BACKGROUND
Laura Buckner first became a West Company client in 2002, and she returned in 2010. She is an artist who designs and makes beautiful one-of-a-kind gemstone jewelry. Over the years she has built up a loyal customer base of approximately forty retail stores in Mendocino county and surrounding areas.
To sell her jewelry, Laura has traveled to visit her customers personally at their retail stores; she has also participated in several local gift shows and community events throughout the year. Her personal touch and word-of-mouth marketing has served well to gradually grow her business and has provided a consistent, modest annual income through small orders.
Rebecca "Becky" Ahmadi has held a variety of jobs in her life, from restroom attendant and bowling alley manager to a forest service researcher and hydrologist. But she admits the toughest job she’s had is being her own boss and starting a business.
Ahmadi is the owner of Pacific Preserves, a jam and jelly company she started in early 2010 with the help of the Mendocino Women’s Business Center. Ahmadi is also the jam and jelly maker, the head of sales and the chief marketing officer for Pacific Preserves. She does everything, from buying fresh fruit from local farmers to mashing it by hand before using the correct combination of fruit, pectin, acid and sugar to produce a variety of tasty products she sells at local farmer’s markets.
When Taylor Slevin first saw the listing come up for Mendocino Sandpiper Jewelry, she knew it was the opportunity she had been looking for. She had experience working in the jewelry industry and had a high regard for the store. However, despite her years of experience working for other businesses, she had never purchased a business. She didn’t know if it was feasible, what a fair price would be, but she did figure out where to begin, with West Company, the Mendocino Small Business Development Center.
Imagine how frightening it must be to start a business in the midst of some of the most challenging economic conditions our nation has ever faced. Few people have the intestinal fortitude to take on such a challenge. Yet that is exactly what entrepreneurs do and what Jody McGee has done in Willits, CA. Utilizing assistance received from Mendocino Small Business Development Center, in the form of free business advising Jody has overcome several obstacles to realize his dream of business ownership.
Rantala Heating & Sheet Metal, Inc. installs and services forced air, hydrolic (e.g. radiant floor), and solar heating systems for home owners on the Mendocino Coast. They manufacture custom metal works including gutters and vents for homes and businesses and provide sheet metal to roofing contractors. The company was founded in 1995 by Edward and Elizabeth Rantala and purchased by the Villalpandos in 2009. Since its inception, Galo Vallalpando worked side-by-side with Edward Rantala, helping him establish and grow the business.
As she wiped the mint-chip off her son’s chin, Nancy surprised herself by asking her friend, “Wouldn’t it be great to own Cowlick’s?”
Nancy knew what it was like to run a food business; she and her husband Bill own two busy Subways, and she’d never considered having a third. So what was it about Cowlick’s that started her dreaming?
Rising Tide Sea Vegetables is a thriving cottage industry perched on one of the cleanest coastlines in the world – the wild and beautiful north coast of California. We have been fine-tuning the techniques involved in wildcrafting, drying, and storing sea vegetables since 1981. According to many of our customers we now have the highest quality seaweed available in the United States.
Brian Newell began carving wood at age eight is now a world class furniture artists who recently decided to set up shop in Fort Bragg on the Mendocino coast of California. In 2004 Robert Long described Newell’s work this way in American Craft Magazine, “His work combines cleanly executed pieces, what seem to be contradictory qualities, such as weight and lightness, formal elegance and whimsy, is his secret.” Newell’s work is the product of remarkable journey from his hometown of Flint, Michigan to Atsugi-Shi Japan on the outskirts of Tokyo and then to the California Coast.
Tammy Patrick, owner of Pacific Physical Therapy has created a haven for people who seek physical therapy or a personal fitness program. The facility features a view of the Pacific Ocean from the workout room and walls throughout are covered with the paintings of local artists. It is a comforting and peaceful building to enter. The added bonus seems to be that customers are greeted by name and inquiries about how things are going – physically, that is – are specific and genuine.
BACKGROUND
Rising Tide Sea Vegetables is a thriving cottage industry perched on one of the cleanest coastlines in the world – the wild and beautiful north coast of California. We have been fine-tuning the techniques involved in wildcrafting, drying, and storing sea vegetables since 1981. According to many of our customers we now have the highest quality seaweed available in the United States.
Brian Newell began carving wood at age eight is now a world class furniture artists who recently decided to set up shop in Fort Bragg on the Mendocino coast of California. In 2004 Robert Long described Newell’s work this way in American Craft Magazine, “His work combines cleanly executed pieces, what seem to be contradictory qualities, such as weight and lightness, formal elegance and whimsy, is his secret.” Newell’s work is the product of remarkable journey from his hometown of Flint, Michigan to Atsugi-Shi Japan on the outskirts of Tokyo and then to the California Coast.
Nurture By The Sea
