We’re in Penn Valley, California this week on the podcast with fiber artist Cassidy Fisher of The Northern Craft. She’s sharing about how she turned her passion for art into a full-time profession, and how she uses inspiration from the beautiful things around her to create her collections. Plus, she’s dishing about her incredible experience at Magnolia’s Silobration and the impact that’s had on her business.

This week on the podcast we’re in Gridley, California (pop. 6,937) with third generation rice farmer Matthew Sligar. Matthew started Rice Farming TV to help promote and educate people on the California rice industry through weekly videos on YouTube, and he’s gained quite a following. He’s talking all things rice farming and how his videos have opened up some great opportunities.

We’re sitting down with Mary Heffernan of Five Marys Farms. We met up at their M5 Burgerhouse in Fort Jones, California (pop. 839) to talk about all things Five Marys. Like, how she first discovered her love for small business, why she loves the rural life, the power of Instagram, and so much more. Mary is an entrepreneur at heart and you’ll be so inspired hearing how she and her family have built Five Marys from the ground up.

Revival can take place in many forms. But in the case of the purchase of the old Hotel Colonia, the first stage of revival for our community was the natural inclination to share how the building connected with each one of us and remembering our past with a smile. Slowly, as the community heard the news of the purchase, we were so blessed to hear story after story of moments that the building had touched people’s lives!

When you think of northern California you probably think of San Francisco, and the wineries of Napa and Sonoma. All are gorgeous, amazing locations! But, what you might not know is that the heart of northern California runs deep within the small rural farming communities north of Sacramento. Think rice farming, Friday night football, and simple small-town living.