Hi readers,

You might have noticed it’s been a tad quiet here over the last week or so. Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere. Just taking a moment to make a few improvements to the site and find way to better serve our readers and the entrepreneurial community of Alaska. That’s right, EntrepreneurAlaska.com is getting even better! Please let us know if you have any suggestions for the site, story ideas or other feedback — we would love to hear from you.

More great stories about Alaska’s amazing entrepreneurs in May. Until then, we hope to hear from you.

Keep pioneering the Last Frontier,

— The editors

‘It’s all-around warm!’

Jeannette Duenow, owner of Arctic Fire Clothing, is the perfect picture of an Alaskan athlete. A cross-country skier in the winter and a triathlete in the summer, she knows what it means to be outdoors. She also knows what it means to be cold. Her main product, the Cinder Heated Performance shorts for women, is a perfect base layer for winter sports.

The idea for the base layer stemmed from her constant battle of cold air versus rear end.

“For years, I stuffed flannel down my butt,” Jeannette said.

Desperate for warmth, she tried everything to keep those sensitive areas sizzling, including modifying her base layers by sewing in flannel and using hand warmers. Finally, she decided to make her own base layer that would be ideal for outdoorsy Alaskans.

A magazine article featuring triathlete Nicole DeBoom and her clothing company Skirt Sports inspired Jeannette.

“I thought, ‘If she can do it, I can do it,’ ” Jeannette said.

She contacted Nicole and gleaned valuable “how to” advice from the successful entrepreneur. Nicole put Jeannette in contact with a manufacturer in Oregon. Jeannette then located a pattern maker in Oregon and two fabric distributors, one in Oregon and one in Washington.

“I made my own pattern with paper,” Jeannette said.

But the manufacturer required a digital rendering, so Jeannette began the arduous task of creating the perfect pattern long distance.

“I wanted it to be wicking, stretch and be warm,” said Jeannette, who settled on base layer shorts made of wicking blends of spandex, fleece and polyester.

The pant seat is reinforced with extra fabric to battle the subzero Alaskan temperatures. Jeannette also included pockets in the back for hand warmers. Each pair of shorts comes with a complimentary pair of hand warmers for what she calls “all-around warm.”

“These are warmer than anything I’ve ever worn,” Jeannette said.

Getting the name out

Marketing the product has been difficult because people don’t often see one another’s base layers out on the trail. Showing off the spandex shorts has its limits. However, Arctic Fire’s base layer shorts were sold this season at Chain Reaction and Skinny Raven in Anchorage.

Jeannette and her partner/husband, Andy Duenow, have teamed up to spread the warmth. Jeannette says taking the shorts to events such as cross-country ski races also has helped.

“We’re just trying to get the name out there,” she said.

They also posted an ad in this year’s Alaska Runner’s Calendar. Jeannette says the calendar came out in early March and Arctic Fire’s web traffic immediately increased.

Jeannette is adding men’s shorts to the mix, as well as women’s sport tops and eventually base layers for kids. All products can be purchased online, and coming next year, Arctic Fire Clothing will help stock the shelves at the Anchorage REI.

Advice

“Just do it!” Jeannette said. “If you have a really good idea, you’re not going to know unless you try it.”

Arctic Fire Clothing

WEBSITE: www.arcticfireclothing.com

PHONE: 907-229-2795

Photos courtesy of Arctic Fire Clothing

Fairbanks couple gives warm heart to cold business

Geoff and Dorothee Wool have really tough jobs.

As the owners of Hot Licks Homemade Ice Cream in Fairbanks, they must test all the flavors of their frozen desserts.

“We have to taste all the ice cream that we make,” Dorothee said.

It’s for quality control purposes, of course.

Hot Licks was started in 1986 by brothers Geoff and Adam Wool, Boston transplants who wanted to bring premium ice cream to Alaska. The original shop, located just down the hill from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, served “the finest from the four basic food groups: Soup, Bread, Ice Cream and Coffee,” according to Hot Licks’ website. All ice cream was made on the premises in a 40-quart batch freezer.

Geoff and Dorothee took on running Hot Licks full time after Adam left the business in 1990. Adam, a jazz drummer, went on to establish the Blue Loon, a Fairbanks nightclub where he occasionally still plays.

After more than 10 years of baked goods, soups made from scratch and a full soda fountain menu, Hot Licks’ owners decided to make all ice cream, all the time.

Now, Hot Licks is a Fairbanks staple. It is wildly popular in and outside of the quirky interior college town and even was featured on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”

“It’s nice to make something that people always like and people always love,” Dorothee said.

Ice cream is one of those things that can help people lift their spirits when they’re down, she said.

Small batches

While Hot Licks still uses a 40-quart batch freezer to make its product one at a time, production moved to a separate location outside the storefronts on Van Horn Road.

One batch of ice cream yields about 72 pints, according to the shop’s website.

Hot Licks ice cream is all about quality. That’s why tasting it is essential.

