Sheepless Nation! States of Independents Project Videos

We're hitting the road! Sheepless founder Scott Ballum is driving from California to Maine—and back—to discover innovative and unique small businesses wherever they may be. Read more about the idea behind this trip here.

Wednesday, September 29: Denver, CO

Starting to get a sense of just how wide the middle of this country is, I finally wrapped up a day-and-a-half of driving to arrive in Denver...

Monday, September 27: Chicago, IL

From Ann Arbor, I made a quick jaunt around the Great Lakes and made my way to Chicago. I had actually planned ahead some on this visit, and was staying with a friend of a friend, Abraham McClurg. Turns out Abraham knows something about hospitality. He and his business partner Annie Coleman started LivingRoom Realty, particularly to work with the unique needs of working artists and folks looking for alternative co-housing arrangements. They also serve this same community with The LivingRoom Gallery, their own funky office space turned art gallery and event space. As gallerists, Abraham and Annie host music events, regular installations, participate in community fairs, and hold a remarkable and fun micro-grant program.

Thanks for putting me up, Abraham, and sorry about my dog peeing in your kitchen....

Abraham also introduced me to his favorite corner grocer, Cassie Green. Appropriately, Cassie opened Green Grocer Chicago last year after hemming and hawing for a while about getting out of the jewelry business. Yes, Cassie once was an executive at Cartier, working too hard for something didn't feel good about. "Not only was I not doing something good for the world, I would see people putting a diamond ring on two or three credit cards and I would think, 'No, please don't'." Walking through her neighborhood one fall night looking for a place to get good ice cream, her husband finally put the idea in her head: maybe this was her calling. Her passion for local and organic foods, being a small but positive part of someone’s day, and just being friends with the neighbors has turned her small shop and her small dedicated staff into a neighborhood hit. Plans to open a second are underway.

Saturday, September 25: Ann Arbor, MI

Yep, I stayed in New York an extra month to take part in a couple of awesome events, including a keynote presentation at the New Atlantic Independent Bookseller's Association Conference in New Jersey, and to organize and host The Brooklyn Maker's panel at Greenlight Bookstore.

I also needed to hold out and make sure that my Kickstarter campaign was going to succeed, and that I didn't just need to hightail it home on my own dime! Huge thanks to everyone who made this happen with me.

So when I finally left New York to head back to California, where did I head? Naturally, to Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I wasn't sure exactly what I would find, but I had heard quite a bit about this local institution, known as a business that decided to "be great, rather than big". And great it is -- at least the food is! I hit on a beautiful fall game day, and accosted Ian Mayes to tell me a bit about where I was:

Later that evening I went for dinner at the Zingerman's Roadhouse, a steak-house of sorts, big, fun, loud, and hopping on a Friday night. I pulled up a stool by the kitchen, and had an amazing locally raised and prepared, grass-fed burger that made this vegetarian drool for more. Little did I know, the middle-aged busboy who had been keeping my water glass full all night was actually Ari Weinzweig, cofounder of the whole mini-empire. I had learned all I needed from the menu, but Ari and some of the hostesses agreed to a quick on-camera hello:

Friday, August 13: Washington, DC

It has taken me way to ling to post these updates. Why? Well, that's the subject of a whole separate post, I suppose. For the moment, I met some remarkable people out there on the road over the past few months, and I think it's high time I honored them with a quick overview of the trip, and share their quick videos.

I took a bus from NY to Washington DC, without too much planned out ahead of me. I lucked out to find Misha and Valerie in the Green America Today office, despite staff members usually having the day off. They were gracious about the ambush, and tried to explain to me the myriad arms and outreach efforts of the organization. Founded as Coop America in the 1970s, the organization published national directories of "green" businesses (hear her explanation of green in the video below), and host massive festivals nationwide. I vowed to learn more and stay connected.

Aside from taking in the National Mall, White House, and Capitol Building, I did seek out some other wonderful and remarkable small businesses, but had some snafus with the camera. I wandered into Bus Boys & Poets , "a restaurant, bookstore, fair trade market and gathering place where people can discuss issues of social justice and peace." It's an awesome space -that was having a minor leak from the air conditioning right into the middle of the bookstore. So, while the manager was cordial, he had other things on his mind! I guess I'll just need to come back.

Tuesday, August 3: New York, NY

Though my arrival in New York was somewhat planned to coincide with that of Emily Green's (we wrote about Emily's unique apparel business last fall, but we'd never met face to face!), it was a total surprise that this also meant I would be granted my first press pass ever, and exclusive access to the New York Accessories Show at the Javits Center in Manhattan. This is a massive event where designers and sales reps from all over come to pitch their products to fashion houses, retailers, and department stores internationally. To be honest, though I knew Emily's story and approach to sourcing and manufacturing her products, I expected very few 'community maker' types at this event, which seemed mostly geared towards greasing the wheels of disposable fashion and consumption.

I was only partially right. Emily's booth was situated in the 'Design Lab' section of the show, designated as such because the entrepreneurs here take a slower, more deliberate approach to their goods, handcrafting and smartly sourcing their materials. It was a welcome oasis in the sea of Made In China.

