SARAH SMELTZ/THE EXPRESS Erika Morgan, owner of Up the Crick Wine and Antiques, poses with a few examples of the Black Dog Winery wine she sells at her store along Route 44.

Up the Crick Wine and Antiques has a wide variety of local, homemade goods from jewelry and stationary to hot sauces and jams and jellies.

JERSEY SHORE — When you first enter Up the Crick Wine and Antiques you won’t know what to look at first.

Owner Erika Morgan has compiled a large variety of local handmade items from food to leather goods at her store along Route 44, halfway between Jersey Shore and Waterville.

“It’s really rewarding to watch someone come in and see their eyes bounce all over the room at everything,” she said.

Erika has been dealing in antiques and craft goods for eight years, after first moving to the area from Michigan.

She and her husband, a welder, came to the Clinton County area during the large gas boom in the late 2000s. When many gas drilling companies began to leave years later, she and her husband decided to stay.

“We stayed here because we love it,” she said. “We’re away from the big cities and more people buy locally.”

Erika began her journey by first traveling to various craft shows and events throughout the state with a trailer full of antiques and other goods.

“I was a housewife, so while my husband was out welding, I was focusing on canning, gardening and other homemaking,” she said about how she found this career.

She learned to love antiques when she and her husband would travel to visit family in Tennessee and West Virginia, she said.

“I love going to a yardsale or auction,” she said.

After almost a decade though she decided to trade that trailer for a retail space.

And so Up the Crick was born.

In November 2018, Erika began renovating the first floor of a space located at 5099 N. Route 44 Hwy., Jersey Shore, to turn it into the perfect place for locals and travelers to find unique handmade goods.

She repainted the walls, cleaned up the flooring and carpet and turned it into the perfect place to sell her products.

She celebrated its grand opening on April 11.

In the two months that Erika has been is business, she’s been able to gather products from 35 local artists.

“I’ve focused on the word ‘local,'” she said.

The store houses products which include homemade crackers, butters, cheeses, dog treats, leather goods, salves and bug sprays, stationary, candies, soaps, salad dressings, hot sauces, yarn made from alpaca fur, syrups, jams, jellies and kombucha tea.

Many of the crafts can’t be found anywhere else, as they’re exclusively sold at Up the Crick, Erika said.

“It’s not just my shop it’s 35 other local artists’ shop too,” she said.

Erika also makes her rounds to local businesses and markets to bring new products to the store, such as fresh produce from the Sugar Valley produce auction in Loganton.

“I go out every Friday to the Sugar Valley produce auction to buy fresh, local produce,” she said.

After purchasing the produce, she places it in front of her shop for people to purchase the fresh, local fruits and vegetables.

Erika also travels to various auctions and sales to purchase new antique items to refurbish and place in the store.

Up the Crick doesn’t just deal in homemade goods and antiques, it also sells wine.

Erika partnered with Black Dog Wine Company out of Oakdale, Pa. to sell their product.

Black Dog has a variety of wines, from red to white to sweet that she sells at her store.

Shoppers who come in for the homemade goods and antiques can also have a chance to visit the bar and sample some of the different flavors from Cabernet Sauvignon, a dry red wine, to Big Beaver Blush, a sweet concord/niagara blend blush wine.

Erika is also planning a wide variety of events to host at Up the Crick.

On July 14, she’ll be hosting a Makers Market from noon to 3 p.m.

The event will be part of a “second Sunday” proprogram which will run until Oct. 13.

Various craft vendors will be on site to sell products such as jewelry and homemade foods. Fresh produce will also be available for purchase.

In the fall and winter months, Erika hopes to host workshops in the kitchen of the building.

The plan is to teach various skills such as canning, how to make sauerkraut and cheese making, she said.

Erika has also been approached by some of her vendors about holding crafting classes in the shop, similar to a paint and sip class, but instead classified as a “craft and wine” class, she said.

Saturdays at Up the Crick are also special sample days, she said.

Every Saturday, Erika sets up various samples of the jellies, jams, sauces, cheeses and butters that are stocked at her store for customers to try while they’re walking through the store.

“My best days are Saturdays,” she said.

Although she’s settled down with the opening of Up the Crick, Erika still plans to participate as a vendor during events in the area.

Currently, she’s planning on setting up a tent at the Waterville Apple Butter Festival this fall to sell Black Dog wine, she said.

Up the Crick is open Thursday and Friday noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about Erika’s business visit www.upthecrick44.com or on Facebook at Up The Crick 44.