The ice cream is made with 16 percent butterfat cream, so it’s thicker and creamier than most, according to Hot Licks’ website. Oregon’s Lochmead Dairy, a fourth-generation family farm that does not use bovine growth hormone, makes the ice cream mix for Hot Licks. The shop used to get some mix from a local dairy, but the short supply of dairy cows could not produce enough for the popular ice cream shop’s needs.

Hot Licks has four flavors available all the time — vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and coffee.

All these are made with real ingredients for flavoring. Artificial colors, flavors and stabilizers are never used.

Other flavors such as Alaska Blueberry and Alaska Cranberry, made with handpicked berries, cycle throughout the year, Dorothee said. There are about 25 flavors from which to choose on any given day, according to Hot Licks’ website. Other flavors include those made with beer from Fairbanks’ Silver Gulch Brewery; rum raisin; a coffee-molasses blend called Coffee Creole; and tea flavors such as Earl Grey and chai. Fruit favorites such as mango, pineapple and red cherry also have cycled through.

Those are just some of the hundreds of flavors Hot Licks has made.

“Part of the fun of making ice cream is making up new flavors, and we do this continuously,” the shop’s website says.

Hot Licks also makes sorbets, sherbets and frozen yogurt.

Also, Hot Licks takes requests. If a customer wants a flavor that is not available, Hot Licks will make it and let him or her know when it is ready. And if someone has an innovative flavor idea that Hot Licks tries and likes, the lucky inventor wins a $20 Hot Licks gift certificate and gets to name the new flavor, according to the shop’s website.

“Sometimes it’s hard to decide my favorite (flavor),” said Dorothee, who added that she generally prefers chocolate and maple walnut.

Hot Licks has two locations in Fairbanks, a year-round shop in the Chena Pump Plaza and a seasonal one on College Road. It also sells ice cream at other Fairbanks-based restaurants and businesses, as well as to the Moose’s Tooth and Bear Tooth in Anchorage.

Hot Licks believes in giving back to the community, helping area organizations and hiring local workers, Dorothee said. In that way, the cold dessert business has a really warm heart.

Entrepreneur advice:

“You have to be educated, and you have to be a hard worker,” Dorothee said.

Also, be patient because being a business owner is time-consuming, she said. And a business owner must be ready and available if something goes wrong.

“You’re responsible all the time for your own business,” she said. “It’s not like you’re leaving at 5 p.m.”

Hot Licks:

ADDRESSES: 372 Old Chena Pump Road and 3453 College Road, Fairbanks, Alaska

PHONE:  (907) 479-7813

EMAIL: hlinc@alaska.net

ONLINE: hotlicks.net

Photos courtesy of Flickr user mikeczyzewski and Hot Licks

Skinny Raven Storefront

JC, Prime Minister of Purchasing for Skinny Raven Sports

Skinny Raven team believes great service
is the key to success

Skinny Raven was born in 1994, during a time when there were no specialty running stores in Anchorage. Franchise fitness stores had started to pop up in the 1970s and ’80s, but in the mid-’90s, the climate around fitness and running really began to shift. Skinny Raven saw an opportunity to create a specialty running and fitness store for Alaskans.

The original Skinny Raven store on West 8th Avenue and H Street is an old drive-up bank. John Clark (JC, as his friends refer to him) and president Daniel Greenhalgh were hired in 1996 and grew along with the company to its current operation. With a silent owner, John and Daniel are the true entrepreneurs and faces of Skinny Raven.

In a box concept store, the customer service can be lacking, but at Skinny Raven, the focus is on an intimate experience.

“People involved in fitness and running are very passionate,” John said. “They enjoy fitness. They enjoy coming to us and sharing their experiences and getting help from people who speak their same language. It’s not like that at a chain fitness store.”

Growing, growing, growing

After Skinny Raven opened, business flourished. It wasn’t long before Skinny Raven began to carry a small, then-unknown brand of brown shoe known as Dansko in addition to its already considerable fitness lines. Originally, the store carried just three Dansko models on its wall. When the shoe turned out to be remarkably practical for Alaskan lifestyles, Skinny Raven began to carry more Dansko styles. Skinny Raven’s other ‘brown-shoe’ lines also were rapidly growing. Eventually, Skinny Raven expanded from the small drive-up bank location of 2,500 square feet into its current 5,000-square-foot operation.

With the additional space, Skinny Raven added fitness apparel to its roster and expanded the fitness and brown-shoe collections.

Business in Alaska is a different ballgame than business in the Lower 48. Aside from establishing good credit, forging customer relationships and staying on the pulse of trends, entrepreneurs in Alaska must tackle inventory differently. Skinny Raven’s team found it had to order much larger quantities to minimize shipping and guarantee competitive pricing. In no time at all, it looked to expand once again.

In a stroke of luck, the building across the street became available. Skinny Raven’s team purchased the building as warehouse space for its growing product lines.

Her Tern

Before long, another opportunity emerged.

Skinny Raven’s team began to notice the cooler and more edgy brown-shoe lines often were obscured by Danskos. At the same time, the lack of boutiques in Anchorage became evident.

“People were flying elsewhere to shop, and we saw an opportunity,” John said.

