12/22/2006
One Part Entrepreneur, And One Part Elf

Emily Rankin, owner of Something Special by Emily, displayed her gift items at BEDC’s Holiday Bazaar. St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Brooklyn Heights was transformed into a thriving marketplace as aspiring entrepreneurs trained by Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation set up mini stores and sold gift items at BEDC’s Annual Holiday Bazaar. Food, baked goods, hand-made jewelry, gift baskets and artwork were offered for sale.

“I graduated yesterday,” said Molleen Jackson, a jewelry artist who designs and sells hand-made jewelry through her business, MOJA. “I learned a lot, and today we’re showing our skills. I’ve been selling jewelry all of my life, but now it has become something I want to do to help me financially.”

Jackson discovered the BEDC training program from a representative at a job fair and found that the entrepreneur classes offer exactly what she was looking for. In addition, BEDC, 175 Remsen Street, helped Jackson apply for and receive a $500 Trickle Up grant.

Emily Rankin, who sells hand-made crafts and accessories through her business, Something Special by Emily, said she also benefited from the skills she learned at BEDC’s entrepreneur training program from which she graduated in December 2005. Rankin sells her gift items at the Women’s Exchange, a Soho gallery, Brooklyn Museum, and other locations out of state.

BEDC currently offers three entrepreneur training programs—the ntrepreneur Assistance Program, a 15-week program for current and aspiring entrepreneurs, and LAUNCH and On-Track, which are unique entrepreneurial training programs designed to help individuals with a history of mental illness or physical or visual disability start their own business. In addition to classroom instruction, both programs provide specialized workshops as well as individual support and guidance to aspiring business owners.

St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church is located at 157 Montague Street.