Local Business – Stark School and Event Center

Plans Revealed for Stark School and Event Center

by Rebecka Hoyt, Editor and Photographer

Friday, April 22, 2022 The Buchanan Area Chamber of Commerce held their monthly meeting after being on a 2-year pandemic break at the Stark School and Center where Jen Tabor’s Souldier headquarters office and community center will be held at 502 Claremont Street, Buchanan, Michigan. While attending the meeting, Jen Tabor showed her enthusiasm for this building while stating what this building will bring to our Buchanan community.

The classroom where the presentation was held, around 30 people enjoyed an egg casserole, fruit, doughnuts, muffins, juice and coffee. Sabine Wheetley told me that the school, where her kids attended, “the Pumpkin Jamboree was held here. It is good to see this building put to use and I am excited to hear the plans.” Sabine was not the only one excited to hear the plans and many in the room showed excited faces as Jen Tabor shared those plans.

Jen moved here five years ago. She has a music degree and does business on the side. She goes from a 22,000 sq. ft. of Stark space to 8,000 sq. ft. in the old Bosch building behind Rite Aid. The manufacturing will not be coming in here. It has its own space and own life. Her personal mission is to make Souldier here in America and not overseas. “We always make the orders as they come in, “made-to-order” out of recycled seatbelts and other fabrics/damaged leather,” stated Jen. Jen comes up with her own designs and they are never mass-produced. She trains her best sewing person on how each thread is to be stitched and then that person passes it onto the next sewer and so on. Souldier also makes wallets, keychains, bags, and possibly clothing in the future, etc….

Souldier has made guitar straps and other items for musicians such as: Gretta Van Fleet (band from Michigan), Aerosmith, Taylor Swift, Chris Stapleton, The Black Crows, Cheryl Crow, one of her good friends who is the banjo player for Florida Georgia Line and many others. Currently, she is working on a birthday present for Paul McCartney’s 70th birthday!

Music lessons for guitar, piano, etc…and band practices, even birthday parties, play times with play room and art room, movie nights will also be held here. A massage therapy room will be moving in as well. If you want to teach a music/art class, have a meeting here, you can contact Jen to rent a room. A tour was given throughout the 3-story building. Desks, chairs, and tables lined the hallways that were priced to sell. A percentage of the sales from the marching band uniforms will go toward the Buchanan Bands March 4 Band Fundraiser. Instructions written on marker/chalk boards, as well as the teacher’s name for their classrooms remained since the doors last closed. Painted handprints and a “Stark’s wall of Fame” are still around. Jen Tabor is going to still keep some art the way it is and/or paint something different on the walls. It is not her intention to completely makeover the building. There will be some new windows going in soon.

The Buchanan Chronicle will definitely keep everyone updated when the Stark School and Event Center is ready to be used.

---

About Souldier: Souldier is an independent design manufacturer, fusing aesthetic textile creation with functionality. Our unique merchandise is inspired by musicians and created for the connoisseur looking to express their inner spirit. At Souldier, all of our products are handmade in the USA. We do not outsource to other agents and pride ourselves on the craftsmanship of our product. Our straps and hand cut leather ends carry a lifetime warranty that we are proud to standby. The online store was created with the customer in mind, offering complete customization of any and all products we offer. With an ever increasing product line, we hope you continue to visit the site, and contact us with your designs ideas. Our products are not designed for the masses, but for those are committed to their craft. Support the independent lifestyle.

Souldier

---