And so, the building that had been bought for storage was turned into another store, Her Tern. There was some initial trial and error, but the same commitment to customer service and hiring awesome people prevailed.

“The nice thing about the culture here is we attract people who are good at customer service and who want to work in our store,” John said. “We have a lot to choose from. We don’t go through average employees.”

Now Skinny Raven boasts three unique stores: the original flagship location on H Street and 8th Avenue; Her Tern, located across from Skinny Raven on H Street; and a smaller Skinny Raven (affectionately referred to as Skinny Mini, located at Dimond Boulevard and Arlene).

John said the secret to Skinny Raven’s growth is this:

“We try to always be better than before,” he said. “We have a mantra: What was great this year is good next year. What was good is OK, and what was OK is bad. If we’re not always trying to raise the bar, we become boring to our customer.”

Getting the word out

When it comes to marketing, Skinny Raven markets across a wide spectrum. The store has a presence in newspapers, mixed media and social media, and its Facebook page is thriving.

John feels the company has found the right balance of being interesting and relative to an individual while still talking about the business. He stresses that you never should underestimate the power of word-of-mouth advertising.

“You can’t always measure the success of conventional advertising,” he said. “But at the end of the day, you do a great job with the customer, and they’re going to tell someone else.”

Entrepreneur advice

When asked for advice for potential entrepreneurs, John said: “You have to be willing to do a lot of unrewarded work and be passionate about it. It’s going to take a long time, but the beauty is, you will love going to work every day if you’re passionate.”

John said Alaska is a great place to start a business because Alaskans are very accepting of people who want to be a part of this landscape.

“If you want to lay a claim and work hard, there is opportunity for you to stand out,” he said. “People will support and respect you.  People here wander by just to see what’s new, to talk to our staff and to stay connected.”

Skinny Raven:

LOCATIONS: 800 H St., Anchorage, and 2727 West Dimond Blvd., Anchorage

PHONE: (907) 274-7222 downtown, (907) 339-9991 Dimond

ONLINE: skinnyraven.com

Skinny Raven Watches the Back Office

More than 300 adults and many with their children shopped Alaska’s first ever AK Mom 2 Mom sale Saturday. Vendors in three separate rooms at ChangePoint off Raspberry Road piled tables high with new and used baby clothes, toys, strollers and so much more.

Representatives from businesses such as Alaska Kid to Kid, Happy Bottoms Diaper Service and even Cakes in Love worked tables that filled the rooms to the walls. In one corner shoppers could pick up hot dogs, refreshments and healthy snacks. Another row of tables was dedicated to silent auction items donated by local businesses and a portion of the event’s proceeds went to charity.

AK Mom 2 Mom is the brainchild of Sarah Phillips Knechtel and Jamie Robinson. Sarah moved to Alaska in 2008 and brought with her the vision of Mom 2 Mom sales she had attended in Michigan, where she lived before. Sarah said this month there were more than 150 sales like the one she ran Saturday across the state of Michigan.

The idea is an event where parents can sell their gently used baby and children’s goods directly to other parents. Parents can keep 100 percent of the profits and shoppers can find almost anything they need for growing kids. Often more goods are offered to consignment shops than the store’s inventory can handle and parents are forced to choose between storing items until they are in season or until they can have a garage sale or find a parent in need. The women behind AK Mom 2 Mom want to connect parents and help families to reuse, reduce and recycle.

Each entrepreneurs on in their own, Sarah and Jamie met through their mom-related businesses less than a year ago.

Meet Sarah of Alaska Baby Rentals

Sarah owns Alaska Baby Rentals where parents can rent the expensive baby equipment often required for families to get out and about and enjoy Alaska’s outdoors in all weather conditions. Both tourists to Alaska and local families use her services.

“There’s some gear you need to get outside and have fun in Alaska,” Sarah said.

For example, parents can rent a chariot carrier for the day. Sarah and her husband Sandy Knechtel will meet the customers at the park or local spot of their choice to get them set up and show them how the equipment works. Other rental options include strollers and Go Go Babies, carts designed to fit with standard car seats to make airline travel easy.

They also have a “try before you buy” program in which parents can test out high end baby equipment before investing the money in it to make sure it fits their needs, cars and lifestyles.

“You don’t want to spend a ton of money on something and find out your kid won’t get near it,” Sarah said.

Sarah said such businesses are popular in the Lower 48 and she wanted to bring that vision to life when she relocated to Alaska. Sarah belongs to a Baby Travel Pros network where she can recommend baby equipment rental programs to Alaskans visiting popular destinations such as Hawaii.

Sarah also owns an online shop called Good Life Connection which sells active and casual wear.

Sarah said she had followed Alaska’s Kids since she had moved to Anchorage, but didn’t meet Jamie until last year.

Meet Jamie of Alaska’s Kids

Jamie started Alaska’s Kids in 2009 as a networking group for local parents, especially stay-at-home moms. She planned mom meet-ups and was often meeting and connecting moms several times a week. One goal was to help new moms and moms new to Alaska to build a network and find family-friendly activities. Her membership skyrocketed in a very short time.

“It was a passion for me seeing moms connect with other moms” Jamie said. “It just made me feel so good.”

