Meet Melinda Mills Walkey | Small Business Owner promoting Resilent Ecologial Sustainable Community Development
We had the good fortune of connecting with Melinda Mills Walkey and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Melinda, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
During the pandemic lockdown, I was making soap as a way to keep my anxiety at bay. I ended up with over 1000 bars of soap, bath bombs, salts, hair balm, body butter, and laundry detergent products I use myself.
I realized that I could not give it all away and that I enjoyed making environmentally sustainable products that reduced manufacturing impacts on our ecology.
At the time, I was also completing my master’s in Community Development, which taught me that small businesses could produce resilient supply chains in the local economy. So, I started selling my handcrafted products at a Friday morning farmers market. The experience was amazing. Community Markets allow us to pay people instead of corporations while creating a local supply of products. If we invest our time, money, and efforts into people, our community will benefit 100-fold. I enjoyed sharing my purpose to bring resilience and sustainability and demonstrate an economic opportunity through small handcraft/homemade businesses.
What should our readers know about your business?
My understanding of community development and passion for ensuring my grandchildren’s grandchildren have a viable plant sets me apart from many other businesses and practitioners. It was not an easy road learning how to vend at markets. My brand has settled, but the graphics, labels, and logo are still in progress. The most important factor in my success has been to see challenges as opportunities to learn, adapt, and understand my community. What I present to the world is a new way to measure success. I do not want my products in department/super stores like Walmart or Target, nor do I have the desire to sell via Etsy or Amazon. I aim to become a small-batch, handcrafted, sustainable, resilient, and environmentally sound producer of self-care and household products. To maintain my integrity by investing my profits, time, and energy to improve my street, neighborhood, and community. Pay People, not Corporations. This is more than shopping for small businesses. It is changing how we spend our resources.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My first visit would be to CookshopATL, a Jamaican Restaurant on Metropolitan Parkway just south of Cleveland Ave.
I take them on a tour of Pittsburg and Mechanicsville neighborhoods, showing them how communities move together to change and develop outside gentrification. Adair Park, the Botanical Gardens, Little Five Points, and East Atlanta Village would star in my tour.
As I have been working with the garden managers, I would take them to Whitehall Terrace Community Garden at 590 Whitehall Terrace in Mechanicsville. @whitehallterrace
I would end at West End on White Street to enjoy the food and breweries.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My children and a few market friends are my most ardent supporters.
My oldest, Blake Nolan, author of I Love My Happy Mama book brings attention to maternal mental health. @ilovemyhappymama ilovemyhappymama@gmail.com
Dannie Lane of AromaTherapeutics Apothecary is another market vendor that has mentored and supported me as I move toward a thriving business. He also understands that similar products are not always in competition.
@aromoatherapeutics aromatherapeuticsllc@gmail.com
MyShoutout goes to Sekhet Beauty.
ASHERRIE YISRAEL of Sekhet Beauty has been an inspiration and supporter as I learned about the community market. While we serve similar clients, we both understand that there is room for multiple businesses in the specialty natural health and beauty market in our local/regional economic domain. @sekhetbeauty sekhetbeauty@gmail.com
Website: redariesrising.com
Instagram: @redariesrising
Twitter: @redariesrising
Facebook: @redariesrising
Image Credits
Melinda Mills-Walkey, Red Aries Rising Caity Marie, Cryptic Creatives – Photo of table with Melinda viewing small jar of product
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