Press Release
Emporia Main Street
Casey Woods, Executive Director
727 Commercial Street
Emporia, KS 66801
620-340-6430
www.emporiamainstreet.com
Kaila Mock
Trox Gallery and Gifts
729 Commercial Street
Emporia, KS 66801
www.troxgallery.com
Emporia, KS- Trox Gallery & Gifts to be the first incubated business within the Nelson Family Building at Emporia Main Street.
Emporia Main Street is excited to announce the first incubated business in the 729 Commercial Street incubator space in downtown Emporia: Trox Gallery and Gifts. The Emporia Main Street incubator space is located adjacent to the Emporia Main Street office, and is designed as a temporary location for new businesses as they seek to establish a solid foundation. Incubated businesses receive different types of support, including free rent that increases incrementally, High Speed Fiber internet connections and Voice over IP Phones from ValuNet, and a variety of professional support services. Businesses can remain in the incubator center for a maximum of eighteen months, but there is no penalty for an early lease exit.
Trox Gallery and Gifts will specialize in featuring emerging artists that wish to sell their work in a professional setting. Trox will assist artists in showcasing their work, internal displays, on-line sales, exhibition, and event inclusion. Staff will assist emerging artists with individual marketing and professional development to encourage sales and business growth of art professionals. Trox has established relationships with regional businesses, and can generate rotating art displays in businesses that feature real Kansas artists.
Set to launch in February, Trox will be owned and operated by Kaila Mock of Emporia. Mock is the driving force between the highly successful Emporia First Friday Art Walk, and she has established working relationships with artists through her management of the Trusler Art Gallery and Glaser Art and Gift Shop at the Emporia Arts Center.
Mock stated "As an Emporia native, I have proudly watched our art community grow and flourish over the years, and I am excited to nurture that growth with a new and diverse art gallery. Jerry Troxell encouraged artistic minds at Emporia High School for thirty-six years, and I hope to carry on his legacy at Trox Gallery and Gifts." Mock added, "It is an absolute honor to be selected as the first Emporia Main Street incubated business. I am grateful for Main Street's knowledge and support as I build the foundation of Trox Gallery and Gifts, and I take comfort in knowing that they will continue to be supportive over the years as the business grows and changes."
"Emporia Main Street is excited to incubate Trox Gallery and Gifts. The business will fill a retail need and eventually occupy an independent store front" explained Casey Woods, the Executive Director of Emporia Main Street. "Kaila is a graduate of the Start Your Own Business Class through Emporia Main Street, the Small Business Development Center at Emporia State University, and Flint Hills Technical College. She has worked diligently to develop her concept for the good of the region." The Trox concept has the added benefit of growing the income of regional artists and enhancing downtown Emporia's status as a place for destination entrepreneurs. For additional information on entrepreneurial support activities, including incubation, please contact Emporia Main Street at 620-340-6430.