After a difficult pregnancy and the birth of her miracle child, as she calls her, Jamie had to cut back on her coordinating duties with Alaska’s Kids and it took her in a new direction. The site she had built to spread information about meet-ups and family-friendly Anchorage events grew and turned into an up-to-date resource for parents and popular blog.

“I was tired of running into pages that had old information and was trying to find how to connect with the community with small kids!” Jamie writes on her site’s about page. “There is sooo much to do here in Alaska with small ones. I hope this blog helps you get out of the house and enjoy our backyard of fun in Alaska!”

The two entrepreneurial moms’ paths crossed in 2011 when Jamie had contacted Sarah about advertising Alaska Baby Rentals on Alaska’s Kids. The women clicked and Sarah shared the idea for a Mom 2 Mom program that she had been dreaming of starting since moving to Alaska three years earlier. Jamie loved it and they began planning.

Overcoming obstacles

It took longer than the women had expected to bring their ideas to fruition. They ran into stumbling blocks with the cost of running such an event and finding the right venue to hold it.

“We were almost to a point where we kind of gave up,” Jamie said.

Jamie said Sarah encouraged her when she was feeling discouraged and visa versa.

“There was no way I would have been able to do this by myself,” Jamie said. “Her strengths balance out my weaknesses and the other way around.”

Sarah said nearly the same thing about Jamie in a separate interview.

“She is much more creative than I am — I’m much more business,” Sarah said. “I can’t imagine anyone else I could have done this with. It just worked.”

Jamie said their common faith was a strong connector in their friendship and business partnership and a key part of their success. Sarah and Jamie are planning the next AK Mom 2 Mom sale and will post details on their sites and Facebook pages as the plans come together

Advice for entrepreneurs:

Sarah: “It’s really important to have a strong support group. Surround yourself with people who can encourage you.”

Jamie: “Just trust your gut and go for it. When I first started Alaska’s Kids and AK Mom 2 Mom it was scary. There would be days when I was stressing out and just trying to breath. And Sarah would say it’s going to work out. If I let my mind drive it I wouldn’t be here, but my heart and my passion drove me.”

AK Mom 2 Mom:

ONLINE: akmom2mom.com

Alaska Baby Rentals:

PHONE: 907-240-7368

EMAIL: info@alaskababyrentals.com

ONLINE: alaskababyrentals.com

Alaska’s Kids:

ONLINE: alaskaskids.com

In a flash, cherry-red, single-engine planes of Rust’s Flying Service can be spotted taking off toward Mt. McKinley or an obscure lake buried in the Alaska bush.

All in the family

The father and entrepreneurial spirit behind Rust’s Flying Service, Hank Rust, was a World War II Air Force pilot who took his piloting skills back to Alaska, starting Rust’s with a single plane in 1963. The air taxi service began as a fly-out hunting guide service, expanding into a fishing guide service and continually evolving.

In the late 1990s, Hank’s sons, Todd and Colin Rust, and Todd’s wife, Suzanne, became the owners and operators. In 1996, Rust’s Flying Service bought K2 Aviation in Talkeetna from Jim Okonek. Suzanne operates the Talkeetna business, specializing in Mt. McKinley tours and drop-offs for McKinley climbers. Colin is the director of aircraft maintenance, and Todd runs Rust’s, the Anchorage-based business.

Get there by air!

“In our lobby, at the same time, there could be somebody who’s lived on a remote lake outside of town for 60 years and only comes to town a couple of times a year, and the Joneses from Iowa, who are on their first-ever trip (to Alaska),” said Willis Thayer, Rust’s operations manager. “The diversity of the clientele can keep you excited about it.”

Willis has worked for Rust’s since 1993 and became the operations manager in 1998.

“Tourism is the bread and butter, but the heritage is hunting and fishing,” Willis said. “That’s the origins of the company.”

Rust’s provides air taxi services to remote lodges, hunting or fishing camps, and personal cabins or homes. But the majority of the company’s business is tourism.

Seeing Mt. McKinley by air or flying to Lake Clark or Katmai national parks for a day of bear viewing are favorites among tourists. The company operates year-round, but it only flies float planes in the summer months. In the winter, when the lake freezes, the planes are put on wheel-skis and can take off and land on ice and snow.

Rust’s offers flight-seeing trips over several glaciers, the Chugach Mountains and Prince William Sound. The company has nine airplanes in Anchorage and 10 at K2 in Talkeetna.

Willis says much of Rust’s and K2’s success has been in the companies’ recognition of the value of tourism. Not only do they serve Alaskans, but also big companies such as Princess Cruises and Holland America, he said. Also, special modifications to the aircraft have helped the business become an ideal tourist spot.

“On every single airplane, everyone gets a window seat, and all the airplanes have intercoms for two-way conversation between the pilots and passengers,” Willis said.

Marketing also has been key for the growth of Rust’s. Willis said internet marketing and online booking have helped modernize the company.

“The next step is to up our game in social media,” he said.

During the summer, the Rust’s lobby hosts tourists from all over the world, as well as a flavorful array of adventurous Alaskans. But the winter months are slim.

