Professional Services in Battle Creek

Fruit Basket Flowerland’s 20 acres of nursery space contain beautiful hanging baskets, annuals, and perennials. The nursery has seen those perennials bloom dozens of times since it opened back in 1949, and today the business has blossomed out to three locations. Home gardeners can peruse a huge selection of soil, fertilizer, and plants, or sign up for instructive gardening classes, which teach participants to care for their plants and to exterminate weeds without running afoul of weeds-rights activists. Fruit Basket Flowerland also houses a vast selection of patio furniture and three lines of Weber grills.

Portage Cleaners & Laundry owner Shirley Winterburn shares her 37 years of experience with her staff as they spiff up wardrobes with eco-friendly GreenEarth Cleaning solvents, which render colors brighter and fabrics softer. The shop's dry-cleaning experts scrub stains out of casual clothing and business wear with an especially delicate handling of silk shirts and sport coats made out of eyelashes. Visitors can bring in their duds for professional laundering services, or take on the garment-cleansing endeavor themselves by feeding their soiled linens to more than 100 washers and dryers. The staff also complimentarily performs minor repairs such as quick hemming or replacing lost buttons. Portage cleaners offers free pick-up and delivery to homes and offices in the Kalamazoo and Portage areas, and same-day service is available on weekdays.

The owner and photographer of Behind Closed Doors at Memory Lane Portrait Boutique, Crystal, preserves sultry images of her lady clientele with boudoir and vintage pin-up sessions that flatteringly capture each subject's sensuality. After a brief email or phone consultation, Crystal and her patrons rendezvous at her portrait studio for a private session. On one of five sets, she coaches subjects with pointers on poses and facial expressions, artfully capturing each bewitching moment in the camera’s eye. Crystal then edits and retouches each image before transforming them into calendars, prints, or avant-garde passport photos.

Jessica Christensen has spent much of her decade-long career photographing models prone to unexplained screaming fits—babies. Families in her First Year Baby Club enjoy a year’s worth of quarterly photo sessions, which document their tot’s transformation from a baby to a baby who makes mortgage payments. For subjects with more birthdays under their belts, Christensen captures lifelong connections in vivid, high-contrast shots of parents and children or newlyweds.

Christensen also helps budding photographers to compose their own professional-quality images with hands-on photo courses. Her introductory sessions focus on camera settings for point-and-shoots and DSLRs alike. More advanced workshops explore the shores of Lake Michigan and other outdoor venues, and they frequently involve portraiture practice with live models, rather than the less expressive faces of text-message emoticons.

Chef Isaac introduces foodies to a palate-pleasing style of cooking he learned under the tutelage of his father, a student of legendary recipe maker Julia Child. While lingering in the aromas and sung notes that filled his childhood kitchen, he soaked up the skills that would lead him to create a menu that was praised by Dine Michigan. Roasted chicken tempts tongues alongside barbecue ribs, sliced pork tenderloin in a white-wine sauce, and handmade meatballs with vegetable-infused tomato sauce. One who vows to leave stomachs satisfied, Chef Isaac pairs his entrees with gourmet takes on mac 'n' cheese or warm spinach salad and ends meals with a sweet note, such as the apple flambé, which sizzles and spits like a surly tea kettle.

After experiencing a particularly long wait at a restaurant one evening, Chef Isaac decided to expand his culinary reach into the homes and minds of his clientele with a slew of delicious services. Cooking classes divulge his techniques with comfort foods and healthy cooking or guide students through the creation of specific dishes such as stuffed pasta with meatballs. Chef Isaac also brings his skills and signature menu into patrons' homes, thereby freeing up more time for them to spend with their families or search for patterns in taped episodes of Press Your Luck.

Shannon, the professional shutterbug behind Revealed Images, knows that in order for a woman to strut her stuff she needs to feel comfortable. With that in mind, she consults with each client before determining the wardrobe, location, theme, and objective of each of her models before they begin. After they’ve been styled by Lauren, a professional makeup artist from Folio Salon, clients strike a pose while Shannon aims to snap glamorous images that convey inner confidence and outer beauty in a tasteful manner.