against the Grain (ATG) has transformed a long-abandoned building in Old Town into a sustainable building showroom. ATG uses locally harvested wood to design and build custom products such as flooring, doors, counter tops and furniture.
ATG has a 3,000 square foot workshop in Eaton Rapids, but this is its first presence in Lansing. Owner Jason Belous has spent the last 
10 years building custom sustainable products in Detroit.
“I’d been thinking about doing this for a year,” he says about opening a showroom in Lansing. “With all traveling and economy the way it is and being in the Detroit area, but living in Lansing, it was becoming a headache.”
Belous opened the doors to his 110 E. Grand River showroom at the end of May. Though he’s only been open on weekends, he’s planning to develop weekly showroom hours.
“Our ideal customer is someone who’s a little more open minded and more open to the creative side of things,” he says. “Out of the process of elimination, this area fits.”
ATG does all of its own milling and all of the wood comes from local sources. The company does not cut down any trees, but instead collects felled trees from construction sites.
“We take kind of a farmer’s market approach to the whole thing,” he says. “If someone buys a kitchen through us, everything is supported locally.”
Eventually, Belous wants to offer classes. He’s also looking at investing in another Old Town building where he hopes to open a trade school for those interested in sustainable development.
Source: Andrea Liebaert, Douglas J
Ivy Hughes is the managing editor of Capital Gains and can be reached here.
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie
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