A women’s outdoor adventure club was Michele Rucci’s answer to acclimating to northern Wisconsin from New Jersey and exploring scenic lake country with more than 20 waterfronts in Waukesha County. From Lake Pewaukee to Upper Nemahbin and Lac La Belle, the region is a boating-fishing-hiking-camping destination.
The club took off right away.
“I thought, ‘Wisconsin is so beautiful,’ and I started a little group of like-minded women and organized hiking trips, canoeing excursions and activities like ziplining. I found a lot of women wanted to try new things but maybe their circle of friends wasn’t into it,” says Rucci. “This was an outlet.”
At one point, more than 100 women gathered for various outings. “And we weren’t an intimidating adventure group,” Rucci says. “A lot of times, we were trying something we’d never done before.”
COVID clamped down on the club. Rucci’s inspiration wandered to ways she could offer camping gear in a shop. An online store, Lake & Pine Co., was born. The online store’s inventory quickly expanded, much of it tilting toward lake-themed home decor, tableware, art and products for lake lovers and landlubbers who could find jewelry, pet, beauty and men’s products.
By August 2021, sales momentum drove Lake & Pine Co. to a tipping point: Was it time to open a shop? Sure was.
Products for pet owners and drinkware and accessories appeal to a lake-loving crowd.
Photos: Julie Collins
The Ruccis happened upon a lakefront spot by a beach that became home to the business until March 2024, when it relocated to Delafield, Wisconsin. That’s where a quaint shop-dine vibe and targeted foot traffic has propelled the business to a point where Rucci is looking forward to creating custom pieces in-house that are lake specific.
“We found that people really love Lake Country. Their heart belongs to a very specific lake and they want whatever product to highlight that because it brings back a memory for them,” says Rucci.
The buy side
“Obviously quality” drives buying decisions, Rucci says. But she has instituted a couple of other key guidelines when sourcing products for Lake & Pine Co. The first guideline is margin. The second is no Amazon presence. Third is not going so hyper-local with merchandise that every other shop around carries the same products. These priorities are equal.
“Amazon is getting over-saturated with small business makers, and if they can put their products on Amazon and attract customers, I understand that,” says Rucci. “But for me, customers come in and shop, they might buy a consumable like a body product, and if they can get it again on Amazon they might go online instead.”
“We found that people really love Lake Country. Their heart belongs to a very specific lake and they want whatever product to highlight that because it brings back a memory for them.” — Michele Rucci
Margins speak to her engineering mind, as Rucci runs a smart operation and her full-time position is with a medical device company. Her husband, Steven, manages the shop daily and she heads up purchasing along with other business activities.
At Lake & Pine Co., there is an ebb-and-flow harmony of providing locally made products and avoiding a storefront and displays that look like every other shop in the region.
For instance, her previous storefront was next to a crystal jewelry designer who makes wire-wrapped pieces. Those pieces are now great sellers in the new Delafield location.
“Now that we are not a neighboring business, we brought them in as a wholesaler and our customers like the crystals — it’s rocks, nature,” Rucci explains.
“I like to support local artisans but the market can get overwhelmed because they are going into all the shops in the area, so sometimes I choose to not bring in local makers so our customers can see something different,” she says.
Because Rucci believes in supporting local businesses, she organizes pop-up shops highlighting makers or artists for a day at Lake & Pine Co. “When you have a brick and mortar, you can support other small businesses in the community that are trying to get visibility,” she says.
“There’s a balance between offering a little something local and not competing with other shops,” Rucci adds.
She tries to carry mostly U.S.-made products and attends souvenir and gift shows to check out new items.
“I’ve met some great people on social media who own other lake small businesses and then they have products they’re offering wholesale, so I might buy those,” she says. “It’s all about getting creative with sourcing.”
That is, creative within parameters that suit your target market.
For Lake & Pine Co., this means an audience who appreciates the outdoors, enjoys nature-inspired pieces, wants to celebrate the lakes and is seeking interesting gifts and home goods that reflect these passions.
Custom, by design
Lake & Pine Co.’s top-selling products include its two-dimensional wood framed lake maps that illustrate one of the region’s lakes and its surrounding geography. The shop can order custom lake art from its vendors and soon will be offering in-house designs. The Ruccis recently acquired an engraver and machine for cutting wood and other materials.
The logistics of the store’s new offering — in shop or off-site — are still up in the air. But Rucci says guest demand is driving this initiative and she is excited about the possibilities.
For now, the shop is displaying the most popular lake-specific pieces in store and others must be special ordered. “It’s hard to stock one store with 20-plus lakes,” points out Rucci, relating why in-house customization will give guests what they want and allow for more flexibility and faster turnaround, possibly engraving while customers are in the shop.
Along with wall hangings, kitchen and entertainment wares fly off the shelves, including smaller pieces such as Brandy Old Fashioned cocktail glasses — the Wisconsin state drink.
Two-dimensional wood framed lake maps are top sellers at Lake & Pine Co
Also popular are charcuterie boards finished with epoxy to resemble lake or ocean water. A men’s section includes body care by Gentlemen’s Hardware, along with a custom T-shirt that reads, “Pontoon Captain: Like a regular captain only drunker.” Rucci wasn’t sure at first, but “it’s pretty funny” and goes over with men who get the reference.
A pet section includes a display of Italian sterling silver pet breed necklaces, along with Black Dog Candle Shoppe items and a give-back line that donates proceeds to rescues. Pet beds resembling life preservers align with the lakefront theme, and nautical knot rope toys go over well with customers, says Rucci.
“We used to carry dog treats, but there is a dog shop near us at the new location, so we are more focused on human gifts for dog lovers,” she says, going back to the Lake & Pine Co. buying strategy.
There are wooden toys for children, mugs with sassy and sweet sayings, hats with lake references, and other customizable products such as ornaments for holiday trees that bear an owner’s address or favorite Wisconsin lake. The shop carries local lake books and journals, as well.
Following the move to a new store location, Rucci says she has learned a valuable business lesson: Quality foot traffic is what matters, not quantity.
“We don’t have the lake outside our door now, but we are in a town up the street from a lake with a few blocks of restaurants and shopping so the foot traffic is better for us year-round.”
She adds that it’s also paying attention to the type of foot traffic coming through. “Who is walking by? What are they looking for?”
Rucci says the town’s chamber of commerce has also been an excellent conduit for building relationships with other small business owners and connecting in the community. “I’m a believer in the chamber, and they have well-organized events throughout the year,” she says, relating that previously, she was spearheading visibility-driving activities. Now she has more support.
“We are excited about the move and about expanding into the gifting and personalization offerings,” Rucci says.
In many ways, the initial pursuit of starting an outdoor adventure club is coming full circle. She’s been floating a balloon with current customers who might be interested in a shop-related explore-the-outdoors club.
“I’ve been tossing out the ideas,” says Rucci. “And I’m finding our customers who didn’t know about the club before love the idea and would like to try those adventures.”
