Earlier this month, Senator James Skoufis presented Elizabeth Moore and Eric Noll, owners of The Elizabeth Collection, with the state Senate’s highest business award – the Empire Award.
“We were surprised,” Moore said. “We were very honored. We appreciate his help. He’s been instrumental in supporting small businesses.”
The Elizabeth Collection started in 2012 when Noll retired from West Point after a 20-year career in the U.S. Army. The leather goods company operated out of their kitchen, where Moore would create jewelry and Noll made leather goods.
During Cornwall’s annual Fall Festival, the two decided to set up a table and managed to sell their entire inventory. During that day, an older lady invited the two to her house. She said her late husband did leather work and his tools were sitting in the attic. She wanted someone to put them to good use, in her husband’s memory. Noll continues to use those leather-making tools today.
In 2015, The Elizabeth Collection opened on Main Street. When Moore and Noll outgrew the location, they moved across the street to The Shops at 277 Main. Their business continued to grow and moved again, to Newburgh, in April. Now the business focuses on wholesale and private orders, making such things as leather-bound journals.
Noll’s business professor, at SUNY Orange, introduced the couple to folks in the Accelerator Program. Powered by the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, the program gives small businesses the opportunity to grow and give back to the community.
The program helps train people who want to work in their community and the businesses agree to hire individuals at a living wage.
According to their business plan, Moore and Noll expect to hire their first employee sometime next year. Future staff members may sew, hold apprenticeships, do office work, and learn how to work with leather.
In the meantime, Noll is completing his degree in business administration and Moore recently graduated from the Women-owned Entrepreneurship Program, thus certifying The Elizabeth Collection as a woman-owned business.
The Accelerator Program also helped the two establish a new business location on Broadway in Newburgh. The space was designed specifically for their business from the strategic location of the electrical outlets to the installation of a humidifier.
“Immediately they wanted us to come on board,” Moore said after a conference call with the program’s representatives. “It moved very quickly. More quickly than we expected.”
As Moore and Noll look ahead to future business growth, neither forgets their roots.
“We’re extremely grateful for the time we spent in Cornwall and the community support we had,” Noll said. “It was a great experience. We loved it.”
