Local filmmakers don't wait for George Clooney and Ryan Gosling to come to town to practice their craft. From skateboarding movies to one-woman-show YouTube channels to high-end commercial productions, Cincinnati's film scene offers space, and support, for aspiring artists to grow.
It’s a familiar problem for runners, especially distance runners. You’re about to embark on a long run, and you want your credit card, a tissueor a house key. But with your arms swinging and feet slapping the pavement, where exactly is this stuff supposed to go? Women tend to tuck small items against their back, held in place by a sports bra, and both genders can be observed tugging damp, just-in-case cache out of sweaty socks. Cliftonites Bev Perrea and Beth Koenig, chatting at their sons’ sports events, decided there had to be a better way for athletes to carry essentials. Starting with the fanny pack in mind, they came up with a few ground rules: no zippers, no Velcro, no trim. In other words, a more chic way to carry essentials while working up a sweat. The pair launched BANDI, offering its signature sleek, stretchy brands without Velcro, zippers or trim to ladies (and some guys) on the move. “We were determined not to have any of those bulky, cumbersome trims on our product, and we wanted something very low profile," Perrea says. "That’s what makes our product so unique.” The product – now available as a waistband or headband in a number of solid and print patterns -- took some 18 months to develop, including sourcing a manufacturer. “We had looked in many different places,and we had found somebody in New York who would work with us. She sent samples out to the Dominican Republic, and we had some samples sent to China and different places in the U.S., but when it came down to it, we got the best price and quality here in our backyard,” Koening says, reporting that BANDI is fabricated at a factory in Kentucky. BANDI is currently available online, as well as at Findlay Market on Saturdays, and during the 2012 Columbus, Ohio and Chicago marathons. By Robin Donovan
In honor of the third annual Cincinnati Film Festival, which runs Sept. 6-14 at a number of cool venues in Clifton Gaslight, OTR and downtown, we bring you last year's big winner, "The Girl and the Fox." Film courtesy of Base14.
Charlie Key has one question for software developers: “How do you want to spend your time?” A developer himself, he discovered there wasn’t a good place to gather information about apps that he built while creating a Facebook game with his college roommate and co-founder Brandon Cannaday. Key’s brother, Richard Key, is the business’ third partner. This trio of techies is trying to help software developers spend less time messing with servers and more time building applications. They built their company, Modulus, on Amazon’s cloud to offer scalable, reliable hosting for developers. While the company’s services are almost business-to-business – developer to developer, if you will -- they nonetheless attracted the attention of The Brandery, an Over-the-Rhine start-up accelerator. “We’re different from the other companies at The Brandery," Key says. "We’re very technically heavy, and I think they were interested in looking at companies like us because they’re getting so many consumer products companies coming in – people who make iPhone apps, for example. Modulus presented a different challenge for them.” The company helps developers follow time-consuming best practices they might otherwise skip, such as tracking analytics for usage and information requests and alerting developers if a site starts to misbehave. Modulus is built on Node.js, a JavaScript platform whose self-defined function is “easily building fast, scalable network options.” In lay terms, this means that when you access a site like LinkedIn on your smart phone, a server running on Node.js acts as a link, transferring data from the website to your mobile app. For developers who make living writing code, having a fast, functional way to track this transfer of information (and what happens when it’s not transferring) is critical to keeping clients happy. But with such a technical product, where do clients come from? “Grassroots marketing,” says Key, who attends conferences about cloud computing and Node.js, and even launched a Node.js Meetup group. “We found that actively getting out there and helping people learn is the best way to find new customers.” By Robin Donovan
Got your zombie apocalypse survival kit yet? What about that alligator repellant? Better yet, how about some much-coveted, impossible-to-find water from the Fountain of Youth? Look no further. Those are the kind of items that will be available when the Urban Legend Institute, at 4011 Hamilton Ave., officially opens its doors Sept. 8. The family-friendly grand opening, from 5 to 10 pm, coincides with Northside’s Second Saturday celebration and will offer treats, music, word games and other surprises, promises Libby Hunter. But behind the tongue-in-cheek retail storefront is Northside’s newest and very serious nonprofit: WordPlay, a collaborative literacy group aimed at helping kids learn how to read, write and express themselves. It will offer free tutoring from 3 to 6 pm Mondays through Thursdays and from noon to 4 pm Saturdays. “It’s not just a store, the Urban Legend Institute will become our street-front personality, our interface with the community,” says Hunter, Wordplay’s executive director. “We want it to be a destination. People will wander in not knowing about WordPlay, they'll enjoy the engaging experience they have at the Urban Legend Institute, learn about WordPlay, spread the word, come back to volunteer, enroll their kids or be inspired to donate.” WordPlay takes a page from the National 826 program based in San Francisco, with eight chapters across the United States. Each chapter offers free writing and literacy services to underserved children. Each are also fronted by whimsical retail outlets, including the Bigfoot Research Institute in Boston, which sells unofficial Yeti Hairballs; The Boring Store in Chicago, which offers up all types of disguises; and the Museum of Unnatural History, which may be the only store in the world to sell unicorn tears. Hunter says she is encouraged about WordPlay after a highly successful pilot this summer, when WordPlay volunteers teamed up with Cincinnati Public School’s Fifth Quarter to work with students from Chase Elementary School. “The biggest surprise is how well Fifth Quarter went; how quickly the kids become engaged,’’ she says, adding that two retired professionals also become just as committed. “I knew we were onto something.” One of those volunteers was Tom Callinan, retired editor and vice president of The Enquirer. Callinan, a WordPlay board member, was going to just drop by one or two days to observe. Instead, Hunter says he showed up every day for five weeks to work with the students. “It was rewarding this summer to watch students transform from reluctant learners to proud ‘authors’ of their work,’’ Callinan says, noting the approach of using fun and creativity to teach certainly enlivens the experience. The Urban Legend Institute follows the same path: “It’s an excellent example of a nonprofit using social enterprise to support its mission,” he says. Hunter says the store will also feature locally produced and sourced t-shirts, funky items of lore and crazy bits of Cincinnati history. And while the Institute began with a wholly quirky theme, Hunter says it has evolved so much that she hopes it will eventually become an archive of local lore. “We find that legitimate history is becoming a central piece to it,” she says. “We want it to serve as a sort of mini-children's museum, with fun, odd, curious things from the past for kids to explore—objects that might not be for sale but they can work with them, ponder them, use them for writing prompts.” Imagine a place, she says, where electronics are turned off. Instead, kids are turned on to actual hand writing, the art of letter writing, creating pieces of tactile art that is not crafted from tapping on a screen or moving a mouse. “Funny enough, as we talk to people and gather information on local legends and history, we find we are becoming something of a repository for local lore and unusual objects,” Hunter says. “How cool to get to share all this with the kids.” Do Good: • Volunteer. Share your passion for the written word and creativeness. Teens and adults can both volunteer their time and talents. • Donate. As a 501c(3), donations are tax deductible. • Follow news and happenings on their Facebook or Twitter. Chris Graves is the vice president of digital and social media at the Powers Agency. Editor's Note: Soapbox Managing Editor Elissa Yancey serves as vice chair of the board for WordPlay.
