Keeping an old craft alive and revitalizing it for the modern day, the Toy Box is both storefront and workshop for its owner Cheronda Scott as she works diligently on her doll house miniatures and their oodles of accessories. The Toy Box is found right in the heart of Cocoa Village at 419 Brevard Ave., providing a unique destination and attraction for residents, hobbyists, and tourists alike. 

Cheronda has been making miniatures for 25 years. She purchased the location and name of the historic Toy Box store, spurred by the passion for her craft. “Miniatures can be a way to tell a story, preserve memories and spend time with loved ones,” said Scott. For the last year at the Toy Box, Cheronda has provided a space to showcase her current projects and sell all the unique accoutrements for miniature decorators: miniature food, furniture, clothing, and more, most of which she makes by hand.

As one of only two doll house miniature stores in Florida, Cheronda is working to create a nexus for miniature collectors and hobbyists from across the state, creating a place not only to purchase these supplies, but providing a place for them to meet and gather. Cheronda explained, “since owning the Toy Box, I see more of the sentiment behind the craft now and my passion for it has grown. I am motivated to continue this business because creativity is an outlet. A healthy one. It also brings people together and is entertaining to watch.”

Cheronda is the recipient of one of Cocoa’s recent Upstart Cocoa Small Business Forgivable Loan awards and has recently begun the IGNITE 360® Business Mentoring Program, a regimen and opportunity funded as part of the forgivable loan program. Cheronda seeks to use the forgivable loan to expand her production capabilities and create more opportunities to reach the community, being especially interested in pioneering a program for children who would thrive off the creative enrichment that doll house miniatures provide.

The Toy Box is open 10AM to 4 PM, Wednesday through Sunday. While also operating the Toy Box physically in Cocoa Village, Cheronda also maintains a digital storefront on Etsy.

Marketing is an integral part of ensuring the success of any business. However, it’s time-consuming, and frequently out of reach for many small businesses, especially if you’re not familiar with marketing. inetUSA helps market your business so you can focus on running it. 

For 21 years, inetUSA has been hard at work in Brevard County and throughout Cocoa, initially developing software for the Kennedy Space Center. Since then, they’ve changed with the times, expanding services to include web development, marketing, and printing. They can provide a variety of services for the marketing needs of small and medium businesses including website development, direct mail, brochures, full color printing, signs, banners, magnets and more!

inetUSA gives local Cocoa and Space Coast businesses the chance to grow and access more markets with the advancement of the digital marketplace, having networks and connections to call on is more critical to being successful.

As they settled into their niche, inetUSA has grown rapidly, having moved and upgraded their workspace a number of times before settling into their current offices and workshop at 937 Dixon Blvd. Here, inetUSA is easily accessible and very engaged with our local community, as well as serving as a very attractive headquarters for their teams that operate remotely around the country.

You can view more details about inetUSA on their website, where you can also request a quote. You can also reach out to their customer support team at (321) 503-0000. 

Essence of Knowledge owners Michelle and Nathaniel Davis are passionate about offering a large selection of urban books, art, masks, jewelry, and clothing. From the moment you step foot inside this unique location, you will see what a diamond this store is in the Cocoa community with such a variety of items that represent multiple ethnicities.

The vision for their store, located off of SR520 in Cocoa, started when Michelle went to a large local bookstore seeking a book by African American author Tracy Brown only to discover a small section containing three rows of books by ethnic authors. She became driven to have a storefront that would offer a large selection of books to educate and bring the voice of diverse authors to the community.

After being laid off and experiencing a tragedy, Michelle was bedridden and nearly comatose for two years. Her husband Nathaniel gifted her the bookstore so that she could find her footing once again. Her vision and passion finally came to fruition. 

Nathaniel and Michelle chose the City of Cocoa for their location 11 years ago because of its small-town charm and residents that feel like family. They also felt that the steps of opening their business were very easy with the help of the staff at City Hall as they took the time to walk them through the process. They also find comfort in the fact that the Cocoa Police Department is located near their store.

Michelle says, “This is the perfect place for Essence of Knowledge”. If you are looking to enrich your mind and soul then stop by Essence of knowledge and browse the large inventory of books, art, and clothing.