Handmade macarons, candles, jewelry and more found at new downtown Macon incubator

Sheila Keene had a “very technical career” for years after graduating from Georgia Tech with a computer science degree before she retired and started a whole new career doing something entirely different.

“I programmed robots and developed software for a living,” Keene said.

But she wanted to do something that would make a difference for girls and women after working in a male-dominated field for such a long time and raising her daughter by herself, she said. So she taught herself to paint creating mixed-medium artwork featuring girls or women along with sayings like “I am a girl. What’s your super power?”

In addition to using acrylics, watercolors and other paint, she sometimes incorporates other material, such as cloth, tulle, cheesecloth or antique handkerchiefs.

Keene said she was excited to learn about the Macon Exchange, a retail incubator at 368 Second St., in downtown Macon, since she was starting a new career and trying to establish her business.

The retail incubator was made possible by the Downtown Challenge Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. NewTown Macon was able to get a $15,000 grant to create a training program to help young entrepreneurs refine their business models and improve their likelihood for success while using the Macon Exchange, a pop-shop to test the market with very little risk.

The Macon Exchange opened Nov. 2 with 19 “shops” or individual businesses inside the building, which is a few doors away from the Hargray Capital Theatre.

David Moore, project manger with NewTown Macon, said entrepreneurs featured in the Exchange had to complete an application and were selected from a pool of more than 50 applicants. Selected applicants were required to attend workshops focused on building a successful business. Topics included branding, tracking return, writing a business plan and bookkeeping.

The businesses chosen offer a variety of products including art, crafts, jewelry, food, clothing and bath and body items.

“It was really hard to narrow it down,” Moore said. The idea was to pick 10-15 vendors, but “there were some people who really stood out. ... We just got a lot of heart-felt applications.”

The hope is the Exchange will provide the boost entrepreneurs need to eventually be able to open their own store fronts downtown.

The Exchange is open 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday through the holidays. It accepts debit and credit cards only.

Customer Kim Eichler drove from north Macon to get to the Exchange shortly after it opened Thursday so she could buy a few packages of macarons from Le Elegant Macaron. Eichler had visited Le Elegant’s pop-up last weekend and was directed to the Exchange to buy some more.

She likes that the businesses are all local.

“It’s a community, and you just want to help each other out,” she said.

Keene said that even though it has only been open a week, she already has sold several items. Her original artwork also is featured on prints, journals and greeting cards and those are selling well.

“It’s an opportunity to see if my flavor of art will work in a town like Macon,” she said. “I have had success in Asheville, (North Carolina), and I wanted to see if I could gain a wider audience and to see if my art works in my hometown.”

Darlene Murphy owns Freestyle Art & Design, which also has a spot at the Exchange. She started out painting and drawing, and doing metal fabrication, “but I’ve kind of narrowed it down to jewelry, frankly because jewelry sells best and it’s easier to transport,” she said. Her jewelry is made of sterling silver and copper and most of the copper is salvaged from wire.

She also sells her jewelry at several Middle Georgia outdoor markets when she can. She has been in this business full time for more than two years after “dabbling with it” for several years. She also custom makes some pieces if people want a different stone or a different size.

“I’ve always wanted a retail space downtown,” Murphy said. “It was a dream, but with my income, what were the chances?”

So, the Exchange gives her that space, and the shop owners don’t have to be there all the time.

The Exchange is staffed by Tracy Choo who processes payments and tracks the sales records for the businesses.

Another business at the Exchange, Lux Leonis Skin Care, is owned by Ania Rynarzewska, who is a Mercer University professor in the business school teaching marketing research.

“I’ve always had a passion for skin care, and I also have a farm and I have goats,” so she incorporates goat’s milk and other farm raised items in her products.

“Of course with my research background, I have done tons of research on ingredients,” Rynarzewska said. “So I combined this with a little bit of traditional wisdom, the passion for natural ingredients and I decided to start a company with this.”

Also, because of her background, she hopes the Exchange will help towards a goal of growing the business enough to be able to provide jobs for other people.

Macon Exchange fall 2018 vendors

Art

▪ Kathleen Jones of Kath Studio (illustrations and paintings)

▪ Eston Jennings of Sam and Cider Art & Illustrations (drawings/paintings)

▪ Sheila Keene or Art by Sheila Mae (paintings)

Crafts

▪ Rhonda Miller of Thoughts Speak (greeting cards)

▪ Heidi Clinite of Ember Maypop Shop (Small paintings, crafts)

▪ Catherine Beatty of Wreaths & Bows by Catherine

Jewelry

▪ Sara Henton of Eclectic Chic{k}

▪ Darlene Murphy of Freestyle Art & Design

▪ Christele Nicolas of Caristele Jewelry

▪ Ivory Collins of I&K Boutique

Food

▪ Ebony Tyson of Le Elegant Macaron (Macarons)

▪ Steve Nofs of Shamrock Apiaries (Local honey)

▪ Chris McDaniel of The Saavy Smoker (Rubs)

▪ Mac Brydon of Bear Food (Gourmet peanuts)

Clothing

▪ Derrick Kendrick of DKDesigns42 (T‐shirts and art)

▪ James Myers of Viktorcage. (T‐shirts and hoodies)

Bath & Body Products

▪ Ania Rynarzewska of Lux Leonis Skin Care

▪ Lamarkis Crawford and Stephanie Williams of Soul Natural Body Care

Other

▪ Molly Wilkins and Eugenia McWilliams of Southern Bon Vivant (Candles, jewelry, body & body products)

This story was originally published November 9, 2018 at 5:37 PM.