UP North Specialties Spotlight: Escanaba, Michigan

Maddi started UP North Specialties with a simple mission: to show the world how amazing and beautiful the Upper Peninsula of Michigan really is. Located at 1101 Ludington Street in downtown Escanaba, it is a gift shop built entirely around celebrating the UP — but it is more than a shop. It is a platform for the people who make things up here.

Every Product, Made in the UP

Every single product in UP North Specialties is made right here in the Upper Peninsula. Candles, lip balms, wooden crafts, stickers, magnets, cards, mugs, jewelry, UP North Roast coffee, Yooper Nuts — all of it created by UP crafters and small producers who pour the spirit of the region into everything they make. There are no national brands here. No mass-produced items imported to look local. Just the real thing, from the real place.

A Platform for UP Makers

What separates UP North Specialties from other gift shops is the role it plays in the local maker economy. Maddi built the store to connect small UP creators with new customers — people who come in looking for a gift and leave having discovered an artist or food maker they never knew existed. Custom gift baskets let you send a curated piece of the Upper Peninsula anywhere in the country. Crafting classes let you make your own creation to take home.

Escanaba’s Independent Spirit

Escanaba is the largest city in the Upper Peninsula’s central region and a hub for the communities around it. UP North Specialties anchors that downtown with the kind of business that reflects what makes the UP worth visiting and living in. You can shop in-store on Ludington Street or find them online, where they ship throughout the US.

If you have never visited Escanaba, UP North Specialties is one of the best reasons to make the trip. And if you want to send someone a gift that actually means something, this is where you start.