Treasureology in Granger is not your ordinary boutique. Owner Meg Truesdell made sure her store reflects her vibrant personality, welcoming aura, and passion for one-of-a-kind finds.
Truesdell, the former owner of a wedding jewelry store in Niles, opened Treasureology seven years ago. She had taken time away from sales to raise her children and hit the craft-show circuit. Her hiatus from retail allowed her to craft a brick-and-mortar shop that reflected her vision, combining retail therapy with creative expression. 
The store features unique jewelry, apparel, crystals and rocks, stickers and buttons. The items she sells represent what her customers have asked for, she says. Some of her merchandise has a humorous touch, and some is more geared toward the socially conscious. Some of the items also benefit local charities and animal rescues – causes that are dear to her heart.
“I listen to people – what they wanted me to get in to stock and what classes they wanted me to do,” Truesdell says.
She describes Treasureology as “an eclectic boutique that comes with a creative classroom.” Attached to the retail space is a classroom that hosts pour painting, glass etching, resin jewelry making, journaling, and fairy garden making classes for all ages. She also hosts birthday parties, team building workshops and other private events in the same space.
Although the shop is only open Friday through Sunday, her classroom space is often filled with crafters of all ages trying out new techniques.
“I have crafters as young as 2 and as old as 90,” she says. “This is an opportunity for people to dip their toe into a craft and see if they can do it at home.”
Truesdell values the crafting experience. On a personal level, it makes her feel relaxed and joyful.
“If you can sit down for an hour and a half to do a craft, it clears your mind,” she says.
Some of her customers are beginners, and others have been inspired to take up crafting as a hobby or even as a business venture.
When someone comes to try a craft, there is no fee to use the craft classroom supplies or the access to knowledge. A reasonable fee is charged for some supplies, such as wooden ornaments, jewelry forms and canvases needed to personalize the crafter’s piece.
Twice a year, Treasureology hosts the Market on Bittersweet. This spring and fall event features about 18 vendors and takes place with the cooperation of her neighbors in the strip shopping center.
Community building is a part of Truesdell’s philosophy. She wants her store to be a place that makes a difference, where all are welcome. She often hosts give-back events that benefit worthwhile organizations. In the past these events have benefitted local animal rescues, St. Margaret’s House, the LGBTQ+ community and local food banks.
“When you allow people to think about giving and it is paired up with an event that puts them in eyesight of the recipient, that makes a difference,” she says.
Truesdell also makes and sells her original jewelry in the store. She likes to work with vintage jewelry and old watch parts to create pieces that are unusual and funky, as she describes it. For the fall, she has created several pieces featuring wings from cicadas, and jewelry made from captured spider webs woven by an orb-weaver spider who lives at her home.
She says her goal is for first-time visitors to her shop to feel they have “been here a million times and that we are best friends. I want people to feel that this store is truly a safe place and that they can come in here to recharge.”
Treasureology is located at 51160 Bittersweet Road in Granger. For more information, visit megtruesdell.com and text the shop at 269-240-4174. Follow Treasureology on social media for info on upcoming events.
Own or work here?
