Small town feel of Short Vine makes it ideal for new businesses, developments
Corryville business owners see Short Vine as a house, with Bogart’s as the front door. By the end of 2015, the street will be completely transformed.
Corryville
Often lumped in with Clifton, Corryville has its own special mix of residential and retail built along a business district that runs the length of Short Vine. Home to music fan favorites like Bogart's live concert hall and Mike's Music's collection of vintage guitars; the Public Library's branch in the handsomely renovated Carnegie building; and UC's Niehoff Urban Studio headquartered in a turn-of-the-century dance hall across the street.
Demand Better: Building healthy, vibrant neighborhoods
As we continue to reprise our four-part Demand Better series, we take a look at innovations and ideas that empower and support neighbors here and around the country—and offer some key demands for Cincinnati's future as election day approaches.
New online tool aims to keep Cincinnati residents engaged in their neighborhoods
On July 24, the City of Cincinnati adopted Nextdoor, a free, private social network for you, your neighbors and your community. The goal is to improve community engagement between the City and its residents, and foster neighbor-to-neighbor communications. Each of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods will have its own private Nextdoor neighborhood website, which is accessible only to residents of that neighborhood. City administrations and several city departments will also use Nextdoor to share important news, services, programs, free events and emergency notifications to residents, but they won’t be able to see who is registered to use the site or the conversations among residents. Founded in 2010 in San Francisco, Nextdoor’s mission is to bring back a sense of community to the neighborhood. The site was tested in 175 neighborhoods across the country, and results showed that neighborhoods had some of the same issues, plus a variety of different issues. “We all remember what our neighborhood experience was like as kids, when everyone knew each other, looked out for one another and stayed in the community longer," says Sarah Leary, co-founder of Nextdoor. “We want to invoke that nostalgia for neighborhoods.” To date, Nextdoor is being used by about 17,000 neighborhoods across the country. In June, Nextdoor partnered with New York City and Mayor Bloomberg to communicate with the city’s 8.3 million residents. The site plans to roll out in other major cities like Cincinnati over the course of the next several months. Nextdoor also recently released its iPhone app. “We’re really putting the lifeline of the neighborhood into the palm of the residents’ hands,” says Leary. “The common thread is an interest in using technology to make connections with neighbors. But it doesn’t stop there—once people have an easy way to communicate, they’re more likely to get together in the real world.” You can sign up for Nextdoor on its website, or download the app in the App Store. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Artbeat brings unique artwalk concept to Short Vine
Janet Berberich and Ben Jason Neal of Eye Candy Design wanted to find a way to introduce people to the businesses on Short Vine and artwork at the same time. Their solution was Artbeat on Short Vine, which is held the first Friday of each month. “In the past, Short Vine survived because of the entertainment options it offered, but we want to give people another reason to visit,” says Berberich. The idea is to showcase different pieces of artwork in each venue, and people walk between venues to see the full show. Venues like Bogart’s, the 86 Club, Neihoff Design, 71 Gallery, Beelistic Tattoo and Eye Candy participated in the August Artbeat. “Artbeat is about walking a path,” says Neal. “It implies the beat of music and the heartbeat of the street.” The dead end in front of Kroger gives Short Vine the feel of a neighborhood within a larger town, says Berberich. It has a little bit of everything—entertainment, food and art. “Our goal is to bring in a crowd that’s outside of the area’s demographic, and bring new energy and rejuvenation,” says Neal. The next Artbeat is scheduled for Sept. 6. If you’re interested in participating, contact Neal at 513-371-3782 or ben@creativeeyecandy.com. Display art, live music, the spoken word, performance art and pop-up gallery projects are all encouraged. By Caitlin Koenig Follow Caitlin on Twitter
Metro now offers stored-value cards to riders
Many city-dwellers are continuously faced with the arduous task of budgeting their quarters between two priorities: bus fare and laundromats.
The Happy Maladies want YOU to write their next album
The project is titled “MUST LOVE CATS,” and it will be an album of five compositions.
With grant money, Cincinnati Children’s pushes for tech innovation
Cincinnati Children's has invested about $500,000 in six ideas through its Innovation Fund. Read the rest of the story here.
Demand Better Cincinnati
This week marks the launch of a new Soapbox series: Demand Better Cincinnati. We'll explore a new issue each week and sift through what's been done, what's being done and how we can push our current and future leaders to, well, demand better.
Demand Better: Architecture’s impact on Cincinnati’s economy
As election day approaches, we'll be re-running our four-part Demand Better series in an effort to spark conversations and provoke thought about how we can demand more from our city's leaders. This week, we take a look at the topic of architecture.
Tronk Design puts modern spin on handcrafted mid-20th century style furniture
Brad Musuraca started building furniture "just for fun" shortly after graduating in 2006 from the University of Cincinnati. In January, he decided to make it a way of life, and he launched Tronk Design. The startup puts a modern spin on the classic design of the mid-20th century. Tronk's handmade pieces come in three hardwoods: cherry, maple and walnut. The line includes a table, planter, shelf, bed and "retro" clock/stereo dock. "Our current line very much has a mid-century feel to it," Musuraca says. "We really wanted to stay away from the ultra contemporary look, which may be appealing now but will eventually look dated. We are really going for a simple but elegant look that won't lose its appeal." Tronk Design debuted at the AmericasMart International Home and Gift Show in Atlanta. Musuraca designs and manufactures the furniture in his Forest Park workshop. The furniture features simple designs with clean, sharp lines and an interesting look. Tronk's most popular product so far is the Franklin Shelf. It's a 90-degree corner shelf that can be easily used in small spaces. "The Franklin shelf gets a lot of attention," Musuraca says. "It was up for an award at the Icon Honors (furniture industry award) in Atlanta. It was a finalist." Tronk furniture is sold mainly through independent retailers and online through sites including fab.com, TouchofModern and Scoutmob. Tronk has recently added an option to buy through its website. Musuraca is working to grow the company by finding new dealers and expanding the line. By next year, he plans to add metal and more contemporary pieces to his designs. By Feoshia H. Davis Follow Feoshia on Twitter
