Talking Business - The Hidden Gems of Cloquet

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director of the City of Cloquet are discussing the Hidden Gem of Cloquet Oswell Auto Body.  Oswell Auto Body, located at 112 - 15th Street,  provides auto body repairs, collision repairs & paintless dent repairs to the Cloquet area.  Locally owned and operated by Todd and Naomi, Oswell Auto Body has been in business for over 30 years, providing fast, friendly, and professional service you can trust.

Todd and Naomi bought the business from Jack Oswell in 2015.  At the time, Naomi was working a corporate job and Todd had been in the collision business since 1991.  Both were ready for a change and decided to take the jump into business ownership.  They have never looked back and have made it their mission to treat people with kindness and complete transparency.  Todd specialized in helping people, especially the older community who may have lost their spouse, and the collision process is overwhelming.  He will coach you through each step in the process.

Their master certified ASE technicians are I-CAR trained in collision and painting with a combined experience of over 70 years in auto collision repairs. Not only do they guarantee superior quality, they also ensure you receive all that you are entitled from your insurance company.

At Oswell Auto Body, they pride themselves in being well-versed in all aspects of collision repair. Their experts use the latest tools, techniques, and technology to resurrect your car, bringing it back to its true original state. In addition, they provide frame repair, dent repair, painting, and paintless dent repair on cars, trucks, and RV's.

Not only do we guarantee superior workmanship, we'll also ensure you receive all that you are entitled from your insurance company. They are associated with the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers and the Northern Business Collision Association.

Look to Todd and Naomi and their team for auto collision repair service that can't be beat and a dedication to customer service that can't be found anywhere else. They will help you resurrect your vehicle.  Check out https://oswellautobody.com  or https://www.facebook.com/Oswell-Auto-Body-102171431878971  for more information.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet are highlighting the Hidden Gem of Cloquet - Savanna Pallets.  How many people even knew we had one of the largest new Minnesota wood pallet manufacturers in the region and the largest producer of wooden pallet components?  If that wasn't cool enough, of all the pallets, skids, and crates they manufacture, over 90% of the components are created onsite in their own sawmills. This allows them to control the raw material needs and adjust according to customer needs. Our superior service, quality, and over 40 years of experience set them apart from the competition. 

Al Raushel, whose dad worked as an engineer at Wood Conversion (former USG Interiors/Conwed Plant), started Savanna Pallet in 1966 in McGregor.  In the early 1980s and 1990s, Al and his two brothers, Doug and Andrew, and their dad, were all active in growing and running the family business.  Today, Al and his two brothers are the current owners, who are getting ready to turn the business over to the next generation. This is where you will meet Al's daughter, Hailey, taking over the reins of the Cloquet Facility.

The Cloquet facility, located at 805 Tall Pine Lane, in Cloquet's first industrial park, is a satellite plant supported with raw materials from both McGregor & Remer, producing both custom packaging and standard pallets.  McGregor is where their main facility is located on over 20 acres and has over 100,000 SF manufacturing space.  This location has three separate sawmills and two separate assembly buildings.  The Remer sawmill facility is strategically located geographically to support pallet production while extending the reach of timber procurement.

The wood pellets are made on the best machinery available to the industry. Their process allows the production of any quantity of pallets required. This machinery does more than manufacture stringer pallets. They also produce wooden block pallets, skids, and crating. With this advanced process, they can produce many other varieties of wooden pallets. Their heat treatment process allows pallets for international shipping, also. Some local companies you might recognize that use the pallets from this facility are:  USG, Sappi, Charter NEX Films, Amsoil, Boise, Compass Minerals.

By controlling the supply chain of raw materials, and large onsite lumber storage in Cloquet, Savanna Pallets can meet orders with extremely low lead time. This ensures their customer's product gets to their customers faster.

Once pallets are prepared for shipping, they can deliver to the Minneapolis Metro Area in under 3 hours. For other locations in Minnesota, they complete delivery in under 24 hours.

The staff at Savanna Pallets is always available to answer any questions you may have. If you are looking for a great place to work. They have immediate positions available.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet are discussing the Hidden Gem of Cloquet Interiors - A hometown favorite since 1960.  When you hear the names Jim and Kathy Abrahamson, you automatically think of the brother-sister team from Cloquet Interiors, who specializes in flooring.  Jim bought the store from his dad in 1994.  Cloquet Interiors, located at 227 Highway 33 North, carries carpet, laminate, vinyl, and wood flooring as well as ceramic and porcelain tile to Cloquet and the surrounding area.  Many community members and customers were fearful that after the May 2018 fire that destroyed the showroom and warehouse, Jim would not rebuild and close the business. But, lucky for all, Jim decided to rebuild.

