Moby Wrap   

The Innovation Lab, located in the Hegan Lane Business Park in Chico, debuted last week. People gathered to hear product and service pitches, view local manufacturers and products and enjoy refreshments.    

News to Use or You May Lose ...   

Butte County has set up a public outreach meeting to contractors, owner builders, developers, etc to be able to come in discuss any concerns issues, new materials, new building division forms, processes, new building codes, etc every other month for a two-hour period.

Meetings are scheduled for 3pm-5pm June 23, Aug. 18, Oct. 20 and Dec. 8, at 202 Mira Loma Dr. in Oroville. 

An agenda will be sent out two weeks in advance of meeting.

• Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms - How ALL permits (water heater, HVAC, photo voltaic, attached patio covers, reroofs, etc) with valuations of $1,000 or more require smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to be installed. Battery-operated ones are allowed.

• Green Building Code requirement forms - new forms are required at permit application in response to the 2010 New codes which went into affect January 2011. Explanations on how to use the forms and why they are required was discussed.

• New CSLB placards - New placard posting requirements on job sites was discussed.

ADA Class

nspringer@buttecounty.net for more information.   

Every other month the local building officials from various jurisdictions meet - from 5pm-6pm (on their own time) with one another to discuss the new codes and current issues, as well bring consistency among the various cities and county.  

"We are working on trying to create the same handouts," said Interim Building Official Nancy Springer of the County of Butte.  

"We would like to identify minor differences by our county and city logos."

The County of Butte, City of Chico, City of Oroville, City of Gridley, Town of Paradise, City of Orland, Sutter County, and Willows all participate.

If you or a business colleague would like to be highlighted in this newsletter - a product of the

Butte County Economic Development Corporation 

Please contact Debra Lucero or call 530.228.2860.

To us, "Economic development" is a verb not a noun. We need action. We need creative partnering. We need jobs and increased commerce in the North State. Think local. Think regional. Think BIG possibilities.

Butte County Economic Development Corporation is ready to assist. Staying connected is essential. Understanding our local assets and businesses is also essential.

Pass this along to someone you think may want to INNOVATE, INITIATE OR IMPLEMENT economic concepts in the North State. Let us help ... Look to the Three "I's" newsletter for the latest Information.

Wait! Is that a fourth "I" - Information?

Debra Lucero
Butte County Economic Development Corporation  

We are funded, in part, by the County of Butte and private business throughout the region.



 

Gridley resident Byron Sutherland has been on a dead run since 2006. That's when he evaluated his situation as a freelance artist who was renting studio space to blow glass.

"I did some wholesale shows and started to get some big orders," said Sutherland, who earlier had worked and developed his skills at Chico's famous Orient and Flume - a glassblowing studio pioneer of the 70s.  

"I couldn't keep up with the orders ... It was in the back of my mind ... having my own studio ... it just seemed to be too expensive and out of reach."  

Charla (his then girlfriend and now his wife of five years) worked to support the young couple at the Starbucks on Highway 99 in Gridley.

"I needed studio space and I needed equipment," Sutherland said, a graduate of California State University, Chico, with a bachelor's degree in fine arts and an emphasis in glass sculpture.

According to Sutherland, Audrey Taylor of Chabin Concepts had the answer. She was assisting the City of Gridley with economic development at that time. Taylor helped him find studio space and connected him with 3CORE - a private, non-profit corporation that works as an economic development planning and coordinating agency that specializes in small business loans for Butte, Glenn and Tehama counties.

"I needed a furnace - the heart of any studio - and those run $15,000-$30,000. I also needed cushion money to pay bills and get everything rolling."

Sutherland's Gridley location is part of a 35-acre abandoned fruit cannery that was once one of the largest peach and pumpkin canning operations in the world. Today, ironically and perhaps poetically, Sutherland blows "Fizzlefruit" peaches and pumpkins there. This 900-years-old Venetian technique carbonates glass with baking soda, creating the effervescent effect.

Sutherland studied in New York at the renowned Corning Museum of Glass with Bill Gudenrath, master Venetian glass artist, for whom he later worked, by invitation, as his teaching assistant.

Sutherland admits that his bread and butter are the gorgeous Fizzelfruit where the skin of the sculpture has a transparent appearance and the core of the paperweight explodes with bubbles. "It makes them look wet," he said.

Currently, Sutherland features Fizzlefruit varieties in three apples, three pears, three citrus, three plums, a peach and a strawberry and three colored grapes - a glass cornucopia of beauty. There are 17 different fruit items designed for collectors and he has plenty of admirers at $40 a piece or three items for $100. Pumpkin and peppers are blown, not sculpted, and feature no carbonation. You can find them at Sutherland Glass Art.

Fifflefruit isn't his only specialty. Sutherland said he recently installed his first chandelier in Redwood City. He also makes beautiful vases and sculptures inspired by the sea. 

Remember the dead run?

Sutherland did 63 shows last year all over the country - 30 by himself. He does have an assistant, Josh Freidas. Word is that he's been invited by Costco to a wholesale show in Nevada. His work is also in major galleries throughout the United States and Canada. It takes more than hard work to make it, though - especially in a challenging economic environment.  

To purchase or learn more about Sutherland Glass Art, please visit  

 Sutherland Glass Art. The best way to keep Bryon and his family in Butte County is to help spread the word. Become a fan.  

Seventeen years ago, Mary Waldner was hard-pressed to find anything gluten-free. It was her struggle with Celiac Disease - an inability to digest gluten--a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and most oats - that inspired her to develop Mary's Gone Crackers seven years ago along with her husband, Dale Rodrigues. 

"She would make the crackers and many of her friends and family would tell her 'These are really good. You should start a business'," Jacob Farris, Sales and Marketing Director, said. While the idea was conceived in the Bay Area, the company first started production in Chico and then moved to Gridley.

Why Gridley?  

"We needed a factory space," Farris said. "This old canning facility that wasn't really being used was available. We just kind of moved in and filled it up and made it our's. That's really the reason why we're here. We've grown a lot in this same space and it's still working for us."

Mary's handcrafted recipe became a hit not only with fellow Celiac sufferers, but with consumers eager for delicious snacks they could feel good about eating. Mary's Gone Crackers Original was awarded the Sofi Gold for the most outstanding cracker at the New York Fancy Food Show in 2008. 

The signature product is a unique cracker made with organic brown rice, organic quinoa, organic flax seeds and organic sesame seeds. Today, there is much more awareness of gluten-free products and many more items available commercially.  

According to Farris, this widespread availability helps more than it hurts. "There is much more awareness - what gluten-free is and why it's necessary. More people are excited about it.  

On the other hand, Farris added, "There is also lot of stuff out there that gives gluten-free a bad name. Mary's Gone Crackers is great tasting, healthy, and delicious."

Currently, the company produces five crackers, four cookies and three pretzels. Find Mary's Gone Crackers at the following stores.