Reclaiming Wood, Reimagining Industry with the Urban Garden Workshop

Reclaiming Wood, Reimagining Industry with the Urban Garden Workshop

Cael Kendall’s lifelong sustainability journey has landed under the soaring beams of a heavy-timber warehouse in Waynesboro, Virginia. But once, it began in the mists of the coastal Rocky Mountains, in the old growth forests of British Columbia. Born into an era of clearcutting booms, Cael spent his childhood watching…

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From Initial Inspiration to Sustaining Success

From Initial Inspiration to Sustaining Success

Initial Inspiration runs what founder and owner Jennifer Ledford calls an “Idea Factory.”  Curious customers with t-shirt concepts, costume ideas, Pinterest images, embroidery designs, and more are welcomed into the business’s production studio for collaborative and personalized fabric and design creations. “If you’ve seen it on the Internet,” she says,…

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Invention and Play with PEV Labs

Invention and Play with PEV Labs

The first pressing question upon arriving at PEV Labs in Waynesboro is obvious:  Would you like to ride the Dork Pod? An inviting yet slightly terrifying brainchild of Brian Williford, the Dork Pod boasts a zero degree turning radius and one-thumb navigation controls. But it is only one of many…

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Back to the Basics: brewing beer and sharing history with Basic City Beer Co.

Back to the Basics: brewing beer and sharing history with Basic City Beer Co.

Boom Town to Brewery Basic City once sat at the crossroads of two railroads and the coming industrial boom. Founded in 1890, the town experienced a three-year rally of manufacturing investments in the “basic” process of turning pig iron into steal. For its moment, prior to a national depression beginning…

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Forged in Fire: The craft and the wisdom of blacksmithing in Waynesboro

Forged in Fire: The craft and the wisdom of blacksmithing in Waynesboro

On the first Friday of every month, an eclectic band of hammer wielders descend on the South River Complex in Waynesboro. They come from many corners – one man moved to Virginia from Texas for the certificate program in Artistic Blacksmithing, others hope to become historic reenactors, independent blacksmiths, industrial…

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Unambiguous Joy: Minh Martin talks craft and vocation in Waynesboro

Unambiguous Joy:  Minh Martin talks craft and vocation in Waynesboro

Huge north windows frame the glass-blowing furnace behind Minh Martin. It’s an overcast and rainy day, but he’s in shorts and a t-shirt as the cold air blows in from the open warehouse door. He’s intent on his work, and smiling. “Honestly, I can’t image a better life,” he says.…

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Feeling the Love with The Faded Poppy

Feeling the Love with The Faded Poppy

Grounded in Love, Growth Flourishes The story of The Faded Poppy reads like an unexpected love affair, perhaps not unfamiliar to the many brides and grooms who have walked down aisles bedecked in the business’s flowers. Asked to tell the story of its beginning, Jason Kite, who handles the logistics…

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Old Dominion Hemp: a product with a past, a vision for the future

Old Dominion Hemp: a product with a past, a vision for the future

It All Began Here Standing in front of hundreds of bales of hemp, housed in a Waynesboro warehouse on a rainy winter day, it doesn’t take Marty Phipps long to arrive at his favorite Thomas Jefferson quote: “Hemp is the necessity for the wealth of our nation.” Growing up in…

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The Art of Innovation with E-N Computers

The Art of Innovation with E-N Computers

Unexpected Beginnings The information technology field is full of unexpected beginnings, from Bill Gates dropping out of college to launch Microsoft, to Mark Zuckerberg inventing Facebook while living in the hallways of Harvard. Ian MacRae’s journey began in its own unexpected way, right here in the Valley, in a local…

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The Glow of Good Health

The Glow of Good Health

Freda’s Skin Studio talks wellness, entrepreneurship, and the local economy in Waynesboro Barely minutes into a conversation about entrepreneurship, Freda Jackson’s passion for people-centered economics shines through. “I wanted to go into business as an entrepreneur because corporate America was looking out for the dollar, not for the customer.” Freda’s…

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