“The hardest part is the seasonality,” Willis said. “You go like heck all summer and hope for good weather and good conditions, and you’ve got to be frugal in the winter.

“Todd is very business savvy, and that’s what made this business stick.”

Adding to winter business each year, Rust’s is involved in the Iditarod. In 2012, Rust’s will shuttle news crews around Alaska after the race. The company also offers day trips to race checkpoints so viewers can watch the mushers.

The legacy continues

Rust’s Flying Service, which will celebrate its 50^th anniversary next year, has flown a truly Alaskan and colorful mix of people and animals.

“I flew an eagle in a chicken wire cage because he was hurt,” said Dan Baldwin, a seasoned bush pilot and Rust’s chief pilot.

“It’s always interesting when you tie a boat to the outside of an airplane and fly it somewhere,” Willis said.

Rust’s Flying Service

LOCATION: 4525 Enstrom Circle, Anchorage

PHONE: 907-243-1595 or 800-544-2299

ONLINE: FlyRusts.com

Haines writer Heather Lende strings together words in such a way to simply tell warm, human stories and make delightful observations about her life in rural Alaska.

Over the years, Heather has made a name for herself through the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch, National Public Radio and two acclaimed books of nonfiction essays, “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name” and “Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs.”

She is a regular columnist for Woman’s Day magazine and recently signed a contract for a third book with publisher Algonquin Books.

Originally from the East Coast, Heather has lived in the southeast Alaska hamlet of Haines for decades with her husband, who owns a lumberyard, and their dogs. Two of her daughters, both expecting babies soon, live nearby.

With diligence, good fortune and perhaps even divine providence, Heather has become an nontraditional entrepreneur, doing what she loves and then translating it into a living for herself.

“I work hard and I’ve had some very good luck,” she said via email last week. “There is not much money in writing. I just did my taxes, and the truth is I was hugely pleased to have my best year ever at the ripe young age of 52, though I’m only a few thousand dollars richer than my oldest daughter, who is in her second year of teaching fourth grade in Juneau.”

Though she is a bona fide author now, she still does what she calls “bread and butter work,” writing obituaries for her local paper, the Chilkat Valley News, as well as smaller pieces for magazines such as Sunset and Country Living.

“Some of it is just $100 here and there, but it all adds up, and you never know where it will take you,” she said. “My husband used to say the obituaries took too much time, but then I wrote a bestselling book of the stories and lessons I learned doing it.”

That book was her first, “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name.”

Heather began her foray into storytelling as a radio commentator. She produced slice-of-life-in-Alaska radio essays for Monitor Radio, the former broadcast arm of the Christian Science Monitor, before it went off air in favor of the internet, she said.

“This was back in about 1996,” Heather said. “Steve Heimel at the Alaska Public Radio Network said that if I wanted to be picked up by NPR I needed to be in print, and suggested sending a piece to the Anchorage Daily News. They used to have a ‘General Delivery’ column, which picked up guest essays.”

That’s when a chance opportunity came her way.

“Turns out the week I sent my story, a regular columnist in the former ‘We Alaskans’ Sunday magazine had retired, and I was offered her slot,” she said. “I said ‘yes.’ ”

Then, NPR began broadcasting her essays because she was published in the Anchorage Daily News, she said.

“Steve was right,” Heather said. “Then, an editor in New York heard an NPR essay and called and asked if I wanted to write a book, and I said ‘yes,’ and now I’m a writer. I haven’t done much radio work since then.”

She was asked to write for Woman’s Day after a magazine executive read “Take Good Care of the Garden and The Dogs,” upon a recommendation in a church newsletter. The book is about Heather’s mother’s death, as well as Heather’s recovery from being run over by a truck in a bike accident.

She also recently received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage’s low-residency MFA program. She said she told her teachers she’s a bit like the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz.”

“I wanted a piece of paper that said I was a writer,” she said. “I chose to concentrate on fiction, and I wrote a novel that I hope will be published.”

Heather’s openness to life and opportunity has aided her hard work and success.

“Most of it has come down to saying ‘yes’ when I am asked, no matter what my schedule looks like, and then delivering what was asked of me, on time and within the guidelines,” she said. “An awful lot of success in writing comes from simply doing what you say you will. I guess that’s true of life, too.”

As far as the business side of writing goes, Heather has an agent who negotiated contracts for her third book and Woman’s Day.

“Some writers are business people, I am not,” she said. “I am terrible at it. I think my publishers are my friends, and that just isn’t true. My editors all have been, but I have seen many come and go. It’s a hard business, and having someone who is on your side is a good thing.”

While deadlines motivate Heather to finish her stories, her neighbors and environment in Haines stir her musings.

“What inspires me is the world around me — all of it, especially here in Alaska,” she said. “How can you not aspire to some kind of greatness when you can see it all around you in such abundance — but for me inspiration comes mostly from people, the way we all live, the ironies, the joys — the funny and sad and sometimes messy stuff of life.”

Heather’s advice to aspiring authors? Start writing.

