By Holly Fertsch
Tucked away among a slew of local vendors in Stainton’s on Asbury in Ocean City, some unique magnets and signs lay in wait.
Like many typical shore town wares, some of these decorations are adorned with shells while others spell out the town’s name, proudly proclaiming “OCNJ.” But unlike most others, these ones are depicted in American Sign Language (ASL).
Even more special, approximately 10% of the proceeds go toward charities, including to an organization that helps families with hearing loss access hearing aids.
Formerly known as the Logie Shop, the business is in the process of changing its name to Logie & Co., named after Allison and Spencer Rutt’s sons, Logan and Cohen.
As of March this year, the small shop has donated $12,000 to charity.
Logan’s hearing loss sparked the idea for Logie & Co. According to their website, their mission is to help others find joy in their hearing loss journey.
Logie & Co. donates to charity:water, which provides safe drinking water to people in developing countries; and the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which funds hearing aids for those with hearing loss.
While many of their products feature ASL, their shop also sells handmade jewelry and magnets without sign language imagery. Some of their magnets for sale feature a miniature diorama of a stack of books and a cup of coffee. “Vent clips” are also for sale, with faux flowers on them that adorn car vents and function as air fresheners.
Logan, age 8, and his brother also have their own affiliated shop, “Logie & Co. Jr.” that sells the kind of toys that they are passionate about, including foldable ramps for toy cars and play cutting boards.
On May 3, Logie & Co. was one of the vendors in the OC Block Party.
The Rutt family is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. However, Spencer grew up visiting Ocean City with his extended family, and the couple has made a point to continue that tradition with their own children.
When asked what his favorite part of being down the shore was, Logan quickly replied, “Dancing skeletons.”
Of course, regular visitors to the Boardwalk will know that he was referring to Bones, the animatronic skeleton in front of Haunted Golf. Logan explained he also loves going to the beach.
A few months ago, while visiting Ocean City, Allison approached an employee at Stainton’s on Asbury and asked whether Logie & Co.’s products could be sold there. After going through an application process, the store said yes. The shop began selling products at Stainton’s in April. Allison commented that it’s exciting for her family business to have a place on Asbury Avenue, which their family had been frequenting for multiple generations.
Logan has bilateral sensorineural hearing loss that is progressive. He has a cochlear implant for his right ear and a hearing aid for the other, which experts recommended to the family as the best course of action for now. Logan and his family usually communicate with a combination of lipreading and sign language.
The family particularly uses sign language at the beach, when it’s harder to use technology like hearing aids, which can’t get wet.
In an interview with Shore Local, Logan said his classmates learn seasonal sign language during his class parties. At the most recent spring party in his class, he loved how excited his peers were to learn signs. His friends asked him to teach them more sign language after the party.
Logan also mentioned how he has learned to advocate for his needs in a mainstream classroom, including by reminding his teachers to utilize technology like an FM system so he can hear them.
The family hopes Logie & Co. can show families new to hearing loss that they are not alone and help people with hearing loss feel like they belong.
To learn more, visit https://www.thelogieshop.com/.
