The Recognition Highlights Their Roles in Sparking Catalytic Change Through Small-Scale Manufacturing in Communities Across America
Recast City’s Inaugural SPARK 10
Press Release Announcement:
Washington, DC – December 4, 2024 – Ilana Preuss, Founder & CEO of Recast City and a leading champion of small-scale manufacturing in the United States, announced today the inaugural SPARK 10, a first-ever list of 10 women who are sparking catalytic change through small-scale manufacturing in communities across America. Each of these women has developed an innovative model to address community and economic development needs through small-scale manufacturing. Their work deserves wide recognition, as it provides opportunities for replication.
The recognition highlights the transformational role of these women in inspiring and changing their communities. It honors women, since their role as community catalysts is too often overlooked.
The SPARK 10 are located in nine cities in seven states and the District of Columbia: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Columbia, MO; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Santa Ana, CA; Washington, DC, and York, AL. Two of the 10 are located in Atlanta.
Small-scale manufacturers create products – from hardware to handbags to hot sauce – that are sold in retail shops and online and are thus not solely dependent on foot traffic for revenue. That makes them especially well-suited to business districts and neighborhoods seeking to revitalize from significant retail vacancies, all too common throughout the nation in the wake of COVID-19. They are an economic engine in every community and a strong source for entrepreneurship and job growth nationally.
The inaugural SPARK 10 were selected from dozens of nominations generated through outreach to Recast City’s extensive national network of economic development and community development experts. Recast City has been providing consulting services for a decade to cities and towns eager to revitalize their downtowns and nearby neighborhoods with small-scale manufacturing.
“Women are often the source and instigators of economic growth, but their stories are rarely the ones told widely,” said Ilana Preuss. “The SPARK 10 addresses that by recognizing the contribution of these 10 women who strength small businesses, create good paying jobs, and help more people build wealth. Their work deserves to be well-known, and their stories will inspire others to action.
The SPARK 10, in alphabetical order by city, are as follows:
The SPARK 10
Atlanta, GA – Gabriella Mooney, Founder and Executive Director of MASS Collective
MASS Collective is an inclusive makerspace in downtown Atlanta – a community workshop for all of Atlanta’s artists and creators that provides affordable access to tools, technologies, and teachers in a range of disciplines. Gabriella Mooney is the Founder of MASS Collective and has been Executive Director since 2018. In that capacity, she has focused on creating a makerspace that feels safe for women, queer, and nonbinary individuals. That space in turn has restorative power, enabling individuals to explore new skills, ideas, and ambitions and to turn those powers into new areas of creativity and even livelihoods. One man came to MASS Collective in 2020, for instance, having never done woodworking before. He first learned how to create cutting boards and recently had the first solo exhibition of his furniture and has been recognized by design media nationally.
“With Gabi Mooney’s leadership, MASS Collective plays a vital role in advancing small-scale manufacturing in Atlanta,” said Ilana Preuss. “She has led it to become a model ready to be recognized more widely – and replicated in other cities.”
Atlanta, GA – Kiyomi Rollins, Co-Founder and Director of Ke'nekt Cooperative
The Ke'nekt Cooperative is a mutual aid-based cooperative space in Southwest Atlanta, a hyperlocal community think tank of residents, legacy Black businesses, creatives and micro startups. As Co-Founder and Director, Kiyomi Rollins has broadened the organization’s focus to address displacement through reparative community wealth principles rooted in Anti-Displacement strategies for legacy Black Owned Businesses. She converted a former garage into a community meeting space and popup space for local entrepreneurs, building community and offering programming for new businesses, including small-scale manufacturers.
“Kiyomi Rollins has created in The Ke'nekt Cooperative a model with broad relevance,” said Ilana Preuss. “She deserves greater recognition for embracing small-scale manufacturing as a key ingredient in addressing the threat of displacement in her community.”
