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The Makers Loft Iowa City is rethinking the nature of retail

Simeon Talley

The Makers Loft Iowa City, a space for retail goods from local makers and artisans, will open its doors for the first time this Thursday.

Makers Loft is the next iteration of RADinc., a space in Iowa City that opened in May of last year with the intention of being retail incubator with space for pop-up stores, performances, community events and studio space for local artists. Makers Loft will have a similar vision to RADinc. but will be more refined and focused.

Makers Loft products will be locally sourced and produced, giving local artists a physical space to sell their goods and allowing consumers in the community the opportunity to connect with those making the products.

“You want to curate for the best type of product and put together a good mix of makers and artist that fit well together and that are also sort of at a point in their professional artistic journey where they are all looking to make the next step,” said Simeon Talley, co-founder of The Makers Loft. “And Makers Loft can be that next step in providing them a permanent retail store and space that’s dedicated to selling and promoting their goods as well as continuing to build a community.”

In addition to selling locally produced goods, Makers Loft plans to host events for the community.

“With RAD, we did almost any type of event you can imagine. We were all over the place. I think that was good and served a need but I think there’s a need to be a bit more focus,” Talley said. “With Makers Loft, we hope to be a bit more specific and a bit more thoughtful with the types of events we hold.”

Makers Loft comes to fruition at a time where retail has seen a steep decline.  In a world dominated by Amazon and e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retailers are having to constantly adjust to keep up.

“The nature of retail is definitely changing. We’ve had a long-standing debate around whether retail is dead and is brick-and-mortar dead. Can brick and mortar survive under the pressure of more online sales and e-commerce?” Talley said. “But I think that in Iowa City and other communities across the country, you’re finding a return to craftsmanship, quality and curation and creating a store where there’s an experience in addition to just shopping.”

“I think it all comes down to creating a space to build community. That’s our primary focus is how do we build community within this small but really centrally located space that’s inviting for people with a creative map from a shopping perspective,” added Veronica Tessler, co-founder of The Makers Loft and founder of Yotopia Frozen Yogurt in downtown Iowa City. “We really intend for it to be a community space.”

The Makers Loft will open for business August 30th and will be holding an open house on Friday, August 31 from 12-6pm.

 

The Makers Loft Iowa City is rethinking the nature of retail | Clay & Milk
A central Iowa ag-tech accelerator has secured more backers and finally has a name. The Greater Des Moines Partnership first announced the accelerator last year, naming four initial investors. On Monday, the Partnership said the program will be called the "Iowa AgriTech Accelerator" and named three new investors. The new investors include Grinnell Mutual, Kent Corp. and Sukup Manufacturing, all Iowa companies. They join investors Deere & Co., Peoples Co., Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Co. and DuPont Pioneer. Each investor has agreed to put up $100,000 for the first year of the accelerator. Startups entering the program will receive $40,000 in seed funding in exchange for 6 percent equity. Tej Dhawan, an angel investor and local startup mentor, is serving as interim director until the AgriTech Accelerator names a permanent leader. Dhawan held a similar role with the GIA before Brian Hemesath was named as managing director. As interim director, Dhawan said his main job includes hiring the accelerator's executive director, establishing a business structure and initial recruiting for the first cohort. The accelerator will place few filters, such as location and product, on the applicant pool, Dhawan said. "When you’re seeking innovation, innovation can come from every corner of the world so why restrict ourselves," he said. One area the the AgriTech Accelerator won't recruit from is biotech. For its first cohort, the AgriTech Accelerator will work out of the GIA's space in Des Moines' East Village, Dhawan said. A future, permanent home is still to be decided. The accelerator's program will host startups from mid-July through mid-October, ending with an event connected to the annual World Food Prize. The GIA, which the AgriTech Accelerator is based on, also ends with presentations at an industry event. The accelerator has also started lining up a mentor pool. The Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and the Iowa Pork Producers Association have agreed to provide mentors, as has Iowa State University. While the AgriTech Accelerator is loosely based off of the GIA, it will differ in its business structure, Dhawan said. The GIA runs through a for-profit model for both operations and its investment fund. The AgriTech Accelerator will have a nonprofit model for its operations and a for-profit setup for its fund. Dhawan said the nonprofit model is being used so the accelerator can better work with other nonprofit partners, such as trade associations. "These are all organizations that are nonprofits and can be amazing stakeholders without ever having to be investors in the accelerator," he said. "It becomes easier to work with trade associations in their nonprofit role when we are also a nonprofit." When it's up and running, the AgriTech Accelerator would be one of a handful of ag-focused startup development programs in Iowa. Others include the Ag Startup Engine out of Iowa State University and the Rural Ventures Alliance from Iowa MicroLoan. Matthew Patane is the managing editor and co-founder of Clay & Milk. Send him an email at mpatane@clayandmilk.com.
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