Oats & Arts
Oats & Arts is a community-centered marketplace for local organic farmers, independent artists, freecyclers, and community activists to buy, sell, trade and create. Open to the public as a cafe, gallery and grocer, Oats & Arts also provides education facilities, meeting space, and entertainment.
Q1: Retail sales, organic agriculture and art fluctuate in many ways. How will Oats & Arts be able to create a sustainable income that will support a storefront and up to five employees?
Idea Description
The concept of Oats & Arts has grown from the resurgence of independent cooperative-style art galleries and farmer's markets that are currently gaining in popularity all over the United States. Oats & Arts takes the 'green movement' and combines it with a community supporting and rehabilitation paradigm that will aid in reclaiming urban areas from problems of decay as well as supporting the surrounding farmland and rural areas. The aim of O&A is to create a sustainable marketplace where members can display, buy, sell, trade and create their products within a supportive community environment. Fees and commissions will be used to support the business, profits are reinvested into the community.
What will you do if you win $10,000 for this idea?
Winnings from this contest will be combined with loans to open a storefront in West Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek/University City area where several new businesses are already revitalizing the community.
Once a storefront is secured, local artists, organic farmers, community leaders, and interested persons will be contacted and given an information packet as well as an invitation to become a member.
"Throughout history, civilizations grew around the community marketplace, in recent years that space has been forsaken. Its time to reclaim our shared human tradition."
"Oats & Arts brings communities together in a meaningful, cooperative, and heartfelt manner."
Vote for it now.
I like your idea; I want to improve your odds of getting funding I will vote for your idea if you will vote for mine. My idea is for a web site that raises money for inventors and entrepreneurs called New Idea website Check out my idea blob submission and visit New Idea Website and see what I can do for you. http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/4060-NEW-IDEA-WEBSITE The need for jobs is one of the biggest problems that a democratic government faces because creating jobs is an unwanted byproduct of business and industry. The reason I say its unwanted is the more jobs a business creates the more its expenses are and the smaller it’s bottom-line. If business and industry have their way they would run their companies with no jobs at all no management or labor. To deal with this dilemma I pr…moreopose a federal venture capital carrot fund that literally pays entrepreneurs to create jobs. The investment bank would be expected invest in seed level startup projects like yours and to lose money at a specified dollar per jobs ratio for example during hard times that figure may be as high as $20,000 per job and good times the figure may be as low as five dollars per job, by controlling this ratio the fed could roughly control unemployment. The bank will be expected to fund novel products and services and stay away from things like restaurants that will simply draw jobs from other restaurants or moving factories from one part of the country to another. If you like this idea vote for it and send the congressional letter from the website. Sincerely Frank Scruggs
This is something all neighborhoods undergoing revitalization should consider , especially if they are in a college/university zone.
Great question duckling; The idea for Oats & Arts was originally designed around a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY and later re-worked for Philadelphia. Aside from area-specific loan and grant programs that support O&A, the business model itself can be applied in almost any urban space.
Are you doing anything around creating a model which can be replicated in other urban areas. or is it primarily Philadelphia-centric?
i'll vote!! i hope u win because this is cool
sweet idea
Here are some useful links that relate to this proposal: The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI) is an innovative program that works to increase the number of supermarkets or other grocery stores in under-served communities across Pennsylvania. - http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/programs/super.market.campaign.php#1 Neighborhoods in Philadelphia have as much as $205 million in unmet food retail demand. With decreasing crime rates and an improved infrastructure, Philadelphia neighborhoods can support supermarkets that will bring much needed fresh food into communities. - http://www.thefoodtrust.org/pdf/PNM%20Report%20Final.pdf The Food Trust provides nutrition education services to communities through seasonal farmers’ markets and school markets. The Trust also helps to e…morexpand the supply of food resources available to low-income communities through advocacy, by creating model programs, and by undertaking research studies on food disparities and disseminating their findings to government officials and policy-makers. - http://www.thefoodtrust.org/index.php
Great questions lorax. I'll try to answer them all here: Obviously, location is key. Cobbs Creek is in a gentrification zone that has the benefit of being close to several major universities including UPenn. Recent trends show increased urbanization and there are a lot of private, federal, state and municipal incentives to new business' and homeowners for this area. Additionally, as the area improves it will draw in more consumers from the surrounding parts of Philly due to what I can only describe as the 'hip' factor. A key element of Oats & Arts is to keep costs down for the consumer and the retailer/wholesaler. To do this, O&A will seek out vendors with competitive prices and will keep vendor fees down. Much of what O&A offers doesn't have a price; education, entertainment…more, community support, freecycling, etc. which draws potential customers to market. And as for revenue - O&A will rent space to some vendors and other members. These vendors will set their own prices and pay a commission to the store. For other vendors, product will be bought wholesale and O&A will set retail prices.
I like the concept, but have a few questions. Do the vendors live in this area? Is part of your plan to give them outlets to create revenue for themselves? How many residents could actually buy from these vendors? Your description is of a place that is hit hard with decay. Will residents really be seeking crafts or organic food. Also, if there is so much decay, how many non-locals will travel to this area to purchase the goods? Look forward to your feedback.
You are beautiful! A great idea for a community that is in need.