“I believe that if you want to be a writer, and you work at it like you would any other job, then you will be one,” she said. “I honestly do. The days I am at my desk as long as my husband is at his lumberyard are pretty darn productive.”

Also, she said, read writers in the genre that you want to write.

“Read the kinds of stuff you want to write, or are writing, and figure out how the best writers in that genre do it,” she said.

Then, read the sorts of publications that publish that sort of writing and try to shape a piece to fit them, Heather said.

“Start small, the local paper, a church newsletter, a local literary magazine, business or fraternal organization journals — and build experience and an audience,” she said.

“There is a huge opportunity online now. Blog. It’s great practice, at the very least, and plenty of people are turning them into careers and books.”

But if you still need a nudge, Heather suggests taking classes or workshops.

“Kachemak Bay [Writers' Conference] in Homer is like a mini-MFA program,” Heather said.

Photos courtesy of Algonquin Books and Heather Lende.

Find Heather Lende online and on her blog at heatherlende.com.

 Ken Sease wants to share the humanity behind music

Ken Sease feels most at home with a guitar in his hands. The owner and chief audio engineer of Twisted Penguin Productions in Anchorage began his career as a house musician in Nome with his band Notice To Appear.

Ken and Joseph Simer, Notice To Appear’s drummer, had started to write and record songs in his apartment. When the time came to get the album professionally mixed, the two researched facilities in Alaska and settled on Mirror Studios – where Ken eventually would work.

Not long after recording his album at Mirror Studios, Ken moved to Anchorage and started hanging out at the studio as often as possible.

Mirror Studios founder Charlie Hewitt told Ken, “God helps those who help themselves.” Ken took this to mean that if he wanted to work in the music business, then he would have to take initiative.

Ken began showing up every day and did whatever was asked of him, including cleaning the bathrooms and making coffee. Little by little, he became one of the main house engineers.

Twelve years after Ken started at Mirror Studios, the economy took a turn for the worse, and the traditional approach to recording began to change. Ken was laid off.

“At first I was freaked out and didn’t know what to do,” Ken said. “So I thought, ‘Do what I know how,’ and I started a recording studio in my house.”

Soon the house was taken over by gear and musicians, and Ken’s wife insisted he find a studio space. Mutual friends had purchased a building on Spenard Road and 30th Avenue. A space in the back of the building turned out to be perfect for a recording studio.

With the help of friends, his wife and his family, Ken began renovating in November 2010. Twisted Penguin Productions opened March 21, 2011 – almost a year to the day he was laid off from Mirror Studios.

Making waves

Within weeks, Ken met Evan Phillips, who plays in the band the Whipsaws. Evan wanted Ken to listen to Juneau singer Meg Mackey. Both were blown away by her voice and agreed to help her record and produce her new album.

With Ken as the engineer, Evan acting as producer and James Glaves providing the final mix, they realized they had a great team in place at the studio.

It was decided that Twisted Penguin Productions would offer artists the ability to reduce daily and hourly rates by working on a per-project basis. Unlike traditional recording facilities, Twisted Penguin lets artists eat, sleep and hang out without having to watch the clock, which allows for more creativity.

This approach has been so successful that Ken gets calls from bands all over the state that want to record at Twisted Penguin.

Ken believes that to succeed at what you love, you cannot get hung up on money.

“In the end, if a project is over and there is an issue, taking that extra time to fix the problem is worth all the effort, regardless of whether there is money left in the budget,” he said. “Going the extra mile to make sure an artist or client leaves happy gains you a customer for life.”

It’s that little extra customer service that Ken insists is the humanity behind the sharing of music.

“The bottom line is the people,” Ken said. “Do the right thing. Have a heart. It’s not about the money.”

Today, Twisted Penguin Productions mainly attracts younger singer-songwriters and indie bands and musicians. However, the business also has its fair share of corporate accounts for radio and video production houses. Ken regularly works with Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska Dance Theatre, FrostLine Productions and SprocketHeads. He also provides restoration and digitizing services.

Broadcasting himself

Ken believes word of mouth is the most valuable marketing tool. He promotes his business through his website, which he plans to soon revamp, and Facebook promotions.

Though it can be hard running a business in Alaska, Ken does not want to be anywhere else.

“Alaskans are a different breed,” he said. “We’re not dealing with the same stuff as the rest of the U.S. You’ve got to be brave to be up here and endure because it’s a real challenge.”

He feels that if he went outside Alaska, there would be thousands more people trying to do what he does, and in Alaska, his individuality and skills really have the opportunity to thrive.

Sound advice

Ken says as an entrepreneur, the most important thing he has learned is to be consistent.

“Cross your T’s, dot your I’s and keep it simple,” he said. “You don’t need to complicate it more than it is.”

Ken also recommends having a solid business plan and being conscientious about money.

“Make sure you have twice as much money as you think you need and really do your research,” he said. “Don’t go in blind. Have the facts to back up your feelings because it’s going to help you be that much better. You don’t need millions to get a great collection of gear when you can do much more with less.”