About 10,000 people approached the booths in the "National Honesty Index" survey, conducted Aug. 8-19 in about 50 locations and monitored by undercover workers. Read the full story here.
Learning isn’t just for children. In fact, says Amy Dennison, assistant dean for CCM’s Preparatory Department, adults sometimes have an easier time learning than children do because of their enthusiasm and free will. “Our prep department serves performers anywhere from ages three to 84,” Dennison says. “And most of our faculty love working with adults because they’re excited and want to be there.” This September, the staff from CCM Prep and musicians from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) plan to give amateur adult musicians opportunities to work with one another, work with professionals and share their music with the community by organizing CCM Prep’s first Adult Chamber Music Weekend. The weekend, which is designed to expose amateur musicians to professional coaching, will include group rehearsals, guidance from Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra musicians, breakfast, lunch and a final performance in the CCM village. The staff from CCM is now accepting online applications for the program. The form asks applicants to detail their musical capabilities as well as what instruments they play. Applications for the program, which costs $125 per person, will be accepted until Sept. 8. Then, based on their musical capabilities, the musicians will be put into groups of three to four. Participants will practice and perform within their chamber groups for the duration of the weekend. Staff at the CCM Prep Department will choose music for the final performances, and professionals from the CSO will coach the players along the way. The final performance, which will be free and open to the public, is scheduled for Sept. 29. Dennison says that the weekend will be a wonderful way for the community to engage in the arts. The small, intimate groups will give musicians the chance to share their passions with like-minded people. “Our main goal is to provide opportunities for people of all ages and abilities,” Dennison says. “I strongly believe that everyone in the community should have access to the arts, regardless of their talents or abilities. It just gives people a sense of fulfillment and joy.” Do Good: • View CCM Prep Department’s class offerings. • Attend the final performance Sept. 29. • Check out the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s fall schedule. By Jen Saltsman Follow Jen on Twitter
Over-The-Rhine’s tipping point wasn’t in the form of an eco-friendly general store or gourmet popsicle shop (it now has both), but rather the renovation of the neighborhood’s cultural heart, Washington Park. Read the full story here.
The 900 block of Banklick Street in Covington was an urban disaster. Included in the historic area of Covington’s Westside, it had fallen into grave disrepair. Despite its good location near an elementary school, the block was completely vacant and had been for years. Today, construction is nearing an end on the 900 block of Banklick, and the friendly streetscape is filled with new or rehabbed houses. Two homes are already under contract for sale, and given the increasing need for moderate income housing, the others may sell quickly, too. The entire transformation of a city block is the work of Covington’s Center for Great Neighborhoods (CGN). This non-profit, neighborhood-based community development organization has been around for almost 40 years, beginning in 1976 as the Covington Community Center. Its goals are to support neighborhoods and housing, youth development and financial education. It was while working with the 18 different neighborhood associations in Covington that CGN heard residents voice their concern for more home ownership and neighborhood revitalization. Following residents’ lead and funded by United Way, Place Matters and other granting sources like the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program, CGN began to purchase structures a decade ago to rehab them for private sale. Since that time, 33 homes have either been rehabilitated or newly constructed as in-fill housing. Adam Rockel, CGN’s community development specialist, praises the City of Covington for its ongoing support. “Without them, we would not be doing the things that we do,” he says. Over the years, the city had purchased many blighted properties that it has sold cheaply to CGN for rehabilitation, and it supports CGN’s work with grants and assistance to meet building standards for historic structures. Rockel sees more good in CGN’s work than just repopulating blighted neighborhoods. “We’re…transforming them into really beautiful homes, raising appraisal rates, and giving people pride in their neighborhoods again.” By Becky Johnson
The design for the original Knob Creek Bourbon was highly recognizable and considered legendary by the brand’s fan base, so design agency LPK’s work for the brand’s expansion, which includes Knob Creek Rye, was an exercise in restraint. Read the full story here.
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