![Joyce Nielsen runs Spike's Curio Shoppe, an Etsy shop for her dolls and figurines. (Photos by Harika Maddala)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/20240423-joyce-eric-02.png?1718041316)
Crafting in a Crowded Market
Crafting surged during the pandemic. But can Sacramento’s maker community find buyers?
The number of craft sellers on Etsy.com tripled after 2020. We checked in with the veterans and the newbies in the Capital Region’s crafting scene.
![Vanessa Van Vleck, who owns Superbum Plant Company with her husband Dylan, keeps a “wall of shame” at their store with the names of suspected thieves. (Photos by Wes Davis)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/763a6718.png?1697831174)
Stolen Business
Sacramento-area businesses grapple with retail theft
Vanessa Van Vleck keeps a wall of shame at Superbum Plant Company, identifying people suspected of stealing from her East Sacramento store. It’s one of the few things Van Vleck and her husband, Dylan Van Vleck, who opened their business in 2021, can do to deal with a burgeoning problem in California.
![Jim Relles, 75-year-old owner of Relles Florist, stands behind buckets of price placards at the rear of the shop. (Photo by Joe Perfecto)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/lead_jimrelles.png?1695351028)
Still At It
Older adults are making up increasing shares of the workforce
Dan Dillon had been retired about two weeks from the Elk Grove
Unified School District when he realized he needed something to
do. “Everybody’s different,” says Dillon, 70. “Like my brother,
he’s retired. And he goes kayaking, fly fishing and windsurfing.
And he’s always going to Hawaii, Tahoe, Baja California. He keeps
so busy. I was never that person.”
![Delcy Steffy, right, and daughter Elinor run Good Things to Eat in Curtis Park, one of many Capital Region businesses branded around the word “good.” (Photo by Joe Perfecto)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_n0a4358_0.png?1695748310)
Is It All Good?
Why is ‘good’ such a popular word among brands in the Capital Region and beyond?
Feeling good lately? Does the country, the world, seem good? With
a divided electorate, a multiply indicted candidate, the dregs of
a pandemic swirling through our psyches, and the hottest summer
on record, sometimes it’s hard to find the good.
![Lauren Oto oversees marketing and communications for both the CalAsian Chamber of Commerce, an organization representing Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned businesses around the state, and the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, which centers its efforts on the Capital Region. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/oto_lead.png?1689278662)
Young Professionals: Lauren Oto
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Oto oversees marketing and communications for both the CalAsian Chamber of Commerce, an organization representing Asian American and Pacific Islander-owned businesses around the state, and the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, which centers its efforts on the Capital Region.
![After working for “Good Day Sacramento” and the Roseville Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Hernandez is now marketing director for the beloved Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap Meet in Roseville. (Photos by Terence Duffy)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/hernandez_lead.png?1688764218)
Young Professionals: Kevin Hernandez
Meet the 10 young professionals who are rocking it in their careers and community
Clad in a faded Star Wars T-shirt, Kevin Hernandez begins
introducing elated kids to Darth Vader and Rey Skywalker in the
flesh. The children start getting light saber training from these
live-action characters, slashing and twirling their replica space
swords around the heart of Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap
Meet.
![A bride surveys her dress before her wedding in Sacramento. (Shutterstock photo by Christer Dabu)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/shutterstock_1821172076.png?1687802617)
Saying ‘Yes’ to the Dress
Capital Region brides have a variety of options for wedding dresses
Choosing a wedding dress has become a big production for some, with the bride-to-be bringing along her mother, future mother-in-law and a group of friends to help her select in a luxurious salon while sipping champagne and mimosas.
![Topstitch owners Mallory Maupin and Samuel Rose teach workshops, fulfill custom orders, consult on product development and work on their own projects in their new Midtown shop. (Photo by Miranda Culp)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/img_0838.png?1685654956)
Getting to Know: Mallory Maupin and Samuel Rose
Local fashion duo launches Topstitch, a production house for education, design and manufacturing in Sacramento
In their brightly lit, smartly appointed shop in Midtown, Topstitch owners Mallory Maupin and Samuel Rose teach workshops, fulfill custom orders, consult on product development and work on their own projects.
![Mollie Haycock grew up in Rocklin and went through the wine and viticulture program at Cal Poly. She’s now the winemaker at Scott Harvey Wines in Plymouth’s Shenandoah Valley.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/scott_harvey_mollie-haycock_2023_04_11_fg6204.png?1683315388)
Women Who Wine
The new face of women winemakers emerges from California universities’ viticulture programs
The viticulture program at UC Davis, as well as its sister programs at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and Fresno State University, are quickly growing a new crop of women winemakers who could steer the industry in new directions.
![Many kiosks in Sunrise Mall’s food court are unoccupied. The mall has lacked a stand-alone restaurant since 2019. (Photo by Debbie Cunningham)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/dsc_4414_1.png?1681749124)
The Rise and Fall of the Mall
Sunrise Mall and other shopping centers seek to reinvent themselves in a changing retail landscape
As many as 25 percent of America’s roughly 1,000 malls will close within three to five years, according to a recent study by Coresight Research. Migration patterns, a shift towards online retail and the pandemic are all cited as factors in the struggle of retail centers.