Baltimore, MD – Sylva Lin, Founder and President of Culinary Architecture
Culinary Architecture, founded and led by Chef Sylva Lin, is a catering business, bakery, and independent food market located in Baltimore's Pigtown neighborhood. It has become a dynamic hub for small-scale manufacturers exploring their culinary heritage and a cornerstone for cultural and community exchange in South Baltimore. Culinary Architecture plays a pivotal role in incubating food-related businesses, providing them with the support needed to thrive and grow within the community. Chef Sylva is dedicated to creating opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals, immigrants and seniors, training them for roles in food-product ventures. Notably, one mentored company recently earned the state championship for Best Seafood Chowder, while another achieved gold for Best White Chocolate at The National Chocolate Awards.
“Chef Sylva is a true catalyst in her community, mentoring others to start their own culinary businesses,” said Ilana Preuss. “She is building community in the process and hopes to make Culinary Architecture a must-see tourist destination for Baltimore.”
Boston, MA – Jen Faigel, Co-Founder and Executive Director of CommonWealth Kitchen
CommonWealth Kitchen is Boston’s first and largest non-profit food-business incubator and food manufacturing social enterprise. Located in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, it provides kitchen space and business support to more than 55 entrepreneurs, more than 40 of whom are women, people of color, or immigrants, who employ more than 160 local residents. As Co-Founder and Executive Director, Jen Faigel has augmented the shared kitchen by offering such innovative programming as collaborations with area caterers to boost small business sales, and multi-faceted food rescue and production partnerships that are good for the environment, produce healthy foods for public schools and local institutions, and support growth for CommonWealth Kitchen entrepreneurs.
“Jen Faigel is a passionate and proven proponent of community economic development work that tears down barriers in the way of people starting their businesses,” said Ilana Preuss. “She understands how small-scale manufacturing can change lives and communities, and she is pointing the way for cities nationally and worldwide.”
Columbia, MO – Carrie Gartner, Executive Director of The Loop CID
The Loop Community Improvement District is a corridor of learning opportunities, creative initiatives, and economic engines, focused on lowering barriers to entry for small-scale manufacturers and other new businesses, particularly food-related. As Executive Director, Carrie Gartner has created a nonprofit community-shared kitchen and obtained zoning to allow small-scale manufacturing in the district. She is positioning the shared kitchen as part of an overarching economic development plan to revitalize a neglected area of Columbia through small-scale manufacturing and local makers. This year, CoMo Cooks Shared Kitchen was home to 52 food start-ups.
“Carrie Gartner has done an extraordinary job of advancing small-scale manufacturing to elevate a pass-through corridor of the city into a destination for businesses that make things,” said Ilana Preuss. “It’s a wonderful example of how small-scale manufacturing can newly define a district and bring economic momentum to an area accessible to more people.”
Philadelphia, PA – Thu Pham, Co-Founder and CEO of Càphê Roasters
Càphê Roasters is the first and only Vietnamese specialty coffee roastery in Philadelphia. Co-Founder and CEO Thu Pham won a competition in 2018 run by Shift Capital, with a pitch to create a coffee producer and café that would be a community gathering space. She structured Càphê Roasters, located in the Kensington neighborhood, as a social enterprise with a share of profits going to education nonprofit 12Plus. Càphê Roasters now serves as a gathering space for the entire community. It has grown large enough to be able to offer space for popup stores of community-based small-scale manufacturers, mostly providing food and beverages and enhancing the community further.
“Thu Pham is advancing small-scale manufacturers in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood by giving local startups crucial visibility at no cost,” said Ilana Preuss. “In doing so, she is addressing a major challenge for new small-scale manufacturers: how to access the right space at the right time and the right cost and build community at the same time.”
Pittsburgh, PA – Nisha Blackwell, Owner, CEO, and Designer of Knotzland
Knotzland, a small-scale manufacturer of bow ties and accessories made using upcycled textiles and materials, has created an innovative business model for small-scale manufacturing. Owner, CEO, and Designer Nisha Blackwell, started the company in 2015 after teaching herself how to sew in order to make a hair bow. Once friends saw the hair bow, they asked her to make more and to add bow ties. Her business model not only uses upcycled textiles but has a distributed production cycle. She currently employs 29 people sewing for her from their homes. Nisha now also coaches and mentors aspiring entrepreneurs, who are inspired by her story of identifying a needed product and learning the skills to grow a successful business.
