesey Lane Goods was the first business in our building to open in more recent years. Now, three more business doors have opened in our building and there is continued growth. The work of increasing visibility and foot traffic to our corridor is ongoing and we are proud to be a part of that growth.
Early on, I realized that the phrase some people use — ‘if I build it, people will come’ — is really a fallacy. I like to say instead, ‘if you build it, wherever you build it, you have to be fishers of men.’
What I mean by that is you cannot simply create a business and only expect people to find you. Many times, you have to find them before they can find you. Just like a fisherman has to cast a net or lower a hook into the water, entrepreneurs have to actively and consistently reach out to the communities they are purposed to serve. With consistency, positioning, and time, you will find your people and your people will find you.
Before opening my storefront, I participated in pop-up markets and community events, and I initially thought having a physical location would replace pop-ups. In reality, it became even more important, and I still attend pop-up events and conferences where I know my ideal customer will be. I have gained new customers this way and many of them have later come into my physical store location, referred other people, or continued to shop with us online.
This year, I am celebrating two years of successfully running my business in a brick-and-mortar space, and four years total of being in business. It has come with challenges, but it has been worth it. I embrace the lessons that I learn along the way. I’ve learned that building a resilient business, especially in this economic climate, requires meaningful and strategic engagement. Everyone is not my customer, but I believe it’s important to connect deeply with people, especially the people that I feel called to serve, and to remain present and active within that community.
A large part of my resilience has come through self-awareness and relationships — through staying connected to people in thoughtful ways, collaborating with neighbors and local organizations, and being part of a community that has supported me just like I have supported them.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Vesey Lane Goods is a cultural mercantile rooted in four generations of makers, where retail becomes a vehicle for storytelling, preservation, and economic participation. More than a store, it is a destination where living history, craftsmanship, and community engagement intersect.
Our handcrafted greeting cards are the gold standard of handmade greeting cards, but what sets us apart is that our work extends far beyond retail. Every good, workshop, gathering, and collaboration is connected to a larger mission of preserving narratives, supporting independent artists and makers, and creating meaningful opportunities for people to connect with culture, heritage, art, and with one another.
We specialize in thoughtfully created and curated goods, handmade work, and community-centered experiences that honor craftsmanship, heritage, and storytelling. More than 50% of the goods on our shelves are created by Detroit-based artists and makers, and throughout the space, guests encounter framed maker profiles on shelves, paintings on gallery walls, Vesey family portraits, and mini storytelling vignettes on our shelves that invite customers to slow down, reflect, and engage more intentionally with the people and stories behind the work.
Our commitment to preservation also extends beyond the walls of our store. We initiated and are currently working in collaboration with the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on a community oral history initiative called The Villages Legacy Project. Through this project, Vesey Lane Goods is actively collecting and recording oral histories from Black residents, business owners, and community stakeholders in East Village and neighboring Villages—past and present—with the goal of preserving at least 100 narratives. These stories are being documented to ensure that community memory is protected, honored, and accessible for future generations.
Through gatherings like our weekly crochet circle, artist collaborations, quarterly art exhibitions, oral history initiative, and public storytelling events, we intentionally create space for creativity, conversation, and intergenerational connection. Guests can also enjoy coffee, tea, or hot chocolate at our coffee station in our store, explore rotating exhibitions by Detroit artists, or leave their mark on our community chalk wall, where visitors from near and far write their names and where they’re from. In addition to local and national customers, we’ve had visitors and customers from places like Leeds, England and Mexico City.
If customers want to experience our space beyond shopping, they can book our space for private events. We’ve had people book our space for intimate gatherings such as brunches, post-wedding high teas, birthday celebrations, artist dinners, and professional networking events. More recently, we have also started to receive bookings from people from outside of the State of Michigan who want to host social events.
Yes, we are known for our handcrafted greeting cards, gifts, and home décor, but one thing I’m especially proud of brand-wise is that people often describe our space as welcoming and warm. That matters to me because I never wanted Vesey Lane Goods to simply function as a place of transaction. I wanted people to experience our space as a living, evolving reflection of community — a place where people can encounter heritage, art, history, memory, care, and rest in tangible ways.
Our brand is living proof that heritage, creativity, care, and commerce can work together in ways that not only support artists and families economically, but also strengthen cultural memory, community connection, and a shared sense of belonging.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
I would tell anyone starting out in business to move and operate with integrity. Business is just as much about people as it is about profit, so know your numbers, but also know and demonstrate care for your people. Lead with gratitude, service, and authenticity.
It’s important to be meaningfully engaged in the community where your business is rooted. It is also vital to be actively connected to the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem and to be civically engaged.
Additionally, it is important to surround yourself with wise advisors and people who demonstrate both self-mastery and business mastery. Growth takes movement, discipline, and patience, and slow growth is still growth. Pace yourself, make room for rest, and stay focused on running your own race instead of comparing yourself to someone in a different lane.
The high-impact leaders that I know are lifelong learners and doers. So, continue investing in your growth however you can — through books, podcasts, conversations, business development trainings, and lived experiences. And above all else, put into practice quality daily habits that you’ve learned that will lead to desired successful outcomes.
And finally, remember to give. My great grandfather would say “a closed hand can neither give nor receive.” It is good to give money to worthy causes. However, giving back is not always monetary — sometimes it’s your time, your knowledge, your encouragement, your presence, or your willingness to open doors for others. Currency is not always green.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.veseylanegoods.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veseylanegoods/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@vesey.lane.goods
