Janae Cameron, owner of Madrona Supply says she is always looking for unique, locally-made products. A walk through her 4,000 square foot store is visually stimulating and a tribute to how carefully she selects her merchandise, and what inspires the designs that are made here.
Janae grew up in Washington State and has been living on Whidbey Island for 13 years. At an early age, she knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur because she says, “I discovered I could buy and resell candy bars and baseball cards in my basement to neighborhood kids.”
She has a degree in Operations Management from Western. She has been an entrepreneur since 2004, when she started a business, IDTAWN, sewing bags and skirts. Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, she worked at customer service jobs including Thriftway, Haggen, campus cafes, McDonald’s and Joann Fabrics, and feels customer service job experience is essential running your own retail business successfully.
Among the items she carries are wood products from Turnco Wood Goods(kitchen goods and custom projects), printed Whidbey Island clothes (she does the printing in the store), local body care, candles, leather goods, books, and more. She says, “Madrona Supply is the largest store on Whidbey Island selling locally made products.” She does all of her own buying and says she says it’s important to her to be genuine and unique over following trends. All of the art in the store is drawn by hand and printed by hand.
She is pleased that Madrona Supply has the largest range of printed Whidbey Island apparel as well as a large selection of useful wood goods made by Turnco, also located in Clinton.
She has a commitment for Madrona Supply to be an inspiring place for people to come to for gifts and for special items they can’t find elsewhere. She adds, “Everyone who works here, including me, gets joy from creating.” She adds: “I love selling unique products, like Swedish candy and Japanese products that aren’t commonly found on Whidbey Island, in addition to our local goods.”
Currently, she has five employees.
She opened MAKE Whidbey in Clinton in 2015.Then in 2019, purchased the adjacent building and enlarged the business to its impressive size today.
Janae invites people to come by Madrona Supply Co., at 8754 Highway 525 (just a short distance from the Clinton Ferry Terminal). You can call the store at (360) 341-2193. Store hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