“Nisha Blackwell is a role model with an innovative business model for small-scale manufacturing,” said Ilana Preuss. “She shows and shares how a person can turn an aspiration into a thriving business, employing dozens of others working remotely – and providing a broad community with a shared return on investment.”
Santa Ana, CA – Ana Urzua, Founder and Executive Director of Cooperacion Santa Ana
Cooperacion Santa Ana is a worker cooperative incubator – an initiative to create more values-driven businesses that put the benefit of workers and the community at its center. Located in a Mexican immigrant community, it offers a business incubator that has helped launch cooperatives with community health and outreach workers, childcare providers and urban farmers. Founder and Executive Director Ana Urzua saw the need, as community members were being pushed out by gentrification. She successfully pursued changes to the city’s planning process to increase community input in development. She is now working to place worker cooperatives on community-owned land, preserved as a land trust, ensuring the availability of land for locally owned businesses.
“Ana Urzua has created a fascinating approach to combating business displacement by both preserving land and advancing small-scale manufacturing,” said Ilana Preuss. “It’s a model for all areas contending with commercial displacement and a desire for community preservation.”
Washington, DC – Alex Fraioli, Director of Heurich Urban Manufacturing Incubator, which manages the District of Columbia Makers’ Guild
The District of Columbia Makers’ Guild is a non-profit organization that unifies the District’s independent maker community, promotes the quality and diversity of locally-made artisan goods, and influences public policy decisions to enable makers to flourish. The Guild is managed by the Heurich House Museum through the Museum’s Urban Manufacturing Incubator. As Director of the Incubator, which focuses on supporting small-scale manufacturers in the District, Alex Fraioli leads the DC Makers’ Guild. Through her leadership, the Incubator creates new diverse makers’ markets, and enables the Guild to champion more effectively small-scale manufacturing.
“Alex Fraioli is a leading champion of small-scale manufacturing in the District of Columbia,” said Ilana Preuss. “Her leadership is demonstrating both how vital a role a local makers’ guild can play and how civic institutions can serve a role in strengthening the sector.”
York, AL – Dr. Marguerite Hinrichs, Executive Director and Curator of Coleman Center
The Coleman Center for the Arts in York, AL, a city of 2500 people, is a contemporary arts organization that uses art to foster positive social change, answer civic needs, build local pride, and use creativity for community problem-solving. In that regard, it provides a rural model for advancing small-scale manufacturing. Dr. Marguerite Hinrichs moved from Oakland, CA, where she was a college administrator and professor of marketing and hospitality, to York, because she saw an opportunity to make a difference in a small community that is 90% Black. Through her leadership, the Coleman Center provides monthly popup stores for local artisans, creates employment opportunities for artists and makers, and recently launched a partnership with the Nonprofit & Entrepreneurship Clinic at the University of Alabama School of Law. She wants to transform York into an arts destination – a unique place to visit, view and buy local artisan products.
“Dr. Marguerite Hinrichs is defining a new rural model for economic development,” said Ilana Preuss. “She is demonstrating how an existing civic institution can embrace small-scale manufacturing to strengthen its economy and position the city as a must-visit tourist destination in ways that would not be possible without the small-scale manufacturers.”
For more information or to speak with Ilana Preuss, contact Henry Miller at 917-921-8034 or hmiller@highimpactpartnering.com.
About Recast City
Recast City is a firm founded and led by Ilana Preuss, a leading champion of small-scale manufacturing and author of Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing (Island Press, 2021). Founded in 2014 and based in Greater Washington, DC, Recast City works with local leaders, real estate developers, city and other civic leaders to integrate space for small-scale producers into redevelopment projects and place-based economic development. Over the past 10 years, Recast City has worked with 184 communities in 44 states and the District of Columbia to revitalize their downtowns through small-scale manufacturing.
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