Imagine a store where every product tells a story — a story about where it came from, who made it, and how it makes the world just a little bit better.

That’s the vision behind Plenty Mercantile, a purpose-driven retail brand created by mother-daughter duo Traci Walton and Brittany Matlock. In today’s episode, we’re exploring how they’ve built a business rooted in sustainability, responsible design, and what they call a ‘triple bottom line’ of people, profit, and planet.

Key Insights:

• Sustainable Business is Possible and Profitable: Every product in their store must meet at least one of their purchasing principles (environmental or social impact), proving that businesses can maintain profitability while staying true to their values—it's not an either/or choice.
• Strategic Downsizing Can Be Growth: Closing profitable stores isn't failure—it's strategic decision-making. When they closed their Edmond location after seven successful years, it wasn't because it wasn't working, but because they prioritized long-term sustainability and family well-being over short-term revenue.
• Family Business Success Requires Intentional Communication: Working with family members, especially through challenges like mental health struggles, requires developing new communication patterns and being willing to address triggers and protective behaviors that can impact business decisions.

Resources:

Learn More about Plenty Mercantile

Watch The Uptick on Youtube.

Credits:

The Uptick is sponsored by Global Payments. Helping you move faster, sell smarter and scale stronger. Stay ahead in the fast-paced world of commerce, knowing we spent yesterday thinking of what you need tomorrow.

Ever wondered if there’s a path to pursue your art without being a “starving artist”?

Our guests on this episode of The Uptick Podcast made it their mission to find out. Meet Kelsey Karper and Tammy Greenman from Factory Obscura — the Oklahoma City duo who cracked the code on turning immersive art into a thriving for-profit business. From launching their first temporary installation that drew 20,000 visitors in three months to creating a sustainable B Corp model that's changing how we think about arts funding, this conversation reveals how two visionaries proved you can pursue art and make a living wage at the same time.

Tune in to this episode to discover the pros and cons of investment vs. donation, tips for navigating creative collaborations with artists and how to rebuild your entire employment model. Even if you’re not an artist, this episode is about reimagining how businesses can serve both profit and purpose while creating jobs that didn't exist before.

About the guests:

Kelsey Karper is a co-founder and Director of Logistical Creativity for Factory Obscura. Her creative practice is focused on projects that build community and create new opportunities for artists. Tammy Greenman is a co-founder and Director of Strategic Creativity for Factory Obscura. She is an experiential artist focused on facilitating and collaborating with the artist team to create emotionally immersive experiences.

Episode highlights:

• From concept to profit: the art of proving your business model: Learn the exact steps Factory Obscura took to generate market demand, from their first free installation to charging admission and repaying investors with interest in just three months.
• The collaboration code: managing creative teams at scale: Discover what the "Code of Collaboration" framework is and how the "yes, and" approach helps navigate disagreements when working with different people on massive creative projects.
• Building sustainable creative careers: beyond the starving artist myth: Get actionable advice for turning creative work into business, including finding successful models to follow, creating passive income streams and making yourself visible in your community.

Want to learn more about our guest?

• Check out Factory Obscura online
• Follow them on Instagram @factoryobscura

If you liked this episode:

• See it in action on YouTube
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• Visit The Uptick blog

Catch new episodes of The Uptick Podcast every Tuesday.

Credits:

The Uptick is sponsored by Global Payments: helping businesses move faster, sell smarter and scale stronger. From the start-ups to the been-there-done-thats, our commerce platform helps millions of businesses around the world stay ahead, knowing we spent yesterday thinking of what customers need tomorrow. Because if it has anything to do with commerce, we’re Already on it.

What do you do when life falls apart and you still have a business to run? For entrepreneurs the world doesn’t stop when we face challenges. Learning to navigate the personal and the professional, is not only a skill but a necessity.

In this episode, we are talking with Stefanie Embree, founder of OKC Sweets, a bakery that grew from her kitchen table into a thriving business, all while she faced a global pandemic and deeply personal challenges at home.

Stefanie opens up about how she balanced a family health crisis with business demands, and how she built a 52,000+ social media following that catapulted her brand and tested her resolve.

From her faith and financial wisdom to finding the right team, this episode is a behind-the-scenes look at building a business that honors your values especially when things get hard.

Key Insights:

• Crisis Mode: How to Launch and Pivot Under Pressure: Discover what it takes to start a business when everything goes off-script—plus the mindset shifts that helped Stefanie turn a pandemic pivot into a thriving bakery.
• Why Your Business Isn’t Your Whole Identity: Learn how to navigate unexpected personal challenges without losing yourself in your business—and why separating your identity from your work might be the key to long-term success.
• The Daily Ritual That Built a Viral Brand: Get the behind-the-scenes look at the simple daily strategy that helped Stefanie grow to 52K+ followers—and how you can apply it to build genuine engagement and community online.

Resources:

Learn More about Stefanie Embree http://www.okcsweets.com/

Find OKC Sweets on Instagram

Watch The Uptick on Youtube.

Credits:

The Uptick is sponsored by Global Payments. Helping you move faster, sell smarter and scale stronger. Stay ahead in the fast-paced world of commerce, knowing we spent yesterday thinking of what you need tomorrow.