The cottage industry is alive and well in Gold River and the surrounding areas. A cottage industry is a home based business where the products and services which are not mass produced are distinct and unique.
The cottage industry originated in the country sides of countries where the unemployment rates were high. Women started the industry but men have joined alongside them to develop the family based businesses that help drive the local economies.
Most cottage industries are small and part time. Some motivated individuals do prefer to work at it full time. Unfortunately they sometimes struggle to get their message about their products and services out to the public because of the high competition from factory based businesses.
The skills are no less impressive than the larger competitors and in fact sometimes offer much better quality in the long run due to the personal nature of their creation. The trend to purchase wares from the cottage industry is gaining recognition and acceptance as a viable alternative to buying assembly line made products that no longer seem to last like they used to.
Although cottage industries started out with arts and crafts they have expanded into things like backyard auto repair, blogging, child care, computer repair, free lance article writing, pet walking, proof reading and editing and soap making just to name a few.
Below are some of our local cottage industry members of the chamber so click on their links or call to see what they have to offer you.
Julie Schimunek – Art
- Email: julieschimunek@gmail.com