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
Mary Lazzari wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do when she retired from a life-long career in nursing. She figured she’d volunteer; maybe spend some time helping out at the Mary Rose Mission Soup Kitchen, which will be the first and only one in Boone County when it opens this fall in Florence. Instead this summer, she’s taught herself about Facebook, viral marketing and grassroots organizing as part of PNC’s Neighborhood Wishlist Challenge. The challenge is a voting contest that will give up to $500 to each of 100 finalists to help kick-start neighborhood-based programs. “I figured I’d be chopping carrots and celery back in the kitchen. I didn’t think I’d be out hustling,’’ Lazzari jokes. Lazzari’s submission, on behalf of the Mary Rose Mission, was one of four local entries chosen from 500 in the 17 states in which PNC Bank operates. To be fully funded, each finalist now has to receive the same number of votes for each dollar they requested. Lazzari asked for $500, so she has to get her friends, family and anyone else she can convince to vote for the soup kitchen. Voting ends Sunday, Aug. 26, at 11:59 p.m. Peg Moertl, a PNC senior vice-president in community development banking based in Cincinnati, said the bank’s goal was to get 500 submissions in two weeks. They got more than that in 48 hours. “We know there’s a lot of really good stuff happening in our neighborhoods,” Moertl says. “And sometimes a small bit of capital can make a huge difference.” That’s exactly what Jeni Jenkins is hoping for. Jenkins, an artist and educator, applied for the full $500 to pilot the Youth ArtBRIDGE project. The youth/artist printmaking collaborative is intended for low-income Northside youth, ages 8 to 18, to create socially conscious artwork. “I’ve always known I’ve wanted to do this … to bring together all kinds of artists and kids with different skills and have them create art with a social justice bent,” says Jenkins, 32, who is the director of Education and Outreach for the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition. Jenkins, whose project still needs a few hundred votes to secure funding, says she was excited to make it to the voting phase. “Five-hundred dollars may not seem like a lot to many people, but it really is. This is about getting funds to do a small project, to provide a kind of jumpstart,” she says. “It’s about getting myself out there; about showing outcomes.” Moertl was delighted to see the local submissions, which also include Bob Ashbrock’s $500 request to provide new landscaping in and around the Reading Veteran’s Memorial Plaza and Joshua Hanauer’s $500 request to buy balls to expand the burgeoning youth rugby program in Norwood. Each winner of the $500 will have 90 days to provide the bank with a project recap that provides outcomes, photos and videos, “so we can see the impact of these,’’ Moertl says. “I’m very eager to see the results,’’ she says. “For any project that really pops, I would think that one of our teams may reach out to these folks and see if we are supporting them.” For Lazzari, winning will likely mean paying for one of the first trips to the grocery store to stock the soup kitchen’s pantry. “Every little bit helps,” Lazzari says. “It may not seem like a lot, but it’s a beginning for us.” Do Good: • Vote on the local projects. • Watch Jeni Jenkin's video. • Contribute to the Mary Rose Mission.
Joyce Gardner has been hiking for years. And as a lifelong Cincinnati resident, she was pretty sure she had visited most of the area’s natural spaces. So Gardner was surprised when she found some hidden gems this summer as part of the Nature Conservancy’s Natural Treasures of Ohio Challenge. “People don’t realize that we really have some great trails here,” says Gardner, of Covedale, who hiked in Ault Park and Mt. Airy Forest locally and visited another 11 natural areas across the state with her husband. Sure Gardner and her friend, Kathy Brown, visited the Ault Park Pavilion and Everybody’s Tree House in Mt. Airy; but they also spent hours discovering the trails that many may miss, she says. That was exactly the point of the Nature Conservancy’s challenge: To introduce and showcase some of the state’s natural areas and encourage residents from all corners of the state to learn about the various natural wonders of the state. “Our hope is that folks would find natural areas and say: ‘Wow, I had no idea that this is here,’ ” says Josh Knights, executive director of the Nature Conservancy in Ohio. “And at the end of the day, we believe that if Ohioans discover and come to know these areas, they will be inspired to help us protect them.” That Nature Conservancy and Honda launched the challenge, a kind of treasure hunt, in June. Ohio residents could visit one to 30 designated places and upload a photo of themselves at the designated landmark on the Nature Conservancy’s Web site for a chance to win a 2012 Honda Insight Hybrid. The contest, which will also award five $500 REI gift certificates, ran from May 22 to Aug. 8. Winners are expected to be announced in September. More than 3,000 entries were filed, with many people visiting all 30 places this summer. Many families used the challenge as their summer vacation, Knight says. While pleased with the participation, he wonders if this summer’s record-breaking heat and high gasoline prices may have hindered some participation. The photo galleries, as well as the detailed descriptions and maps of each of the 30 destinations that are organized by geography, will remain on the Nature Conservancy at least through December and maybe longer, Springs says. While winning would be nice, Gardner says the challenge really created an opportunity for she and her husband, John, to visit areas they have always wanted to – including Kelly’s Island State Park on Lake Erie, where they celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary. They also stumbled across several parks they normally would never have set out to themselves. Her new favorite? Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, in Northern Ohio between Toledo and Sandusky on Lake Erie. She likened the 2,200-acre state park to being in the Everglades. “I was really impressed with that one,” she says. “I really couldn’t believe I was standing in Ohio.” That’s not the first time Knights has heard that about the state’s varied natural elements. “Ohio really does have a diverse landscape; from one of the largest lakes in the world to the Ohio River there in Cincinnati … Ohio has all of these fantastic places. We wanted to introduce more Buckeyes to what we have at home.” Do Good: • Follow the Ohio Nature Conservancy on Facebook. • Visit some of the designations this fall. • See the photos of the Southwest Ohio designations and read the scrapbook. • Watch the video. • Donate. Chris Graves, assistant vice president of digital and social media at the Powers Agency, loves the outdoors. You will find her camping with her daughters on Kelly’s Island this fall.