Twisted Penguin Productions

PHONE: (907) 561-1686

LOCATION: 2917 Spenard Road (in the back), Anchorage, AK 99503

ONLINE: Twisted Penguin website: http://www.twisted-penguin.com
Twisted Penguin Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twisted-Penguin-Productions/138850389463758

All photos by Wyoming Telford

Courtesy ShuzyQ

It’s Valentine’s Day, and the women who own ShuzyQ in downtown Anchorage want you to know it’s OK if you haven’t found “the one.” This Feb. 14, you can come down to the store and find a soul mate for your feet.

ShuzyQ is hosting a KamaSHOEtra party with aphrodisiac food from Orzo, voodoo dolls, a chance to take a whack at a heart-shaped piñata and a shoe fashion photo booth. There will even be discounts.

ShuzyQ’s mantra is: For women who love shoes beyond reason. And for the owners Sydney Mitchell and Dawn Walsh, it’s all for the love of shoes.

Every time they make a business decision, they ask, “Where’s the fun?” If it’s happening at ShuzyQ in Anchorage or at its sister store, Shoefly+Hudsons in Juneau, it’s probably fun. They love planning events, participating in First Friday festivities and donating a gift certificate to either of their stores for charity fundraisers.

ShuzyQ recently contributed shoes to Anchorage’s Object Runway event at the Bear Tooth. It also participates in the Clare to Clare fashion show fundraiser each summer. Shoefly+Hudsons often contributes gift certificates to auctions that raise money for people who need to fly out of Juneau for medical care.

ShuzyQ celebrates its two-year anniversary in Anchorage this spring, but Shoefly+Hudsons in Juneau has roots deep in Alaska history.

If the shoe fits

It started with Hudsons, which might be the oldest footwear establishment in Alaska. Hudsons opened in the late 1930s to sell shoes to miners.

Hudsons had changed hands several times through the years, and Sydney and Dawn separately were interested buying it in the mid-2000s when the owners at the time were looking to retire. In a coffee shop next door to the store, Sydney and Dawn discovered their common love for shoes and their balance of strengths and weaknesses were the seeds for a perfect partnership. There, the idea for Shoefly was born.

Sydney and Dawn opened their own shoe store in 2005 in downtown Juneau, as Hudsons’ owners weren’t quite ready to let go. They focused on selling only brands and price points that were not available at Hudsons.

“All of their shoes were at a $70-and-under price point,” Sydney said. “So we decided to focus on only shoes that were $70 and up.”

They showed Hudsons’ owners their business plan and asked for their blessing. In the three years that followed Shoefly’s opening, Hudsons saw its best sales years ever. More shoppers headed to downtown Juneau to buy shoes than ever before.

In 2008, the owners of Hudsons finally decided to sell to Dawn and Sydney. After running the two stores separately, the women eventually combined both into one location, one concept and one name — Shoefly+Hudson.

Stepping up

Visitors to Juneau from other parts of Alaska began suggesting the women should open a store in Anchorage.

“You have Nordstroms, you have the big boys,” Sydney said was their first reaction to the idea. “Why are you asking us to come?”

The women spent three days in Anchorage to survey the market and see if there was room for their niche.

“We visited Nordstroms, Payless, every shoe store you can think of,” Sydney said.

At the end of the three days, they concluded there might be room for their sense of shoe style. They were committed to finding a location in downtown, feeling part of their image is contributing to the vibrancy of downtown culture.

Sitting at Orzo over wine, they lamented the difficulty finding the ideal spot. But as fate would have it, they were sitting next to their future landlord. The owner of the building that houses Glacier Brewhouse said, “I have a space for you! Come over, bring your wine.”

He gave them a tour of the location of the former Imaginarium, a children’s hands-on museum facility that recently had moved into the Anchorage Museum’s main building.

In spring 2010, ShuzyQ opened. Dawn and Sydney held a naming contest for the store and were surprised to learn the name they chose from more than 500 anonymous entries was thought up by Dawn’s daughter.

When they first wrote the business plan for ShuzyQ, Sydney and Dawn sought the counseling of a small business adviser. Sydney described the woman as among the 5 percent of women who don’t love shoes.

“So she basically told us she didn’t think our business was going to fly,” Sydney said. “’You think women are going to buy 2-3 pairs of shoes a year?’”

That same skeptic has since become a regular shopper.

“Within a year, she had bought five (pairs of) shoes from us and was a complete convert,” Sydney said.

For the love of shoes

Sydney and Dawn don’t believe in having a demographic. They believe the love of shoes defies age and laugh out loud at shoe vendors who tell them they only target 22-year-olds.

Sydney relayed a story about a particular shoe brand whose representative told her only women in their early 20s liked that kind of shoe. She later sold that same pair to an Alaskan woman in her 70s.

Dawn and Sydney carefully consider the types of shoes they carry.

“The shoes have to be cute first,” Sydney said. “The kind of shoes that cause women to claw at the glass or make some kind of sound when they enter the store.”

Then they look for other factors such as comfort, durability and sizing. Size availability is key, Sydney said. Alaskan women wear more size 11 shoes than in much of the nation. They also try to carry shoes available in wide widths.

