GREEN BAY, Wis. — By day Jeremy Pach is the principal at Pulaski High School.

But on the side, he makes signs out of old Wisconsin license plates in the shape of the state.

“Wisconsin has had a history of different colors. Like bright and often in contrasting colors, which is nice, especially for me when I’m making signs 20, 30, years down the road,” Pach said at the workbench in his garage. “I know that wasn’t their intent when they were doing it, but there’s certainly a plethora of options and colors that Wisconsin is known for.”

He’s one of the artists, makers and producers from around Wisconsin selling their products through a new souvenir shop in downtown Green Bay.

LoCo WisCo opened this spring with the idea of offering up unique, locally-made products. Things like Pach’s signs.

“She’s given me a definite outlet to sell my signs that I have as a side hustle to make people happy,” he said about owner Dena Mooney. “They’re able to reminisce a little bit in her store about the different years that are on there.”

Mooney said she decided to launch the store based on her own travels and pursuits of souvenirs.

“But we really wanted to make it a little more special that just your standard souvenir. We wanted to showcase the local talent and what truly makes Wisconsin special,” she said. “For us, a lot of that has to do with the people here.” 

Items range from framed artwork to soaps, clothing and food and alcohol from around the state. The store is crafted to give the feeling of visiting a small-town Wisconsin tavern.

“Wisconsin is all about having fun and we wanted our store to be fun,” Mooney said. “We wanted people to have a good time coming into a store, shopping. That’s something they can go back home and let people know, ‘Hey, I got to see this really cool store. I wish we had one of those.’”

Pach is thankful for Mooney’s vision and the ability to share and sell his one-of-kind works with others.

“There’s power in recycling and there’s power in having things that are made locally,” Pach said. “When she told me the concept for her store, the fact it was going to be Wisconsin stuff made by Wisconsin people, I think there’s a lot of pride that goes into that. There’s a lot of pride in Green Bay and the local area, northeastern Wisconsin, that would draw people to that type of store.”

Mooney said she’s interested in working with creators from around the state who make products that tell the story of Wisconsin.