Models we are following:

We don't like to reinvent the wheel.  Rather, we are learning from and integrating lessons from several great models and coming up with our own unique blend of economic localization.  We are inspired by these models and they contribute to the vision of North Bay Made. Many thanks for the pioneering work and for sharing brilliant models.

Made in Humboldt

The Humboldt brand was created to reflect the quality of Humboldt’s products and the care with which they are made. The heart of the brand is a promise that the products are carefully made by people who care about their craft, their community and the environment.

SF Made

Read the Article in Forbes Magazine - 3-12-14

SFMade’s mission is to build and support a vibrant manufacturing sector in San Francisco,  that sustains companies producing locally-made products, encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, and creates employment opportunities for a diverse local workforce.  It is the only organization of its kind focused on building San Francisco’s economic base by developing the local manufacturing sector.  Our vision is a more diverse and sustainable local economy, where companies who design and manufacture products locally thrive, in turn, creating quality jobs for people from all walks of life and contributing to the overall economic and social vibrancy of our City.
SFMade engages directly with entrepreneurs and growing small companies, all of whom are headquartered in and manufacture within San Francisco, offering industry-specific education, networking opportunities, and connecting these companies to powerful local resources. 

Zingerman's Community of Businesses

The Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) is a family of eight businesses all located in Ann Arbor, MI and reflect the novel strategy for business growth created by Zingerman’s Deli founders Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig. Rather than replicating their deli through the franchise model, Paul and Ari instead chose to develop new, independent businesses, all rooted in our local community that work together as one organization. Each business is operated by one or more managing partners who share ownership and put their particular expertise to work in the day to day running of their business. The idea for the ZCoB was laid out in Zingerman’s 2009 vision, written by Ari and Paul in 1994 and highlighted in Bo Burlingham’s 2003 article forInc. Magazine, “The Coolest Small Company in America.” In 2006, the ZCoB managing partners began work on Zingerman’s 2020 vision. It was completed a year later and paints a picture of the ZCoB at the end of the next decade. Zingerman’s 2020 vision was featured in aNew York Times article from June 2007, “The Corner Deli that Dared to Break Out of the Neighborhood.”

Evergreen Cooperatives

The Evergreen Cooperatives of Cleveland, Ohio are pioneering innovative models of job creation, wealth building, and sustainability. Evergreen’s employee-owned, for-profit companies are based locally and hire locally. They create meaningful green jobs and keep precious financial resources within the Greater University Circle neighborhoods. Worker-owners at Evergreen earn a living wage and build equity in the firms as owners of the business.  Community wealth strategies aim at improving the ability of communities and individuals to increase asset ownership, anchor jobs locally, strengthen the municipal tax base, prevent financial resources from “leaking out” of the area, and ensure local economic stability.

Projects We Love