6
area news
november13
2012
The Cottage in Scappoose continued from front page
Scappoose and is displayed prominently
throughout the store. Her brightly col-
ored paintings adorn almost every wall.
“She has a great international follow-
ing,” says Mann. “She continues to ex-
pand her form and continually keeps me
guessing. She has a hugely successful
business mind as well and has mastered
the ability to reproduce her higher value
wall art into more affordable things. For
instance, I bought a day planner last
year because it had my favorite picture
on it—I couldn’t afford $200 for wall art,
but I sure can carry that planner around
and enjoy her art work!”
Another artist that Mann is es-
pecially excited about is Cody Galvin
Pottery. Galvin is a senior at Scappoose
High School who took his first ceram-
ics class at the high school and really
has a passion for the art form. He cre-
ates unique hand thrown pottery includ-
ing vases, cups, jars, bowls and more.
“Cody found a talent that he didn’t know
he had,” said Mann. “He asked about
selling some of his pieces here and I
was just amazed by the quality of his
productions. It’s been fun to watch him
develop—he was in here the other day
working on scholarships for art school.”
Galvin has won some art shows over
the past year and been making business
cards and is just starting to think about
how to market his talents. “It is very
beyond most seventeen year olds,” says
Mann. “I think without having a place
like The Cottage to display his work that
light might not be as bright.”
A vendor that has been very
popular is Sauvie Island Coffee Com-
pany which is owned by Brenda Enyart.
Enyart started out making jams, which
The Cottage carries, and has now moved
into roasting coffee beans as well. “She
gathers lots of exotic blends and I know
she is very excited about her Guatemalan
Blend and her Bali Blend,” says Mann.
“We go through a lot of coffee—it’s one
of our big sellers—which is good be-
cause that means that it comes in and is
available fresh.” Mann says that they
are now offering an organically grown
roast which is shade grown and a decaf
bean that is water pressed as opposed to
chemically treated, which are both envi-
ronmentally friendly additions to the
line.
Jewelry artist Julie Kujawa
works with pure, precious metals
and exotic stones to create extreme-
ly unique pieces. “All her pieces
are one of a kind,” says Mann. “In
owning jewelry or art work having
something unique is very valuable.
Her price points are really great and
affordable—you are getting great
quality jewelry. I have really en-
joyed watching her designs continue
to evolve and develop.” Mann says
Kujawa has recently started moving
into the wedding industry and creat-
ing some higher end products from her
studio.
Jollie Baby offers cute knit hats
and baby clothing made from vintage
fabrics. “Carmen and Brandy have a
great fashion sense and know what is go-
ing on and trending in the baby world,”
says Mann.
Chef Donna LeBlue from War-
ren hand crafts tasty treats for furry
friends and markets them through Wiggle
Butz. She uses locally sourced ingredi-
ents in her recipes, including Bridgeport
IPA.
As most small business owners
in smaller towns know, it is sometimes
very difficult to make a service or goods
business successful. And that is why the
cooperative business model of the The
Cottage is proving to be so successful.
One other example is the way
The Cottage has found to offer fresh
baked goods for their customers. Ac-
cording to Mann, Brown Butter Bakery
has been a hugely successful part of
the business and created the most buzz
within the community. “We approached
owner Darcy McDonald about opening a
bakery because we loved consuming her
products,” says Mann with a chuckle,
“and we wanted to share them with our
customers.” Of course, as Mann ex-
plains, opening a bakery involves a huge
cost. Brown Butter Bakery instead uses
a licensed, home kitchen and brings the
products to the customer in what Mann
calls a “Pop-up Bakery.” Brown But-
ter Bakery delivers fresh baked cookies,
scones, muffins and more at least two
days each week on Wednesdays and Sat-
urdays, making Mann and many of her
customers very happy.
“It’s hard to have just a single
point of entry and I think that is what
makes this establishment so unique and I
believe it will continue to be successful,”
says Mann. “There are certain points in
time when flower sales are naturally
high, like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s
Day and times like Christmas when hard
goods and gift type items are more in
demand. So when one thing is flourish-
ing maybe another is not. So having all
those facets available is very unique and
Readers Lend Their Voices... continued from page 4
Average Daily KWH’s used?