“I would say we have an eclectic collection for special events, career and everyday shoes,” Sydney said. “Our everyday shoes tend to be a little more quirky. We are looking to bring something in that is either to the left or the right to basic.”

ShuzyQ:

LOCATION: 737 W. 5th Ave., Suite C, Anchorage

PHONE: 907-743-2953

ONLINE: ShuzyQ.com

Shoefly+Hudsons:

LOCATION: 109 Seward St., Juneau

PHONE: 907-586-1055

ONLINE: ShoeflyAlaska.com

The KamaSHOEtra Party

WHEN: 5-9 p.m., Feb. 14

WHERE: ShuzyQ, 737 W. 5th Ave., Suite C, Anchorage

Crab cooking pots and 5-gallon buckets

In a remote cabin 50 miles by boat from Sitka, Alaska, Jim and Darcy Michener accidentally left a crab cooking pot of sea water brewing on the stove. Overnight as the water boiled out, an enticing pattern of sea salt stuck to the rim of the pot.

“We recognized it for what it was,” Jim said.

This was in 2000. The Micheners took home the salt for kitchen use and continued to make it yearly at the cabin. Over the next five years, they developed a love for artisanal food and ingredients, as well as a fascination with sea salt.

They delved into the world of salt and discovered that fine salts are like a good microbrew or artisanal cheese — full of variety, flavors and textures.

“I thought salt was salt,” said Jim, who discovered that he and his wife were making flake salt, which is more reminiscent of a snowflake than of the hard, crunchy sea salt crystals from Hawaii.

In 2005, the Micheners decided to get serious about their passion and become the first U.S. commercial producers of flake sea salt.

Now, they own the successful Sitka-based business Alaska Pure Sea Salt Company.

“It took two full years of experimenting,” Jim said.

A charter fishing boat captain in the summer, Jim lugged many a 5-gallon water bucket, weighing in at about 42 pounds each, up the boat harbor ramp.

“I would play with the formulas, and empirically and systematically work out the formula,” he said. “It was almost like going back to school. I pulled out my old college chemistry book.”

The final product resulted in the desired pyramidal-shaped flake, or finishing salt as it’s called. It is used on food during the final steps of preparation.

“It has a really delicate crunch to it,” Jim said. “Pyramidal finishing salt has the texture of a rich cracker and a pleasing give in your teeth.”

The Micheners also started playing with salt flavors such as alder-smoked salt and blueberry salt.

“I’ve alder-smoked fish and cheese, so this was natural,” Jim said.

The blueberry salt is made with hand-picked wild blueberries but is labor-intensive and therefore a seasonal salt for fall. Jim says they also are working on spring and summer seasonal salts because people seem to be embracing more local and natural food, and are cooking seasonally.

Growing the Salt Biz

As of November 2011, the company finally grew enough to expand into a new facility. The Micheners also have a 1,100-gallon water truck and signed a contract with the Northwest branch of Whole Foods Market. It was an arduous process to get there.

Jim said he and Darcy had an original business plan painstakingly organized. Jim even went on sourcing trips to find custom manufacturing equipment. They were ready to go but did not have the necessary finances.

“We had to redo with the bootstrap approach,” Jim said. “Because of that, we are a leaner company. We got into this for 25 percent less than what we originally thought.”

Also, the Micheners had to do the red-tape dance with the Department of Environmental Conservation, Food and Drug Administration and the City of Sitka.

“There were an awful lot of hoops, but [our DEC agent] was very helpful,” Jim said. “Also, to have a food product in the USA, you have to register with the Bioterrorism Act with the FDA.”

Chef Marketing

Jim describes the business’ marketing as “a little bit of luck and shrewd planning on my wife’s part.”

The Micheners did not have a marketing budget, so Darcy created the labels and packing design. Then in 2008, they placed their product in the hands of talented chefs.

Jason Wilson of the Seattle restaurant CRUSH was the first. He recommended the salt to Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, Wash. She took the product on “Iron Chef America” and won.

Jim calls it chef marketing.

“I think it’s a feather in their cap to discover a new product and be the first to use it,” Jim said.

Next, the Micheners tried retail sales, at Darcy’s insistence. The first store to carry the product was Silver Basin kitchen store in Sitka. The positive retail reception from locals and tourists blew them away.

Now, several Seattle restaurants use the sea salt, including the Space Needle’s famous revolving restaurant.

“The Space Needle was always the place with a really cool view and OK food,” Jim said. “But they have a new chef, and now the food is really, really good.”

The Micheners are expanding Alaska Pure Sea Salt throughout Alaska and the Lower 48, with samples pending in Texas, Connecticut and Las Vegas.

A Spice of Advice

“Be prepared for how difficult it’s going to be, and you have to persevere,” Jim said. “It’s been thousands and thousands of hours of labor.

“Be prepared for an incredible amount of work. … Be prepared when you’re finally financed to be really scared. Now you are responsible for making the dream happen.”

Alaska Pure Sea Salt Company:

PHONE: 907-747-SALT (7258)

ONLINE: www.AlaskaPureSeaSalt.com

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JIM & DARCY MICHENER