Made in Ashby?

Photo by Katja Ano on Unsplash

Have you ever stumbled into a place that just feels alive with possibility?

A few weeks ago, I visited the Hannah Grimes Center and Marketplace in Keene, New Hampshire, and it has been rattling around in my head ever since. It’s more than a shop. More than an office. It’s a living ecosystem for small businesses—an incubator where ideas are nurtured, tested, and grown into something sustainable.

Inside, you’ll find shelves filled with locally made goods—everything from knitted items to unique foods—but what you don’t immediately see is just as important. Behind the scenes, there are people helping entrepreneurs figure out how to start, grow, and expand. There are mentors, workshops, shared resources, and access to funding. There’s a pathway.

In other words, it’s not just a marketplace. It’s a launchpad.

Once you start noticing this model, you see it everywhere. Variations exist in places as different as Prince Edward Island and Laurel, Mississippi—each one rooted in the same idea: if you want small businesses to thrive, you don’t just wait for them to appear. You build the conditions that make them possible.

Which brings me back to Ashby.

With the Ashby Elementary School and the Grange both being reimagined, I can’t help but wonder: what would it look like if we created something like that here? Not a copy, but an Ashby version—something shaped by our landscape, our creativity, and our needs.

We already have the raw ingredients:

• People who make things—food, crafts, art, services

• A strong sense of community

• A desire to support local

But what might we be missing?

Is it shared space?
Is it mentorship and business guidance?
Is it easier access to funding or tools?
Is it a place to test ideas before taking big risks?
Is it better ways to connect local producers with customers—both here and beyond?

Or maybe it’s something simpler: a place where people with ideas can find each other.

This isn’t a fully formed plan—it’s a question. One that feels worth asking out loud:

What do we need to make businesses in Ashby flourish? What do YOU need?

As we think about the future of our community spaces, let’s think not just about buildings, but about ecosystems. About how we can create opportunities for people to try, to fail safely, to learn, and to grow.

Because when small businesses thrive, communities do too.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What have you seen work elsewhere? What would help you—or someone you know—take the next step?

Let’s start the conversation.