#tugstuffleland
Cool Waves Meet Casual Comfort
Welcome to Tug Stuff, located in Fishtown, Leland. We are proud to represent the tug emblem, a landmark image representing the Leland utopia. Our lifestyle brand balances nostalgia with living in the moment through a thoughtful collection of quality apparel and gifts incorporating our trademarked logos and designs that represent the heritage of the great lakes fishing tug and historic Fishtown.
We thrive to relax and to fully enjoy life. We spread fun vibes focused on the present while offering one of a kind designs that connect Tug lovers to the nostalgia of Leland’s past.
*Carefree days. Starlit nights. Cherry blossoms. Northern lights. The afterglow when the sun has set. These are things we’ll never forget. Leland’s heart is historic fishtown, overlaid with bonfires under the big dipper, Lake Michigan sunsets, and long afternoons on the boat.
Our brand is more than just casual comfort, it’s a vibrant story of community, heritage and place that incorporates the joy of family and friends. Tug Stuff offers something for all humans and dogs, regardless of age, gender, or breed. There’s nowhere else to shop our brand except our store in Fishtown or on our website.
*Leelanau Theme Song written and composed by Mrs. A.J. Oberhelman.
Discovering Fishtown: A Historic Maritime Gem
Located at the mouth of the Leland River near Lake Michigan, Fishtown remains one of the last unmodernized commercial fishing villages in Michigan. Before white settlers moved to Leland in the mid 1800s, the Ottawa lived and fished from the site. A small fleet of fishing vessels later operated out of Fishtown, the fishermen storing gear, mending nets, and selling fish from weathered shanties. The tug emerged in 1905, with eight tugs fishing from Fishtown at its historic height. It is listed twice on the National Register of Historic Places, both as a historic district and a traditional cultural property.
Although retail stores, restaurants, and residences now inhabit those same weathered shanties and only one fishery remains, the smell of smoked fish still blankets the village, and the fishery offers fresh fare. The Janice Sue and the Joy tugs operate from the docks, preserved by nonprofit Fishtown Preservation Society. A ferry service offers rides to the Manitou Islands, part of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Charter boats take people out on the lake to fish.
Visit the Tug Stuff shanty on Fishtown’s dock, where it reps the Porthole View & Janice Sue Tug logos, icons of Leland and Great Lakes heritage.
Inspiration Strikes; We Love You Janice Sue
Leland’s foundation was built on fishing, a livelihood still witnessed today upon visiting Fishtown. In 1958, steel-hulled tugs were replacing wooden predecessors, and the tug became a symbol of resilience against Lake Michigan’s waves, ice, and capricious weather. One such fishing tug named Janice Sue sailed under the guidance of Captain Louis Steffens and was christened in honor of his three-year-old niece. The vessel’s enclosed design, known as a turtleback tug, sheltered fishermen working in all seasons on the big lake. The Janice Sue still operates today under the guidance of Fishtown Preservation Society and its captain, resting dockside in Fishtown when it’s not hauling chub into Carlson’s Fishery.
The Tug Stuff Mission
To preserve the history and heritage of the endangered great lakes fishing tug through artistic imagery, quality apparel and gifts.
Anchored in Heritage: The Tug Emblem is Our Leland Roots
Take a look around the Leland area, and you’ll notice the green and white tug emblem everywhere. From bumper stickers to address signs, Leland’s residents rep it with pride and consider it the unofficial logo for one of their favorite places.
Given life by local artist, Malcolm Chatfield, the tug emblem started in 1973 as part of his artistic studies, when he worked alongside his father, artist Bill Chatfield. Malcolm began using cherry lugs, rocks and paint to create abstract dioramas depicting the Leland shoreline. The father-son duo organized an art show together at The Riverside Inn. Malcolm’s use of primary colors to create simple, eye-catching imagery captured people’s attention, and the show sold out. He was hooked, finding enjoyment bordering on obsession in painting tugboat imagery.
He established the Main Street Gallery in the 1980s, where he showcased his artwork next to other local artists. Some friends suggested the tugboat was a brilliant image representing the area’s heart and soul. Malcolm developed the first variation of the tug emblem, printing decals and selling them. Then came t-shirts and hats sold at The Crib, a former Fishtown clothing boutique owned by his friend and future wife, Chrissy Chatfield. The “Wall of Tug” as it was called, consisted of a small assortment of apparel that sold like crazy. Any “tug” sale was written up as “Tug Stuff.” By the end of the decade, the Tug logo was trademarked, and Tug Stuff was its own business with an expanded selection of gifts and apparel incorporating the emblem.
Today the tug is joined by the porthole view emblem and several others that make up the Tug Stuff collection. The iconic designs resonate with those who appreciate Leland and the Great Lakes in general, capturing an era and delivering nostalgic connections to the past.
Fishing for Inspiration: The Porthole View
The Tug image wasn’t the first one on the Fishtown scene. Another Tug Stuff trademarked logo, the Porthole View, was born during a summer working for Carlson’s Fishery. Malcolm stood in the door of the fishery, looking over the river to Lake Michigan, when the view through the tug’s porthole caught his eye. He could see the lake unfold between Van’s Beach and the Manitou Islands, framed by Whaleback and the mainland beyond. Applying his primary color scheme to his vision, the Porthole View image was first painted on a dartboard for his grandmother. Over time, the Porthole View was turned into a trademarked logo. Although its footprint is more discreet than the Tug logo, it is considered another landmark image representing the Leland area.
