New business at Sterling’s Grandon Plaza sells handcrafted items designed for a practical purpose

STERLING – In a quiet storefront tucked within the Shoppes At Grandon Plaza retail business incubator in Sterling, Erica Leigh Bentz is reimagining the life cycle of everyday goods.

“I love taking something old and discarded and making it into something new that people can use and love,” Bentz said.

What started as a simple desire to avoid disposable Christmas wrapping paper has become Leigh Alan Designs, an enterprise founded on reuse and resourcefulness.

The store, which officially opened May 21, offers an array of handmade and reclaimed items, including tote bags, bowl covers, jar openers and other practical household goods.

A longtime crafter, Bentz started Leigh Alan Designs almost unintentionally with her “bagability bags” – cloth gift bags she created for her children, nieces and nephews in place of single-use wrapping paper.

“We just didn’t want wrapping paper in our house,” Bentz said. “It all kind of exploded from there.”

The idea gained momentum, expanding into lip balms tailored to a family of 14 nieces and nephews, many with allergies that made commercial products unusable. Bentz’s simple, three-ingredient formula she developed addressed that need. Like the bags before them, the lip balms quickly found a broader audience.

Although Bentz officially formed Leigh Alan Designs two years ago, the idea of a physical storefront remained a “five-year plan.” She works full time at Wahl Clipper in Sterling and has been gradually building her business through craft shows.

“I was feeding my crafting habit,” she said, noting that she did not originally intend to grow the business into a full retail operation. The turning point came when her son, a former student in Sterling High School’s local building trades program, helped construct display stalls for the Grandon Shoppes. Then, a flyer came home.

“He said, ‘Mom, this is so cool. You would love this,’” Bentz recalled.

She was hesitant at first, but encouragement from local entrepreneurs and community leaders prompted Bentz to reconsider.

“The doors were opened and I walked through them,” Bentz said.

Her emphasis remains on utility over ornament. Bentz also curates goods from other Illinois artisans, particularly those based in the Sauk Valley region, and weaves their craftsmanship into the fabric of her store.

“I can curate and resource all of their things along with all of my things,” Bentz said.

A Dixon native and a former elementary education art student at Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, Bentz gained retail experience through a series of part-time roles before ultimately discovering her passion.

For Bentz, the business is more than a shop, it’s a space tailored to individual needs. She recalled an early customer searching for gifts for a particularly pragmatic mother.

“She only wants practical items,” Bentz recalled the customer telling her. “We were able to find three or four things she could use.”

Now, with her youngest child having recently graduated from high school, Bentz finds herself at a new threshold. Although she has no plans to leave her position at Wahl Clipper, the time and energy once devoted to raising children can now flow into this next chapter of her creative journey.

Leigh Alan Designs is located at the Shoppes At Grandon Plaza, 310 Second Ave. in Sterling. The store will be open for the following days and hours throughout the rest of June:

• June 21: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• June 22: noon to 2 p.m.
• June 25: 4-7 p.m.
• June 28: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The store’s hours are regularly posted for the month on the Sterling Main Street website at sterlingmainstreet.org. For information, visit the store’s Facebook page, Etsy website or call 815-440-1702.