Five Ashland area entrepreneurs were recognized Tuesday morning by the Ashland Area Council for Economic Development during a press conference at the Ashland Municipal Building.
AACED Executive Director Kathy Goon said the organization wanted to recognize these individuals who have started new businesses or taken ownership of existing businesses because it shows that “there are lots of opportunities for businesses in Ashland and Ashland County.”
Kimberly Swanstrom opened her women’s clothing consignment store Kimberly’s Closet earlier this year on Union Street and is already set to expand and open a new business. Swanstrom plans to launch Kidz Closet, a children’s clothing consignment store, at 106 E. Main St. in November. She intends to start buying items for the store in the next few weeks, once the major renovations are completed.
‘I had a number of requests from customers, as well as my own needs as a mother, to open a children’s consignment store,” Swanstrom said. “I know there have been a lot of stores like this that couldn’t make a go of it in Ashland. I even had one person tell me that a children’s consignment store just could not work in Ashland. I wasn’t discouraged by that because I believe it’s a concept that can work.”
Swanstrom plans to hire two part-time employees with the goal of transitioning them both to full-time managerial positions so she can spend more time overseeing both stores.
“In the past six months, I’ve gotten to experience such a great sense of community in downtown Ashland that I never knew existed before,” Swanstrom said.
Janice Glenn is the new owner of a longtime downtown business – Kid’s Kountry. But the first change Glenn made was a new name of the business — Kid’s Kountry & More — representing the new items she has added to the store since taking over.
One change Glenn is making will be to renovate the storage area at the back of the Kid’s Kountry store and make it a Red Wing shoe store with an entrance off South Street. Glenn also said she has added larger sizes of clothing to fit older boy and girls.
John Kochenderfer, owner of The Harris Welding and Machine Co., announced that the company had recently acquired Active Metal, an Ashland fabricating company. Kochenderfer said the business has been at its Third Street location for all of its 50-year history and they had been looking for an expansion opportunity for several years. This purchase will allow them to move into Active Metal’s 37,000-square-foot facility on Cottage Street and give the combined company about 23 employees.
Also recognized were Garrett Hall who took over as owner of Jones Rental in May and Jennifer Harper who opened A Vintage Affair one month ago at 122 E. Main St. A Vintage Affair features repurposed vintage furniture, as well as the Chalk Paint line of products.
Goon said that Ashland residents “can expect to see more dirt being moved” as new businesses move into town or expand in the coming months.
