Marquette-themed coloring books excite locals

MARQUETTE — Fall is right around the corner which means we’re not too far away from color transitions all across the Upper Peninsula. But one local business is adding a different kind of color not just to the trees, but to some of your favorite local sights.

For the last month or so, the Gathered Earth Gift Shop in downtown Marquette has been selling coloring books-but not your average run of the mill, children’s coloring books. But these are more like the recent craze of adult coloring books and they feature scenes and activities from all over Marquette. Owner Erica Smith heard about a company that makes coloring books from pictures and that motivated her to submit photos from around the area to make this one-of-a-kind compilation. Smith says the public has been extremely receptive to them.

“I knew people liked coloring and I knew it would certainly have its group, but we have gotten people contacting us from across the country – people that no longer live here, people from Alabama and Arizona, saying please send me some,” said Smith. “We’re hoping it continues because we already have ideas for a volume two.”

The coloring book includes camping and winter sports as well as scenes from the Ore Dock and McCarty’s Cove. Smith says it’s a great way for people of all ages to pass the time as the cold weather rolls in.