High-Traffic Placement = More Income for Local Makers
Indian Valley Innovation Hub’s Made in Plumas County Store One-Year Update
High-traffic placement creates a simple advantage for rural makers: more visibility, more customers, and more consistent sales. This model is also about economic access. Rural producers face tremendous barriers to growth—limited daily foot traffic, distance to customers, and the time and cost of selling online. A storefront that lowers those barriers by creating a consistent place where products can be seen, tried, and purchased year-round.
IVIH founder John Steffanic summed it up well: “We’re not here to chase multi-million-dollar contracts — we’re here to build momentum by looping in the small business owners who have taken hit after hit and are often outside the usual funding pipelines.” This model boosts sustainable small business growth by serving many business owners at once and increasing overall local revenue. It has also built strong community buy-in, with volunteers—and the Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce has implemented a similar local-maker retail sales approach and reporting metrics (visitor counts, makers, and sales) through its pop-up local product maker artisan shop.
In our one-year update (Dec 6, 2024 – Dec 22, 2025), The Quincy HUB generated $162,063 in total sales, including $88,415 from the Made in Plumas County store and $15,288 in Quincy Chamber sales. The HUB also processed $58,350 in High Sierra Music Festival ticket sales (all passed through to the Festival), putting locally made products in front of thousands of additional customers who came in for tickets and stayed to browse.
That visibility has created results. Over the same period, the store grew from roughly 26 product makers to 84, and welcomed customers from 49 states and 41 countries. So far this December, high days have reached $1,800-$2000+ in sales. At the current pace, the store is on track to more than double seasonal sales this year—exactly the kind of lift that helps local businesses and product makers stay strong through the slower winter months. For context, sales in December 2024 were $12,966. By the third week in December 2025, sales were already at $25,749. IVIH’s role is to keep spending in Plumas County by making local products easier to discover and buy—so fewer dollars leak to online platforms and into business owner’s pockets outside our area. This strengthens our business ecosystem: more makers, more variety, more foot traffic, and more repeat customers that benefit dozens of local businesses. As a targeted recovery measure, IVIH has offered commission-free participation for makers for one year in the Dixie Fire burn scar area, helping them keep more of each sale as they rebuild their homes, their businesses and their local economy.
Since the inception of Made in Plumas County in July 2023 our goal has always been to expand customer access, increase income for product makers, and keep dollars circulating locally.
