Elissa Yancey's Latest Articles
For second anniversary, Grateful Grahams adds bites
Earth Day next month marks the second anniversary for Rachel DesRochers’ business baby, Grateful Grahams. In honor of the occasion, she has been cooking up a new batch of vegan graham cracker bites, cookies sized to be eaten in just two bites. “We are thrilled to have these bites to add to the grateful grahams family,” says DesRochers. The original “bite” flavor is cinnamon raison, but upcoming flavors include chocolate chocolate chunk, peanut butter and jelly, and peanut butter/peanuts/chocolate chip. After starting with a booth at the 2010 Earth Day festival downtown, DesRochers now sells her vegan edibles in more than 20 stores, from Sacramento, CA, to Rockville, MD. Locally, she stocks Park+Vine on Main Street, Nordstrom’s eBar in Kenwood Towne Centre, the Blue Manatee Bookstore in Oakley and through Green B.E.A.N. Delivery, among others. For more information, visit Grateful Grahams on Facebook. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter
My Soapbox: Rodney D’Souza, founder, INKUbator
Rodney D'Souza is building a hive in Northern Kentucky. His new INKUbator at Northern Kentucky University is designed to help students turn their ideas into feasible business proposals and prepare them for the competitive world of startup accelerators. He explains his brainchild to Soapbox's Elissa Yancey.
Student-designed compactor heads to finals of Acara challenge
Four University of Cincinnati students won the bronze at the Acara Challenge in Minnesota on Feb. 3, advancing the team to the final round in India this summer. They were awarded two paid scholarships, as well as up to $1,000 in matching funds to attend the final round. The four students, all enrolled in a multidisciplinary course at UC, proposed the “Renew Trash Compactor,” a new product and service that reduces trash, increases recycling, improves sanitation and generates income for the Padli Gujar village in India. Read the full story of their journey to the finals here.
My Soapbox: Mike Bott, GM, The Brandery
As he steps in to the newly created role of general manager of The Brandery in OTR, Mike Bott, at just 30, is ready to give ambitious startups the tools they need to survive, and thrive, in Cincinnati.
Kolar finds success at intersection of brand, architecture, interiors
Whether she’s helping design Cincinnati’s newest riverfront park or transforming hospitals by blending graphic and industrial design with architecture, Kelly Kolar revels in integrating her passions to create massive, holistic change.
‘Johnny Walker’ blends roles to build communities
He's been a stockbroker and lived in a flop house, but the most audacious experiences for University Hospital's chief psychiatric resident stem from his life as Johnny Walker, a punk blues rock guitarist who has toured with the White Stripes and the MC5. His newest gig? Helping build an artists' collective in an old Masonic Lodge in Dayton, Kentucky.
Northside’s Tantrum targets urban families
Northside born-and-raised Kate Riddle finally has a room of her own. Actually, she has a whole building full of rooms. The owner/operator of the newly launched Tantrum on Hamilton Avenue didn’t just open her first business late last year, she bought the building to house it. Buying the whole building, the savvy seller noted, seemed the best path to sustainability in “retail tetris” of her home hood. “I am buying myself a career,” says Riddle, 31. Located next door to Sidewinder, Tantrum occupies the space that had a brief life as Vick’s Flea Mart. Before that, it was Bughouse Video, and prior to that, Ali’s Boutique. Riddle, who worked at Ali’s, wanted to create a space where neighborhood residents could shop, whether they needed a quick cool gift or a treat for themselves. “We’re a little bit punk rock; we are a little bit country granola,” Riddle says. She sells patchwork hand-made Fair Trade children’s clothing and vegan body care alongside eco-friendly Engage Green bags made from recycled plastic. Since her focus is on families, she stocks a few toys, too—German Haba toys, both because of their quality and because she could tie it back to her own family and donate five percent of their sales to the Fairview German Language School, where her daughter attends. The shop’s name, though, had another inspiration: her 3-year-old son with business and life partner Joe Wenker. Both the toddler and Riddle’s daughter can often be found in the store’s main room or in a not-so-secret playroom in the back. Riddle, who is also a body artist, plans to offer henna body painting in the space when the weather warms. She’ll also start stocking kilts soon, and encourages shoppers to check back regularly for new gift ideas and products in a range of prices. “We are going to be here for a while,” she says. “I have a lot more fun and funky stuff planned.” Tantrum is located at 4183 Hamilton Ave. Hours are Sun-Mon noon-5 p.m., Tues-Sat 11 a.m.-7 p.m. For more information, email haveatantrum@gmail.com. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter
12 things to watch in 2012
Soapbox proffers a '12 things to watch' list for 2012. Read and weigh in on what we did, and did not, include.
Happy holidays from Soapbox!
As we end 2011 and look forward to an exciting and progressive 2012 in Cincinnati, everyone here at Soapbox wishes you and yours a wonderful, peaceful and safe holiday season. We'll be back in January to share the next big things coming to town, but in the meantime, browse through a collection of our favorite stories of 2011 in Development News, Innovation and Job News and For Good.
