During the spring and summer of 2025, we featured the SPARK10 in Next City through profiles about their work.
Check them out below:
A Pittsburgh Sewing Network Shows How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive in Place
With her upcycled products and distributed production model, one self-taught seamstress is proof that small-scale manufacturing can boost a neighborhood’s economic resilience.
January 22, 2025
Removing Obstacles for Small-Scale Manufacturers in Boston
In Dorchester, CommonWealth Kitchen is turning culinary artisans into food manufacturers.
February 11, 2025
An Atlanta Entrepreneur’s Eviction Leads to a Community Model for the World
When her own small business was threatened with eviction, Kiyomi Rollins found a way to lift up other Black entrepreneurs in her neighborhood.
February 28, 2025
Turning a Neglected State Roadway Into an Economic Engine
By leaning into small-scale manufacturing, an ambitious business improvement district is turning Columbia’s Business Loop 70 into a vibrant commercial corridor.
April 9, 2025
A Santa Ana Community Land Trust Energizes Innovation and Resists Displacement
Launching THRIVE started 10 years ago, with community organizing and a willingness to imagine better.
April 21, 2025
A Historic House Museum Advances Small Artisans and Makers
Urban small-scale manufacturers find new avenues for growth in Washington, D.C.’s Heurich House Museum and DC Makers’ Guild.
May 16, 2025
Can the Arts Drive This Small Town’s Economic Revitalization?
Op-ed: An arts center is proving that promoting small-scale manufacturing can be part of this mostly-Black Alabama town’s economic engine.
June 6, 2025
This Baltimore Food Incubator Is a Local Economic Engine
Part retail space, part incubator for local ventures, Culinary Architecture shows how food-centered businesses can advance lasting neighborhood renewal.
July 9, 2025
An Atlanta Makerspace Revitalizes Lives, Small Businesses – and a Neighborhood
With an apprenticeship program and top-of-the-line tools, MASS Collective is helping local artisans grow their businesses, learn new skills and avoid displacement.
July 22, 2025