The Map Shop is a family-owned small business in Charlotte, NC that specializes in publishing and manufacturing products featuring the places important to us. We’re a small but passionate group of geographers, cartographers, designers, and travelers based in Charlotte, NC. We are glad you found us.
Courtesy of Spiracle Media and US Bank
ACTIVATE YOUR CURIOSITY
Hike a meandering trail in a vast national park, navigate our country’s twisting network of waterways, or plan a tour of your city’s hottest local breweries. No matter what your interests are, our map-making utilizes the latest technology to empower globetrotters to explore the world around us.
FOSTER YOUR CREATIVITY
The stories of our experiences are meant to be shared. Displaying maps of the places important to you are a beautiful and unique way of sharing our personal stories on our walls. Celebrate your family’s heritage, memorialize your favorite beach, or rep your hometown with a map. Map the moments from your life and truly express yourself in your space.
CREATE COMMUNITY
Maps are both intellectually and emotionally evocative. Our geographic and cultural horizons get expanded when you understand the relationship of yourself to the space around you. When you engage with maps you make new connections with people, new connections with places, and even new connections within the cells of your brain.
When you engage with a map you open yourself up to experience and understand more fully that big ‘ole universe around us.
A small shop opens its doors in Charlotte, NC. With little more than a passion for maps, the Map Shop takes its brave first steps.
Patrice Northrup joins the team. The little Shop begins to carve out a name as a popular quirky retail store and her involvement later becomes critical.
The odds nearly win and closure seems certain. Patrice buys the Shop and her husband, Ted, comes aboard. Together, they refuse to let the doors close.
While most small shops fall behind, the Map Shop launches MapShop.com and builds a custom cartography department in this new digital world.
The shop moves to Kings & Morehead, where, against the churn of retail, it stands strong as an iconic Charlotte landmark for over 20 years.
Patrice and Ted pass the store to Tony and Katie Rodono, who expand their map art company, City Prints. Once again, a family takes the reins.
While still primarily a retail store, the Shop publishes their first line of maps called South of Kings™, a name taking inspiration from our retail location.
Demand outpaces space and on the heels of a pandemic, the Shop makes the tough call to drop retail and go all-in on manufacturing maps.
The Shop acquires the map-making division of Hubbard Scientific ™and begin forming raised relief maps with traditional vacuum forming methods.
The Shop partners with Kappa Educational Maps and begin producing pull down spring roller maps as it
takes its mission into classrooms.
BrightWay Educational™ is launched as our own educational brand to inspire the next generation, bringing fresh, modern designs to classrooms.
Through growth and change, one truth remains: the Map Shop always looks to the horizon for what’s next. The adventure continues!