4. TREE TRIMMING: By right of recorded easements,
WOEC has legal access to member-owned properties
for clearing the right of way under WOEC power lines.
Actual experience has shown some property owners
block full-easement clearance. This results in at-risk
trees falling and severing transmission lines. This causes
higher electrical costs and higher monthly bills to all co-
op members.
Power of One recommends:
•
Each property owner be notified of WOEC
easement rights.
•
Each property owner be notified of pending
right-of-way clearing, before it occurs.
•
Each property owner be notified if proper
clearance is prevented by the property owner, the
owner will be liable for the electrical transmission costs
involved from interruptions caused by the owner’s trees.
•
WOEC contract with one or more of the many
logging outfits in WOEC’s service area to handle clearing
of larger trees.
The Questions:
A.
What is your current policy for both private &
public lands?
B.
What steps will WOEC take to accomplish the
above recommendations?
5. SELECTION FORMAT FOR OUTSIDE SERVICES:
Competitive bidding is the norm for outside services to
Debit/Credit now accepted
5x10 $39
10x10 $69
10x20 $99
RV Storage $149
Outside storage available
Totally fenced and gated
Padlocks Available
The Cottage is located at 52490 SE
2 nd Street, Suite 120 in Scappoose, OR.
They are open Wednesday and Saturday
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Thursday and
Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. They can
be reached at 503-543-3135.
cooperatives.
The Questions:
A.
Were the contracted services for the new
headquarters obtained through competitive bidding?
B.
What criteria were used?
C.
Are competitive bidding procedures used for
accounting, legal, tree trimming, construction and other
professional services?
D.
If not, what process was used and why?
6.MERGER/ACQUISITION EXPERIENCE: In the
past, WOEC has considered changing its business plan or
selling to another utility; e.g., Tillamook Peoples Utility
District.
The Questions:
A.
Historically, what specific business options have
continued on page 18
Christmas in the Country Bazaar
Wants You!
Need more room?
See us for the lowest prices
GUARANTEED!
I think, in the end, it’s what makes this
work.”
Mann’s own floral business has
also expanded. She has a business de-
gree from Oregon State University and
worked in banking for eight years be-
fore finally releasing her own inner artist
through her floral design work. She says
she enjoys gardening and working in
nature. She worked with a florist in
an apprentice capacity and eventu-
ally used her business knowledge to
develop a business plan for her own
endeavor. She says the artistic side
of her business has come very natu-
rally for her. She just finished her
seventh wedding season and through
The Cottage is doing more everyday
arrangements.
“I am very passionate and en-
joy helping create special events and
big events but I’m also really eager
to share my art work with this com-
munity on an everyday basis,” says
Mann.
Mann says she also really en-
joys living in a small town, which is
very different from where she grew up
in Southern California. “It was a big
change for me but I really enjoy it here,”
she says. “I think there are really great
opportunities to be part of the commu-
nity in an impactful way. There are a lot
of community service options and the
ability to be involved in the school. And
being a business owner just adds an-
other element to where you feel like you
can have an impact. And I think that is
something really special that small com-
munities have to offer.”
Authorized
U-Haul Dealer
Boxes and Supplies Available
We can make your reservation
Pick up here or anywhere
58605 Nehalem Hwy South • P.O. Box 292
Vernonia, Oregon 97064
(503) 429-7867
10-5 Tue-Sat
12-4 Sun
Looking to sell your handmade items this holiday season?
Well, we are looking for vendors.
The Christmas Bazaar has a much bigger space to fill up
now, and would like to FILL IT UP! The bazaar will be held
in the new school commons area December 8th & 9th. The
hours this year will be 10-5 on Saturday and 11-4 on Sunday
(Sunday has new hours)
Contact Corrie Smith at (503) 429-1052 or
vernoniabazaar@aol.com. We also have a page on
facebook- “Christmas in the Country Bazaar.”
