There’s nothing like a brisk breath of fresh air and disconnecting yourself from the virtual world for a few hours. Maybe pick up an oar and get out on the Detroit River, pin up a hammock on Belle Isle and bask in the sun or strap on a pair of roller blades and hit the Dequindre Cut.
In an effort to draw the masses away from their computer and phone screens, Sarah White has founded MOR & Co. It’s an outdoor equipment and lifestyle store for city-goers and not the typical Moosejaw and REI wilderness backpackers.
Her goal is to encourage outdoor activity, even in a city setting with products like hammocks and picnic necessities. With an emphasis on smaller outdoor activities, White deems these experiences just as crucial as large excursions and believes that we need to transition from outdoorsy to “outsidesy” with 80% of the country living in urban areas.
White is all about the outdoors, but being a city girl, she claims she needs to find some type of balance between the two, which is the focus of MOR & Co. “I was born barefoot and if it was up to me it would probably have stayed that way,” White said. Growing up, the adventurer was always climbing things, rollerblading, and, later in high school, rowing.
White was working from a pop-up store out of The Red Hook Café in West Village, and she hopes to expand her clientele with other locations throughout the Detroit area in coming months. However, what she is trying to do varies from your typical retail entrepreneur; with aspirations of a permanent location preferably near Belle Isle, she wants the building to act as more than just a shop, serving as a gathering point for excursions, a place to stop before adventures, a classroom and more.
MOR & Co. will offer workshops, events and fieldtrips in addition to the toys, accessories and apparel that are for sale. “Learn how to roast the best s’mores, brush up on bike safety, make your own sparklers, finally tie that boating knot, start a garden, learn how to tell the good bugs from the bad, and more,” White said. There is also talk of a trip up north to see the eclipse in September.
As she continues to move forward, White said, “Detroit, and the Midwest in general, is home and has such an abundance of great natural resources – good bones so to speak. We need to figure out how to keep the connection to those natural resources – both the wilderness that exists beyond our city limits and the smaller urban open spaces within. I hope that MOR can be a part of making that happen.”
There will be another pop-up location on August 30th at the Build Bazaar. For more information you can visit their website for shopping and keep up with upcoming stores, excursions and continue your adventuring.