EVART — The owner of Juneberry Cottage in Evart lately received the Middle Michigan Improvement Compact Business enterprise Award in recognition of her operate inside the neighborhood.
June-Marie Essner very first opened Juneberry Cottage, 220 N. Most important St., in 2014 and has constructed it up to a location shop committed to the art of quilting, sewing and good quality fabrics.
Essner mentioned becoming a recipient of the award was optimistic proof of the operate she has place into her enterprise.
“It’s a grand honor for the reason that I do operate tough,” Essner mentioned. “We are a tiny neighborhood, and a lot of people today, I assume, in their thoughts, marginalize Evart for the reason that we are not a super affluent neighborhood. Quilting is absolutely a discretionary niche market place. I really feel like this location, it is undertaking nicely, and that is just a lot of tough operate. I am proud of the reality that I am becoming involved in the neighborhood.”
Essner is a member of the Evart Downtown Board and the Evart Garden Club, and she networks normally with tiny enterprise owners in the location. She also helped handle Evart’s farmers market place though it was in season.
Getting a aspect of the quilting neighborhood has been one particular of the very best elements of owning Juneberry Cottage, according to Essner.
“Quilting is good for the brain and aids to offset depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s and blood stress,” Essner mentioned. “It’s shown in research that undertaking sewing and a craft like this aids. There is a lot of satisfaction in saying ‘I began this project from starting to finish and completed it.’”
Juneberry Cottage sells prime-of-the-line Bernina and Bernette sewing and embroidering machines. Essner also utilizes some extra introductory machines in her sewing and quilting classes.
In addition to the smaller sized style Bernina machines for sale, Juneberry Cottage also has a lengthy-arm sewing machine obtainable to rent for projects.
Classes Essner hosts for quilters and sewers involve introductory sewing and quilting, cost-free motion quilting, open sew and hand operate, intro and sophisticated paper piecing, and Bernina and Bernette machine orientations.
Some new fabrics she is excited to now be carrying involve patterns primarily based on paintings by Stephanie Brandenburg with Frond Design and style Studios.
Essner hopes to be in a position to develop her enterprise, fabrics and machine collection by someday purchasing a bigger enterprise space.
Expanding would also permit her to host bigger quilting and sewing classes for the neighborhood and guests. She also aims to preserve networking and connecting with quilt lovers across Michigan.
Essner mentioned her guidance to aspiring and present tiny enterprise owners is to make connections. She at present hosts a forum after a month with inventive retailers which provides her tips and also just aids course of action challenges and how to address them.
“I would hugely propose if there is a Downtown Improvement Authority or some sort of financial improvement organization in the town to get a hold of them and speak to them,” Essner mentioned. “There are factors that I am nonetheless studying and you happen to be consistently studying. Be involved in concentrate groups with other retailers in your market and if you can, outdoors of your market. Absolutely get some sort of networking like that.”
Extra articles by Olivia Fellows