You can see hundreds of different colors and styles in their showroom, including floating flooring, smooth flooring, and textured flooring—brands such as Armstrong, Congoleum, Dreamweaver, Mannington, Mohawk, and Shaw.  Unique to Cloquet Interiors, they employ their installers vs. contracting this work out to others.  They have twelve employees, and most of them have at least 20-year's experience.

Open six days a week, stop in, see the showroom, and say hello to Jim and Kathy.   You can reach them by calling 218.302.4229.  Check out their website at https://www.cloquetinteriors.net.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet are discussing the Hidden Gem of The Quilted Dog.  The Quilted Dog Quilt Shop, owned by Mary and Gerry Thompson, is a quilters paradise. Established in 2009, the Quilted Dog provides quilting, longarm quilting, and sewing services to Cloquet and the surrounding areas.

Mary, a Cloquet girl, is a Home Economics graduate of the College of St. Scholastica.  She started her career at So Fro Fabrics in Green Bay, until which time they wanted her to move to Chicago for a leadership role. Chicago didn't seem like the place she wanted to be so, she decided to move back to Minnesota and began working at Flemming Foods before her 14-year career at Diamond Brands (Jardon). Once Diamond Brands closed, Mary, found her way back to her passion.   Mary and Gerry purchased the quilt shop in July of 2011.  Gerry, who grew up in Carlton, is the male figure in fabrics for the shop.

In this fantastic shop, you will find over 40 years of quilting experience.  They carry a wide variety of quality fabrics to choose from; brands such as Andover, Moda, Maywood, Northcott, Riley Blake, and much more.  You can also get various quilting supplies, including threads, batting, felts, kits, and more.

Linda Suer is the longest-serving employee of the quilt shop.  She is the “creative” director and comes up with terrific ways to use fabrics, along with continually making samples for the store.

Quilted Dog association affiliation includes million pillowcase challenge, quilts Minnesota, and Minnesota Charms Square Show.

The quilt shop is known for the fun events hosted throughout the year.  Events include shop hops, mystery trips, pumpkin pie weekend, bus trips, and pro-bolts mega sales. Check out the event calendar here: https://www.thequilteddogquiltshop.com/events-calendar

Mary also partners with Community Memorial Hospital to host the classes she offers to her customers and a trunk show, where she brings in an informative speaker.  Classes are limited to 30 participants.

Stop in and see Mary and Linda at 274 Hwy 33 N.  You can reach them by phone at 218.879.3577 or email: [email protected].  Follow them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Quilted-Dog-Quilt-Shop-and-Long-Arm-Quilting-Cloquet-MN-144465775566850.

In this episode of talking business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet are talking about the Hidden Gem of Hagen's Glass and Paint located at 28 8th Street N and is owned by Cloquet native, Jim Martin.  When Jeff and Mark decided to retire,  the opportunity for Jim to purchase the business was a logical one; Jim had been an employee since 1990 and was very familiar with the business, customer service and the contractors and residential customers they serviced.

Most people are unfamiliar with all the products and services they offer. For example, they do window repair, screen repair, window seal repair, sell glass components, sell and install Anderson windows and doors, special order and cut glass, commercial storefronts, and Autoglass repairs and installation.  In addition, they do broken key extraction, key duplication, lock installation, lock changing, lock repair.  They also carry polycarbonate materials and make custom products requested by customers.

Keeping up with technology is essential.  Jim recently invested in an insulated glass production machine. This technology is used to manufacture the highest performing insulating glass units such as double glass, triple glass, and structural glass façade units.

Give Jim a call at 218.879.4531 to discuss your project ideas.  No need to drive to Duluth, they have a wide variety of products to choose from, excellent customer service, and free estimates.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet.  Today's Hidden Gem is TJ's Gun and Pawn.  TJ's Gun and Pawn, owned by Tom Anderson and managed by Galen, is located at 1007 Cloquet Avenue. This local pawn shop has a continually changing inventory of firearms, ammunition, jewelry, tools, videos, electronics, tools, and games.  If you are unfamiliar with a pawn shop, a pawn shop is a business that loans money to people who bring valuable items which they leave with the pawnbroker. The valuables that people leave are called the "collateral." The person can get their valuable item back from the pawnbroker if they pay back the money they were loaned and pay interest on the loan. Interest is like a fee for getting to use someone else's money for a set time period. For example, suppose the person who has borrowed money from the pawnbroker does not repay the loan and interest within an agreed-upon time limit. In that case, the pawnbroker can sell the valuable item to another customer to get back the money they loaned. This is also referred to as the lowest level of banking.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet are discussing Mainstream Boutique.  Mainstream Boutique, located at 1306 Cloquet Avenue, is your locally owned women's clothing boutique that sells some of the most fashionable and unique clothing and accessories. Ryanna Clark owns this cute main street boutique.  Her mission is to help women celebrate themselves through fashion and make them feel beautiful.