Sarah Evans can’t imagine how other high school students figure out what they want to study in college. Evans has Cincinnati Museum Center to thank for the ease of her choice. The 2012 Madeira High School graduate will study archeology when she start classes this fall at the University of Cincinnati. Evan has been involved in the Museum Center’s Youth Program since was 13 years old, logging an incredible 6,000 or so hours working in each of the center’s three museums. The program is intended to teach teens about museum work and prepare them for college. “I’m what they call a regular,’’ she says. “I just love our staff. It’s really a place of opportunity and friendship. It’s become a huge part of my life. It has definitely influenced 100 percent of what I want to study in college.” The youth program was one of two programs specifically lauded as a national model by the American Association of Museums in its recent accreditation of the Museum Center at the historic Union Terminal in the West End. The Learning Through Play annual conference that brings parents and teachers to the museum to discuss the importance of play in education was also singled out as a model of excellence. The recognition puts the center in elite company. Just 4.5 percent of the nation’s 17,000 have won accreditation, which is voluntary and is the highest recognition for a museum. The three-year process examined every facet of the Museum Center’s operation, including finances, governance, programs and programming, stewardship of its vast collection as well as its professional standards. “It’s really the best news for us. It’s a validation of our peers that we are doing things right,’’ says Elizabeth Pierce, museum vice president of marketing and communications. “We are delighted.” The Museum Center had to wait to apply for accreditation after the merger of the Museum of Natural History and Science, which had been accredited. And while accreditation is on a five-year cycle, the Museum Center will be reviewed in 2014 due to the merger with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, she says. “Accreditation assures the people of Cincinnati that their museum is among the finest in the nation,’’ says Ford W. Bell, president of the AAM. “Citizens can take considerable pride in their homegrown institution, for its commitment to excellence and for the value it brings to the community.” The distinction comes just three years after the Museum Center was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, making it only one of 16 organizations in the United States to have both. “We really are in good company,” Pierce says. “I hope this reinforces to the community that we are an organization of quality; that we are doing our job well, and we are respectful of donations and we invest in this organization.” Evans, who is also the outgoing president of the center’s youth advisory council, hopes the accreditation will mean continued success for the Youth Program. “I would say to youth: The more you give to the program, the more the museum can give back to you,” she says. “You will be repaid far more in your future.” Do Good: • Watch a video of teens involved in the Youth Program. • Join or renew your membership. • Plan a visit. • Follow them on Facebook. Chris Graves is the assistant vice president of digital and social media at the Powers Agency.
Ohio’s three largest cities—Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland—are reinvesting in their urban cores, eager to capitalize on a renewed interest in city living. But is the deck stacked against them? Read the full story here.
Startup launch service LaunchRock just announced that it has acquired Giftiki, a startup that allows friends to pool their money to buy more valuable gifts. The financial terms aren’t being disclosed, but LaunchRock co-founder and CEO Jameson Detweiler says Giftiki service will be shut down. Judging from the tongue-in-cheek press release, this sounds like a classic acqui-hire, with LaunchRock acquiring the company for its team, not its product. Read the full story here.
Last year, UC pioneered the Zip Car in the city, and since their delivery to campus, two red Zipcars retain prime parking spaces in front of McMicken Hall, while another, a hybrid, sits at Daniels. This fall, Xavier University launches WeCar, an automated car rental option offered through a partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Thanks to these two options, local students, faculty and staff can reserve cars on an as-needed basis, limiting demand for parking and adding to the convenience of traveling around town. The new WeCar options at Xavier University are two Kia Souls, which will be parked near Flynn Hall. The program offers 24-hour access to hourly, daily and overnight rentals. Both programs benefit younger college students, those aged 18 to 20, who are normally not able to rent cars. XU’s WeCar program even taps into alumni support: with 20 XU alums working for Enterprise in the region, students can feel connected not only to the cars, but the company. All it takes is a driver’s license and a credit card to start the rental process for either option. Both are designed to accommodate sustainability minded students as well as expand transportation options for members of university communities. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter
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