Featured Projects
Yooper Steez
Yooper Steez was first dreamt up in December 2007 and launched in January 2008 as Michigan's original Upper Peninsula apparel brand. Founder, Bugsy Sailor had just finished a year-long 50-state road trip across the country where he collected a t-shirt from nearly every state. Inspired by the conversations the t-shirts started, and by teaching people about the Upper Peninsula, he found his role as Ambassador of the Upper Peninsula. Upon returning, Yooper Steez was created, to produce original products and original content for the Upper Peninsula. In Fall 2017, Yooper Steez was branded to what you see now, the Upper Peninsula Supply Company.
The U.P. Silhouette Tee
The Upper Peninsula silhouette tee became the first product of Yooper Steez in 2008. We sought ideas to show our love for the Upper Peninsula. It's hard to believe now, but at the time it was a first of its kind. Steez (meaning style with ease) began with the silhouette as its flagship product. This iconic shirt has inspired a wave of Upper Peninsula designs and iconography as pride in the U.P. blossoms.
The 906 Sticker
Our obsession with area code 906 began with a blog post in 2008. One of the largest area codes east of the Mississippi, and largest in Michigan, it has long been known as the only area code of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. As well known as this fact was, it was not yet defined as an iconic symbol of the Upper Peninsula. In addition to the Upper Peninsula silhouette, we looked for other ways to uniquely represent the region. After the blog post we started with a simple sticker, inspired by the iconic European oval stickers. Since then, 906 has become synonymous with the Upper Peninsula.
906 Day
Our enthusiasm with 906 grew well beyond stickers. On the morning of September 6, 2012 we began the day with an epiphany. We realized the date looks an awful lot like 906. We rushed to create some graphics and a marketing campaign. 906 Day was born. We began with an annual sale of $9.06 off an order, but now is celebrated across the Upper Peninsula for good reason to wear plaid, take a sauna, or eat a pasty with friends.
#906Life
It's true, we just can't get enough of the sphenic number, 906. As our social media presence grew, we wanted a unique way to identify photos that truly represented what it meant to live in the Upper Peninsula. Our first #906Life post was taken April 4, 2014, in Houghton. Over 29,000 #906life photos have now been tagged on Instagram. It conveys our love for nature, exploration, the beauty of our surroundings, and not taking for granted what we have here. Keep exploring!
Upper Peninsula Embassy
We launched the Upper Peninsula Embassy with the goal of building a log cabin in the heart of Lansing in view of the Michigan Capitol. We plan for it to become a place of refuge for Yoopers, an information center, and a place of advocacy for the people and issues of the Upper Peninsula. Yes, we're serious. We would love to partner with anyone who can help make this happen!
Lake Superior Sharks
On April 1st, 2013, a shark was spotted swimming in Lake Superior near Marquette, Michigan. Ok, we really love April Fool's Day, but we still believe there's a shark out there somewhere. Lots of fun was had concocting and sharing our first April Fool's joke. It was followed by the launch of the Lake Superior Sharks, a fictional sports team inspired by the shark sighting. #webelieve
Yooper Singles
On April 1st, 2014, we launched YooperSingles.com as the world's exclusive online dating site for Yoopers. April 1st was not a coincidence, we love April Fool's Day! Little did we know that the joke was on us. Nearly 1,000 people registered that day, and another couple thousand have registered since. It's not live yet, but our research and survey results say it's a viable option to make a real dating website. We're making and would love your feedback to make it happen. Looking for love? Sign up today.
Pasty Infused T-Shirts
Do you love the fresh aroma of a pasty baking in the oven? You can now savor that delicious smell in a way never been experienced before and it’s better than a scratch-n-sniff sticker. Introducing the world's first Pasty Infused t-shirts.
Plaidurday
Our very own Official Unofficial Ambassador of the Upper Peninsula, Bugsy Sailor, founded Plaidurday, the Worldwide Celebration of Plaid. The international holiday has been celebrated since 2011 on the first Friday of October, encouraging everyone in the world to wear plaid. At UPSCo. we have participated every year, offering specials, promoting on social media, and gathering herds of people to wear plaid.
Copper Country Sisu Strong
On June 17, 2018, Houghton County was devastated with flash floods after significant amounts of rain. Three days later we launched our Copper Country Sisu Strong shirt with 100% of profits going towards the Portage Health Foundation Flood Relief Fund. Yoopers near and far felt the impact, by purchasing a shirt they helped raise over $40,000 for the foundation.
Upper Peninsula Mountain Dew Label
After being called out on Twitter, for a map associating the Upper Peninsula with Wisconsin, Mountain Dew® contacted us to create and launch an exclusive Mountain Dew® Upper Peninsula label, which became the 51st label in their national Dewnited campaign. Our in-store launch even had 400 people through the door in 40 minutes and we were given the opportunity to print commemorative shirts to give away which each of 906 bottles of Mountain Dew®. This story generated nearly 100 news stories from the Detroit Free Press, Fox News, NPR, Fast Company and countless others.
Hockeyville USA 2019
In the summer of 2019 we partnered with the Calumet Colosseum and Kraft Hockeyville USA® to be the exclusive online provider of merchandise between the Detroit Red Wings® and St. Louis Blues®. We raised over $4,000 in merchandise sales that was donated to the Calumet Colosseum for future facility improvements.
Watch More Sunrises
On January 1, 2019 our founder, Bugsy Sailor began a resolution to watch all 365 sunrises of the year. Except, he didn't stop. If you've been into our brick and mortar store recently, you'll see The Sunrise Gallery, a display of every sunrise of 2019 sorted by date. The thing is, he hasn't stopped. He has now watched three years of consecutive sunrises inspiring us to launch a brand called Watch More Sunrises while encouraging others to take The Sunrise Pledge, committing to watching more sunrises this year than the previous year. We'll see you at sunrise.
