Grace Klein joins Lacey Squier in conversation about her mutli-faceted journey to life in Ely, including a background in pattern and paper making. Grace is a fiber artist in all senses of the word. They discuss the positive power of reading, and how that shows up in life on the edge of the Wilderness.

This conversation includes the following highlights:

• Introducing Grace -- YMCA Camp Du Nord, Wintergreen Northern Wear, & more.
• How did Grace become interested in apparel design and fiber arts?
• "I love sewing and I love creating clothing that feels true to me."
• Wintergreen Northern Wear is a staple of Ely culture, fashion, and commerce.
• Foray into paper making & sustainable creative practice.
• Apparel design becomes book anatomy, paper making, and paper tapestries.
• I'm at growth and experimental phase of my art career.
• Gratitude to the Donald G. Gardner Humanities Trust.
• "Thus from knickers came literature" -- the humanities & fiber arts collide.
• Let's talk about the humanities (at the Ely Folk School).
• What are the humanities?
• The humanities, handcraft, and AI.
• As much as we need to preserve a particular craft, we need to preserve the idea of craft.
• For the love of book club.
• Playing music with The Chickadee-Dee-Dee's.
• Entrepreneurship -- "Maybe this will turn in to a business venture."
• "I have everything here that I've ever wanted."

Boundary Waters Connect -- Boundary Waters Connect is the sponsor of the Wilderness Edge Podcast.

Grace Klein Designs -- Grace Klein is a fiber artist living in Ely, MN.

Donald G. Gardner Humanities Trust -- This Ely, MN based trust offers grants to local artists and arts organizations. They offer two grand cycles per year.

Chickadee-Dee-Dee music trio -- A cover band that plays music in various locations around Ely, and also offers free community singing programs at the Ely Folk School.

Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry, & Hope by Sarah Bakewell -- A book that dives deep into the history of the humanism and the humanities.

Ely Folk School -- The Ely Folk School recently created a Humanities program area, through which locals and tourists alike can learn about myriad topics.

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar -- The book referred to by Grace and Lacey as the current selection of their friends' book club.

What AI Kant do -- A recommended rumination on the relationship and differences between AI and the humanities.

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Let's discuss the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of making friends as adults – particularly as people who recently relocated to a new community.

Join me, Lacey Squier, in conversation with my friends Jess Kulik, Kelsey Lee, and Lucy Soderstrom as we talk about the experiences and resources we drew upon to host an Ely Folk School class on how to make friends.

Boundary Waters Connect -- Hello Neighbor

The Wilderness Edge Podcast is sponsored by Boundary Waters Connect, the economic and community development program of Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness. We offer programs and services for new, established, seasonal, and prospective residents to the Ely area.

Boundary Waters Connect – Making Friends

Check out some additional resources on the topic of making friends, particularly as adults.

Ely Folk School

Boundary Waters Connect is proud to sponsor and frequently collaborate with the Ely Folk School, which builds community by offering learning experiences that celebrate the wilderness heritage, art, history, culture, and craft of the people of northern Minnesota.

Potluck Kitchenware

Potluck Kitchenware is a cooking and baking retail store, as well as the presenting sponsor of the Hello Neighbor programs and services facilitated by Boundary Waters Connect. Check out Potluck Kitchenware on the corner of Chapman Street and First Avenue in downtown Ely.

Platonic: The Science of Attachment Can Help You Make – and Keep – Friends

This book, written by Dr. Marissa G. Franco, was one of our favorite resources in the process of learning about and teaching a class on how to make friends.

Chapters & Timestamps:

1:39 | Introducing our guests: Kelsey Lee, Lucy Soderstrom, and Jess Kulik.

5:40 | Finding and forging bonus families.

9:31 | Why host a class on how to make friends?

10:08 | To profess the profound importance of unapologetic initiative.

13:11 | We can't do it for you. We offer tools & empowerment to be your own agent of social connection.

17:26 | We wanted to offer clarity to the process and social norms in our community.

20:47 | How do we talk more openly about what's difficult about making friends?

22:00 | What does your attachment style have to do with making friends?

25:00 | Dread is part of the process (and transitions are hard).

30:20 | It's a wonderful life -- seeing and being seen helps!

31:50 | Check out The Art of the Gathering by Priya Parker.

34:13 | Distinguish between your "work" self and your "personal" self.

39:52 | Give yourself permission to be cared for by community.

43:00 | Consider the power of propinquity & the mere exposure effect.

48:23 | Develop rejection tolerance & be friends with yourself first.

51:33 | You can only succeed if you define your friendship goals.

52:17 | Remember: this process takes time.

54:23 | Share your interests widely; our communities are full of inquisitive, eager people.

55:41 | You can have anything, but you might have to make it yourself.

57:34 | On the pros and cons of being known (and wearing your grimiest pajamas at the grocery store).

59:30 | Mind the liking gap -- you're more well liked than you think!

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Join a conversation about the similarities and differences between the Grand Marais and Ely communities, as well as the wisdom of moving our bodies with M Baxley. M Baxley is the creative genius Bear Witness Media based out of Grand Marais. They also do media work for Paddle & Portage.

Show notes:

Boundary Waters Connect sponsors the Wilderness Edge Podcast.

The Story of Us is a short film about about the joys and challenges of relocating and building community on the edge of the Boundary Waters. M moved from Minneapolis to Grand Marais, and Lacey moved from Saint Paul to Ely. This film explores the convergence of their stories. It is a collaboration between Boundary Waters Connect and Bear Witness Media.

Why We Live Here video series is the original project that introduced Lacey and M to each other. These 4-minute videos each tell the story of an individual or couple who relocated to a town on the edge of the BWCAW -- what compelled them to move and how things are going now that they've relocated.

Bizhiki in Cook County: A Short Film that captures Bizhiki’s residency in Cook County, presented by the North Shore Music Association. Bizhiki is an acclaimed contemporary Ojibwe music and storytelling ensemble that brought their multidisciplinary performance to Cook County in November 2025. The film offers an inside look at the musical artistry, cultural teachings, and the meaningful connections Bizhiki formed with local students and community members.

Bear Witness Media on Instagram

Cook County YMCA

Paddle & Portage offers a unique perspective on the intersection of news, adventure, and storytelling from the Boundary Waters, as well as other paddling destinations across North America. Paddle & Portage offers online content as well as a podcast.

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