Building a new economy with peace, love, and glitter

When COVID19 hit the US, it became clear that women were being affected by the pandemic in unique ways. In 2020, 2.3 million women left the tradition workforce to care for children and other family members. Out of work herself, Heather McDuffee began to think about how caregiving women could re-imagine their “returnship” to work in a world that devalues their time and energy.

McDuffe’s dream and now the goal of Creations @ the Edge is to employ moms to allow them the opportunity to stay home or be involved with their kids and to give them the opportunity to make a living wage. “Women make 82 cents to the dollar, Black women make 63 cents to the dollar, Latina women even less. So I was trying to employ as many people as I could possibly employ with things that would keep them at home with their kids, because they began to realize that working as a CNA or as some kind of essential worker was taking them away from their kids and the payoff wasn't as good as they wanted it to be.”

Creations @ the Edge launched September 16, 2021. The 75 makers are mostly single mothers.  Located in downtown Colorado Springs in a block lined with mostly women-owned businesses, the shop features handmade products, coffee and teas, and other products. 95% of the goods are made by women and about 90% are women of color and queer women. The building is owned by a local church, but is leased to Creations @ the Edge at no cost. The building includes use of an upstairs gathering area, which can be rented for events like yoga classes and book signings, and a basement storage and “hangout” area for the children of the makers and owners.

Project Rahab

Creations @ the Edge offered an accelerator group called Project Rahab, a cohort for women who wanted to join and start businesses.

“We called the cohort Project Rahab – thinking about Rahab from the book of Joshua who was living on the margins and how she creatively saved her family. Most of the women are from the low income African American quadrant of the city. This offers women a chance to be involved with their children rather than working long hours that are not child-friendly as essential workers and in other low-paying jobs,” explained McDuffee. “We did a seven month deep dive with three women. By the end of the seven months, two of the three had LLCs and were small business owners. They created logos, business plans, budgets. WE did a shark tank with them before they launched their products just for practice.”

McDuffee learned a lot about her own intentions in that first cohort. “In all my well-intentioned whiteness, I thought we would have people come in and work on budgets, increase their skills, etc, I gave them a menu of things they might want to develop in the next seven months. But a lot of what they wanted was personal work. How do I handle anxiety? I want to be kinder to my body. It was personal growth stuff and not occupational stuff. They created their own smart goals. It was really women supporting women.” said McDuffee.

The support within the group continued as the cohort got into business. “The women support each other – creating an alternative economy. We say community over competition. We think there is truly enough for all. Women buy things from each other rather than ordering from Amazon and support other businesses in the community. We can tell the stories about the products and the women behind them. It’s really powerful. We have women who roast coffee, make tea, and offer other crafts,” said McDuffee.

About Heather McDuffee

Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, McDuffee certainly didn’t set out to be a minister and social entrepreneur. Her early dream was to be a singer on Broadway and she completed a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Houston. Then she “met a boy at a wedding and ended up in Colorado.” The two married and had children. “I had been out of the church for about 15 years, but one of the many jobs that I took on at that time was a part-time position as a youth coordinator. I loved that church,” said McDuffee. Her path soon led her to seminary.

After completing seminary at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, McDuffee took a position in Canton, Ohio and then moved to Colorado Springs as lead pastor at First Congregational Church, a historic downtown church, as their first female pastor. “These big historic churches don't know what to do with female leadership. To add to the mix, within the first couple of months, I divorced my husband, because deep down inside of my soul, I knew I was gay. I was trying to come out in this very personal, private way before I came out to the church.”

Politics and conflict within the church forced her to leave the church, then two months later COVID shut down the world. This offered her a time of healing and a chance to reinvent herself - and to dream up what would become Creations @ the Edge.

McDuffee created a business plan and pitched it to the pastors at First Methodist Church of Colorado Springs, where she was working as a part time minister.

The church signed on and McDuffee went to work on the space. “I started cleaning, pulling up carpet, painting the walls and I burned out pretty quickly. I just didn’t know how to move forward.”

That’s when she met Pryncess. “We had coffee in June of 2021 and I gave her the business plan.” By the time July began, Favors was at work and on September 16, 2021, Creations @ the Edge celebrated their grand opening. “We have really different gifts. Pryncess handles the business side of things, like licenses and taxes. I’m the ideas person. And then Pryncess makes it happen. “ says McDuffee.

About Pryncess Favors

Pryncess has been making her community a better place for over 10 years, both as a volunteer and a professional.

“I'm really good at not getting paid for things. I’ve been PTA president at my kids’ school for the past four years. I've worked with a lot of the nonprofits in the Colorado Springs area. We put on fashion shows together and just raised a lot of funds for local charities.”

For the past 5 years., Pryncess has served as an essential facilitator helping Just Be Colorado, a local 501c3 in Colorado Springs. In her professional work, she served as the Director of Coordinated Access to Community Health program, working with the underinsured and uninsured community. “I was the liaison between some of the best doctors we have in our city and some of the most underinsured people you could imagine,” said Favors.

Pryncess grew up in Colorado Springs and completed a BA in American Sign Language at Goshen College in Indiana in 2012 and then a MS in ASL at the University of Northern Colorado in 2022. Her skills in strategic planning, administrative services, and project management have been invaluable in launching Creations @theEdge.

Pryncess’ two children enjoy the space at Creations@ the Edge while she works creating displays and even a recent “Camp Glitter” float for the local Pride Parade.

Dreams for Creations at the Edge:

Heather and Pryncess hope to begin another cohort in October of 2022. They love to tell the stories of the women who share their products with the shop and who are working to build financial stability for their families through this creative work. That’s the passion behind Creations @ the Edge - helping women succeed.

Meet the Makers: Here are a few of the Makers from Creations @ The Edge.

To support the work of Heather and Pryncess along all their makers, visit the shop at www.creationsattheedge.com