Mainstream is a destination store for people who travel here from all over the state.  During the holiday season,  it becomes a place where those who have left the community come to reconnect and find just that right gift for that special someone on their list.

Cloquet Flooring, located at 1504-1/2 Highway 33, is your source for carpet, hardwood, laminate, luxury vinyl, waterproof flooring, sheet vinyl flooring, and installation in Cloquet, Duluth, Sturgeon Lake, Pine City, and Superior. They offer free estimates and have financing options available. 

Tom McConnell, the owner, has over 30 years of experience in commercial and residential installation in Michigan, Florida, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  No project is too big or too small.  They offer free estimates and financing options. 

As a flooring retailer, Tom and his team pride themselves in providing prompt and courteous service and carrying innovative products that make life better for their customers. Visit their showroom to see their carpet gallery, hardwood gallery, or luxury vinyl gallery.   If you are having trouble choosing colors or designs to fit your home, their in-home designers will be glad to work alongside you to pick out the very best combinations for your home. If you are laying out a commercial space, whether offices or retail, they can help you with that, too.  Once all of the choices are made, their installation services can provide you with the finishing touch to ensure the perfect fit and finish of your flooring project.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson, Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen, Community Development Directory for the City of Cloquet are highlighting Sara's Vac Shack - A family business with a proud history.  Sara's Vac Shack started as an e-commerce only operation in 2006, opened the doors to the public in 2009 to serve Cloquet and surrounding communities.  It has outgrown its location twice and now is permanently located at 1108 Cloquet Avenue.  Owners Sara and Lloyd also have a location in Hermantown and Rapid City. So whether you need a new vacuum, vacuum repairs, or cleaning products, s Sara and Lloyd, manager Jon, and the team is ready to meet your needs and provide a stress-free experience from start to finish. 

They carry a wide selection of the latest models of Miele, Sebo, Riccar, Oreck, and Lindhaus vacuums and are the Northland's Vacuum Experts. In addition, they offer a price match guarantee and a free extended warranty.  This is something online companies cannot and will not provide.  

Sara's Vac Shack offers service and repair for every product they sell and is an authorized warranty center for over twenty brands.  Unlike other competitors, Lloyd and his staff personally handle every product and can repair and refurbish vacuums from the bottom up. In addition, if the vacuum you purchased from them is in for repair or service, they will offer ou a FREE loan vacuum, and if you bought a vacuum from them, you can use their commercial carpet cleaner free for one year. Customer service is essential to their success.  

In addition, they carry a wide variety of cleaning products and a great selection of Lampe Berger lamps and fragrances.  

 Maurice Berger, a pharmaceutical chemist, invented the system of diffusion by catalysis in 1898 in response to the need for disinfection in hospitals.  To which he added fragrance, this revolutionary technology was quickly applied for use in the home, giving rise to the  Lampe Berger company.  

Buy local and buy with confidence.  Stop by and see Sara, Lloyd and Jon, and the team at 1108 Cloquet Avenue.  Be prepared to be amazed.  

Gene's Marine is locally owned and operated and is located at 255 Highway 33 N in Cloquet and is a destination repair shop for many people though-out our region, and those headed to their cabins.  Gene's staff, Mike and Joe, have been with him in the business for more than a decade.

In addition to repair service, they carry a wide variety of parts in stock.  If they don't have what you need in stock, they will order it for you.  As you walk around the store, you will notice a nice collection of antiques representing water sports and snowmobiling. Of course, you cannot miss the vintage jukebox.

During the winter months, they repair snowblowers and snowmobiles.  Gene and his team are a part of the vintage snowmobile community and have built some custom machines.  In year past, they have done swap meets and get-togethers at the shop before the pandemic.  Gene is hoping to host another get-together the first week in December again.

You will not find a website or Facebook Page for Gene's Marine, they can be contacted via phone at (218) 878-3348 for pricing, hours, and directions, or you could stop in and say hello to Gene, Mike and Joe.