Just a couple booths down from Emily, I found Los Angeles-based Charlotte Kruse, the founder and designer of a wild line of accessories named for her grandmother, Sweet Evie. Charlotte is a one-woman show, recycling teal leather pants into gorgeous brooches, and hand-dying feathers into hairpieces and necklaces. I do not claim to be fashion-conscious, but something told me that Charlotte was doing something right.

Friday, July 30: Louisville/Lexington, KY

It's taken me a couple of days to recuperate from the first 8-day leg of the journey, but trust me when I say that it's getting more and more fun and exciting, even if it is exhausting.

Friday morning we woke from our divey motel behind a Hooters outside Nashville and headed for the hills—the gently rolling green hills of Kentucky. Curiosity and Google taught us that the barns dotting the countryside are painted the signature black because they are traditionally used for curing tobacco, and black exterior cranks up the heat inside (it's not paint, by the way, but creosote, providing a double service of keeping termites at bay).

Don't worry, I also learned a lot about some amazing organizations and businesses coming out of Kentucky, which I'm excited to detail more in the coming weeks. My first meetup was with Jennifer Rubenstein, Membership Director of the Louisville Independent Business Alliance, one of the most active and innovative IBAs in the country. Jennifer has played a strong part, next to the group's active board, in growing the Alliance's membership from 60 when she started in 2008 to 310 today. Through window decals, printed directories and shopping guides, city-wide pro-local campaigns and annual independent festivals, LIBA is all about "keeping Louisville weird"-- and nicely letting outsiders know when they're pronouncing the name of the city wrong:

From there, we were escorted an hour away to Lexington, where we shadowed our new friends George Parker and Kiley Lane as they toured an amazing passive-solar house deep deep in the Kentucky woods. George and Kiley are the team behind the newly launched KYGreenTV, an internet channel devoted to celebrating all things green in the bluegrass state. The synergy here was awesome and I can't wait to show some of their work here on this site.

In a wonderful example of how interconnected this type of work is, and that there are innovative and inspiring small businesses everywhere, we were honored to meet architect Richard Levine and his team at the Center for Sustainable Cities. Richard, the owner and builder of the house we were touring, is a world-renown expert on designing sustainable systems and passively efficient buildings—not terribly dissimilar from those first black barns we noticed driving in. Designer and researcher Casey Mather obliged one more interview to talk about CSC's work, and workspace.

After all that, we're taking a breather in Brooklyn, NY for a few days, and will be hitting the road again towards Baltimore, DC, Maine, and Vermont soon. Your donations of even a few dollars are hugely appreciated and make this trip possible. If we're coming to a city near you, please consider supporting us with $10 contribution!

Wednesday, July 28: Austin, TX

Only a few days on the road, and I am already learning a lot. Number one on the list: schedule more than 6 hours to check out the amazing indie business scene in Austin! I had a very ambitious day scheduled, thanks to some friends who recently moved to the area, but low sleep, high heat, and rolling thunderstorms put a bit of a damper on the day.

Not, however, before a few meetings that left me craving some more. After a morning meet up with fellow social entrepreneur connector Martin Montero (@montero on Twitter) I headed up South Congress Street to Parts & Labour, a consignment-based "physical Etsy shop for local designers", founded and painstakingly curated by owner Lizelle:

Dashing through the rain, my friend and I made it into the storefront workshop and kitchen of The Soup Peddler, David Ansel. David founded his unique business as an extension of the pot-luck dinners he would host with friends, when he started taking soup orders that he would drop off - by bicycle - on friends' and neighbors' front porches, Milk Man style. Today, his business has intentionally stayed small, growing to a staff of ten including chefs and drivers.

We'll be looking forward to following up with both of these awesome shops. Sadly, time ran out on us before we were able to connect with DJ Dojo, the legendary garden at Eastside Cafe, and the remarkable moving restaurantDai Due, but we know we'll be back.

Monday, July 26: Phoenix, AZ

This morning I had the honor of meeting the dynamo leasing manager of POOL Together, Mesa, Arizona's new Etsy-meets-incubator in converted big-box store. There are so many great things about that sentence! Meet Pam Paes, above, and one of the first POOL tenants, Josh Krize, who's serving lattes and espresso to the workers and other small business owners even before their big opening this weekend. I'll be writing more about POOL and posting all the videos with POOL tenants as soon as I have a more reliable internet connection. I hope everyone checks them out on their opening weekend!

I then had lunch with Audrey Iffert of Arizona State University's Office of University Initiatives to talk about their innovative entrepreneurship initiatives and how we can get involved! Tomorrow we're on the road again, and will be touring Austin, TX on Wednesday.

Background

The project aims to uncover and engage with a growing national interest in supporting local economies, and tell the personal stories of small business owners across the country. There is a shared experience of community-based entrepreneurs that transcends geography and demonstrates their creativity and their resilience. Read more about the idea behind this project here.

Special Thanks

We are very grateful for the help and support of Jennifer Rockne and Jeff Milchen, Co-Founders of the American Independent Business Alliance (amiba.net).

Support Sheepless Nation!

We're raising funds on Kickstarter.com to complete the journey! Please help if you can and share with your friends and neighbors.