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When Roberta Easter began Enchanting Soap Collections nearly 18 years ago, she didn鈥檛 start the business with a large vision. Rather, she started with a hope to keep her ancestors鈥� craft alive.

Easter now runs Enchanting Soap Collections alongside her daughter and business partner, Chrystal Trykoski. Together, they secured a kiosk at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 International Sunport and will begin operating in late September.

鈥淲e are incredibly grateful for the chance to be here at the Sunport and to share our product with travelers,鈥� Easter said.

Easter and Trykoski鈥檚 business is one of nine retailers in the Ascend ABQ program, part of the Sunport鈥檚 Dream of Flight initiative that allows small and family businesses to operate kiosks in the airport. Other companies include Eddie Valentin, New Mexico Blue Corn, Worthington Farms, 19Twelve Clothing Co., Big Head Leather, The Kena Wrap, Broken Arrow Glass Recycling and T. Skies Jewelry.

On Tuesday at the Old sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Municipal Airport Building, city officials celebrated preliminary training completed by the Ascend ABQ program鈥檚 nine businesses. Gary Gilliard, deputy director of the city鈥檚 Aviation Department, compared it to 鈥渂oot camp,鈥� where vendors had three weeks of learning through presentations, business planning and speakers to further help them succeed in an airport setting.

In April, nine companies were chosen from a pool of 50 applicants, Gilliard said, where entrepreneurs pitched their business in a 45-minute presentation and the highest-scoring pitches secured their spots.

Gilliard said opening the kiosks in late September was intentional, as foot traffic is especially high during the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 International Balloon Fiesta and upcoming holidays. Selected retailers will remain in the airport for a year, receiving monthly or quarterly coaching and performance checks.

鈥淭hey have to not just show up and open the store 鈥� they鈥檙e challenged to make sure that they鈥檙e just as attractive and functioning as any major company might be at an airport,鈥� Gilliard said.

Having previously worked at airports with similar programs, Gilliard said he was able to bring a 鈥渂ag of goodies鈥� full of success factors. The biggest challenge was removing the barriers that come with breaking into the airport business, he added, and giving retailers the needed support.

鈥淲e want to give them exposure, but we also want them to be ready, and that鈥檚 what the internship is all about,鈥� Gilliard said. 鈥淪o that they have the credibility to be seen as a serious competitor in the airport industry.鈥�

Patrick Falance is no stranger to running a business from a physical location or to sharing environments with other retailers. The owner of Big Head Leather also runs a small shop out of The ABQ Collective in the Northeast Heights.

For his initial program pitch, Falance said he 鈥渟wung for the fences鈥� knowing he鈥檇 be competing against plenty of applicants.

鈥淚 was really just trying to knock it out of the park because I knew I needed to give a heck of a presentation,鈥� Falance said. 鈥淲e make leather products, which are very universal. But, there鈥檚 a large demographic of people that enjoy leather products.鈥�

Falance describes himself as a 鈥渕aster of none,鈥� someone who enjoys finding and trying new hobbies but eventually goes on to the next one. After buying a beginner鈥檚 kit for leather making in 2019, he finally found one that stuck.

鈥淚 tried everything, and this was the one that I just kept getting better and better at,鈥� Falance said. 鈥淚t is my job, it鈥檚 what I do every day 鈥� and I love it.鈥�

While presenting the business at the event, Trykoski said she鈥檚 in her sixth year of recovery from a methamphetamine addiction. Officially becoming partners with Easter in 2022, the mother-daughter duo focuses on hiring women who are transitioning out of incarceration or are recovering, like Trykoski.

鈥淚鈥檝e been on the streets, not necessarily homeless, but a part of the street community and now I鈥檓 out of that, and I just want to help women understand that they can be somebody,鈥� Trykoski said, tearing up. 鈥淚 never thought I could be somebody. I never thought I would be where I鈥檓 at today, ever.鈥�

Trykoski said the program鈥檚 cohort created a sense of belonging. After not seeing each other since finishing training online, Trykoski said all nine retailers embraced each other upon return.

鈥淚t takes somebody believing in you and telling you that you are good enough to make change,鈥� Trykoski said. 鈥淚f they could see me and see the hope we can provide them, maybe they can grow and flourish too.鈥�

Hannah Garc铆a is a Dow Jones News Fund intern. You can reach Garc铆a at hgarcia@abqjournal.com