Meet the Tenants at theLOCAL
Written by Margee Stanfield
theLOCAL arrived in Downtown Jackson in 2017 with a mission: to help up-and-coming entrepreneurs get a feel for operating in their own retail space. It serves as an incubator, designed to let business owners test their business concept and help them grow — with the ultimate goal of eventually transitioning to a larger, permanent location.
theLOCAL has become central not just for these entrepreneurs, but also for the Jackson community, who get to reap the benefits of the diverse specialties these tenants bring to downtown. This space can’t help but be a place where fellowship incidentally happens among the Jackson community.
Year after year, new talented tenants thrive in the space at theLOCAL — and this year is no different. Get ready to grab a delicious baked good, a refreshing juice, fresh flowers, and even get a custom hat made, all in one fell swoop!
There are currently four businesses operating at theLOCAL. Keep reading to learn more about Gylden Bake House, Sonder Finery, Atelier Hats, and Loaded Juice.
Gylden Bake House
Becca Creasy grew up with the idea that inviting people around the table was a way to show them love. That is the mission of Gylden Bake House: to not only produce quality baked goods, such as handcrafted small batch sourdough and pastries, but to also love people through food.
“Everybody’s welcome at the table and we’re going to feed you good food,” Becca said.
Becca had baked for another local shop for several years before deciding to open something of her own for a little more control. Becca started her business earlier this year at home before moving into theLOCAL.
Working with smaller, regional vendors, who have quality ingredients is important to Becca, down to their flour — grown and milled in Illinois. Their coffee hails from North Carolina, and they get a lot of their produce right across the street at our very own West TN Farmers’ Market.
Becca wanted it to be abundantly clear that she does not do it alone. Hanna Trainor works alongside and collaborates with her. “Hanna is paramount to Gylden,” Becca said.
Becca is excited about being a tenant at theLOCAL because she loves feeling like she has coworkers. “I feel like being a business owner very much feels like a one man show — but then I'm in this one man show with three other women that are also doing it,” Becca said.
Gylden Bake House is open at theLOCAL Thursdays-Saturdays from 8am-1pm or until sold out. You can follow Becca on Instagram @gyldenbakehouse.
Sonder Finery
Morgan Gallemore has been doing this for eight years. While Sonder itself started as a clothing company and has morphed into different things over the years, its current state feels the most aligned to Morgan. It started with a love for nature, wanting to be outdoors and put her hands in nature constantly. Now, she hopes to immerse all who come in contact with Sonder Finery in nature through her business.
As a botanical artist, she creates commissioned and freelance pieces. “It's providing a keepsake for somebody, so when somebody passes away, they get an opportunity to keep that memory alive. And same with weddings when I preserve wedding flowers. I have one on my own wall. I see it every day and it reminds me of the vows I took and how beautiful that day was,” Morgan said.
Additionally, she has fresh weekly flowers that are typically picked from local flower farms, and you can’t miss the beautiful array of charms in the center of the shop. Morgan says it is so much fun to see the many unique combinations customers make with their charm selections and combinations; in creating a piece of jewelry she gets to see her customers’ personalities shine through.
Sonder Finery is open at theLOCAL Thursdays and Fridays from 10am-3pm and Saturdays 9am-2pm. You can follow Morgan on Instagram @sonderfinery.
Atelier Hats
Elysia Cecchetti moved to Jackson from Lake Tahoe in 2021. “Prior to that, I had been working in galleries and all kinds of things. I still do remote work for the gallery that I have been working with for almost 10 years now,” Elysia said.
But she had been wanting something new. “I was looking for something to lend some of my creative energies to something tangible,” Elysia said. Her family owns a western business and during the pandemic she went home to help her mom run the store, doing boot design and selling hats. She was interested in the actual process of making hats and decided she wanted to take it a step further. She did a mentorship with a woman in California where she learned how to make hats, then turned around and came back to Jackson to create her own.
“My mission is just to keep everything created in house,” Elysia said. “I want everything to be handmade, so I make everything from scratch. I don't actually make the felts, I purchase those. Then I make everything — hat bands, I sew everything, I sew the sweat band in, I do all the detailing by myself, I shape them.”
Elysia does custom consultations, where you come in, she will size your head, you pick your felt colors, and tell her more about your vision for the hat.
Atelier Hats is open at theLOCAL Thursdays and Fridays from 10am-3pm and Saturdays from 9am-3pm. You can follow Elysia on Instagram @atelierhats.
Loaded Juice
Arnika Carter discovered her love for juicing on a personal health journey. It was something she did just for herself and she saw how it benefited her health. But pretty soon those around her started enjoying the juice too, causing her to consider taking it more seriously and actually turn it into something. She created a website and started selling and shipping her juice nationwide, which eventually led to her food truck. Now, Loaded Juice is the first food truck at theLOCAL in a leasing agreement for a year.
“Our mission is to create an opportunity for people to learn about healthy alternatives for their bodies and to be able to create a lifestyle that they can be able to make choices that are going to allow them to live a more productive lifestyle,” Arnika said.
What keeps Arnika motivated is the results and testimonies she sees and hears from customers who try her products. She loves seeing returning customers and people who are excited to come to the truck, see her, and enjoy the juice, smoothies, and salads.
“I'm excited about growth and what is to come after this. I feel like this is a very huge opportunity for me, being a new business and being able to have a location that is a central location downtown,” Arnika said.
Loaded Juice is open at theLOCAL Thursdays and Fridays 11am-4pm and Saturdays from 9am-2pm. You can follow Arnika on Instagram @loadedjuice.
Downtown is better because of the businesses operating here at theLOCAL! Stop by during store hours to support our local businesses and experience what they have to offer.