ROCHELLE – A small business incubator relaunched this past weekend in a historic building in Rochelle. The Spark Shop is home to seven local vendors selling a variety of products, including crafts, baked goods, sweet treats, and bread. Vendors include ShyNox Decor & More, Legacy Farms and Creations by Kate, CreaTiffity Sewing, Holy Grain, Watgen Warrior Family Farm, Cards by Kim and Jaime, and baked goods by Wendy Martinson. Vendors keep 100% of their proceeds, pay a quarterly fee, and staff the shop 8–10 hours per month. The shop is open Thursday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., and Sunday noon–4 p.m.
Rochelle Chamber Director Tricia Herrera said that they welcome small businesses to take interest in the program.
“One of the things about it is that it is category specific. So there’s only one of each vendor who produce the same kind of item,” she said. “So if there’s something that you do, we can put you on a waiting list. And then each quarter, we offer to the current vendors a renewal option. If they don’t choose that and you do that same product, we slide you into that spot.”
A building on the 500 block of Lincoln Avenue is being used for the project, which was organized by the Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, the Rochelle Retail Advisory Board, and the City of Rochelle.
