Made in KC

Ice Cream Bae returns to the Country Club Plaza with its own storefront, more flavors 

Adison and Jackie Sichampanakhone have a soft spot for the Country Club Plaza, they shared. It’s where the journey with their soft-serve ice cream shop began. “We’re excited to be back. We had so many great customers down here before, so we’re happy to be able to serve them again,” said Adison, who co-founded Ice…

Triple (stitched) threat: Olathe apparel shop brings design, sewing, printing in-house with shirts hitting store shelves soon

Adam Worrel’s vision for a fabric-to-finish apparel and screen printing business is finally sewing itself together — nearly 4,000 miles from where it began — with a label made in KC.  First formulating the idea in 2010, he imagined creating a line with production and printing in-house and as much control over the supply chain as…

New edition of a classic story: Made in KC founders lead ownership group buying Rainy Day Books; How they plan to expand its legacy with next chapter

When the owners of Kansas City-bound Rainy Day Books announced they were selling their popular bookstore in May, they looked for two qualities in its new owners: a commitment to uphold the customer experience and determination to grow the business, said Geoffrey Jennings. “It has been a six-month process to find people who could understand…

Brian Roberts, The Black Pantry

Black Pantry expands nationally through online shop; founder works to set new standard for buying Black

Kansas City’s premier boutique for Black-owned essentials always had its sights set on building a national identity, said Brian Roberts, but he needed to prove himself and his business on the local level first.   “A lot of people were pushing me in the beginning to go the website direction, but I didn’t want to do…

Yardball Kickstarter ends with six-figure funding (and rapid hiring for production) 

When Sandlot Goods took to Kickstarter to crowdfund what it called “the perfect ball for the game of catch,” the world listened. More than 2,200 backers from across the globe pledged funds to secure their own Yardball — lighter than a baseball and sewn by hand with soft, premium leather. “We are absolutely thrilled with…