Shop Local this Holiday Season at the JFCS Artisan Shop
“Over the past 20 of years working with refugee and immigrant entrepreneurs the largest barrier I’ve seen to opening a successful storefront is managing the financial burden of overhead at the beginning of their business venture,” said Cynthia Brown, Director of the JFCS Navigate Enterprise Center.
The Jewish Family & Career Services and Kentucky Refugee Ministries Artisan Shop opened for business on October 5, 2019 as part of the Logan Street Market grand opening. Located in the Shelby Park neighborhood near downtown, the market serves as a gathering space for community members to learn, grow and connect.
And in that bustling community space today, JFCS clients are producing, marketing and selling hand-crafted products ranging from jewelry and clothing to leather goods and art. The Artisan Shop enables these entrepreneurs to use their skills and talents to portray their life journeys through their work while building their customer base without the risk and the cost of opening individual storefronts.
The Artisan Shop is one of many initiatives of JFCS’s Navigate Enterprise Center and is based on a cooperative model of shared space and staffing hours, with startup costs covered through JFCS’s Navigate program. The Artisan Shop mitigates financial risk by providing physical space to sell products and builds exposure and brand awareness while educating new entrepreneurs on specifics related to owning and managing a retail business.
JFCS Navigate has a long history of supporting and empowering local entrepreneurs — including refugees, immigrants and other underrepresented community members — as they manage challenges inherent in starting a business. Obstacles such as access to capital and limited business management experience can pose challenges to those at the start of their entrepreneurial journeys. We are here to guide them through those challenges to ensure their business venture is a success.
You can support the JFCS/KRM Artisan Shop and the artisans JFCS serves by shopping locally at the Logan Street Market. Some curbside and online options are available, too! Visit the Artisan Shop at Logan Street Market on Tuesdays from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, Thursday – Saturday from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm or on Sunday 10:00 am – 3:00 pm.*