John Rumery Chris Ziebarth has a passion for music and West Michigan, and he wants to share it with others. In fact, he decided to start something that combines those two passions into one venture. Ziebarth, "30-something" and a bartender at The Winchester is the founder of halfwayhousemusic.com. His belief is that Grand Rapids is in an interesting position.  On one hand, it's positioned "half way" between two major cities that feature great music, shows and venues.  On the other hand, he wonders why anyone in a metropolitan area of this size should need to travel to shows when there are great local venues and an already vibrant music scene.  His solution to this quandary is halfwayhousemusic.com, a website devoted to increasing the awareness of the many talented musicians in Grand Rapids and also to showcasing the region as a destination for bands from around the country to schedule a tour stop. Ziebarth's site features several sections that serve as a clearinghouse listing the different venues, open mics, and festivals in the area. The landing page also showcases new videos of independent bands.  Perhaps the most distinctive feature of his site is "sessions," where local and artists "passing through" are videoed and recorded in an intimate, unique setting at the musical studio, Stone House Recording. After the three-song session, the music is then made available as a free download on his site. In Ziebarth's opinion, this opportunity to showcase the local music scene to the rest of the country is critical to building the music scene beyond our region.   Matt Jarrells, program director at WYCE, is also enthused about what this type of collaboration and what these sessions can mean to the local music scene. "Stone House  and halfwayhousemusic have already coordinated a number of visits from touring artists such as Cadillac Sky and Caravan of Thieves, giving them some bonus local exposure," Jarrells says. Jarrells further explains that the format of the halfwayhousemusic Sessions "captures an intimate, immediate portrait of the artist. It cuts straight to the essence of their music and the performance aspect let's you know if you need to see more in a live setting." Both Ziebarth and Jarrells feel that for local acts that may not have much in the way of an advertising budget, these sessions can be a big deal. The videos are social media ready, so  "it's like an EP with no stamps necessary," says Jarrell. With the site less than six months old and a new Facebook page, Ziebarth is planning his next steps, hoping to become more involved in promoting shows and helping venues book bands.   "There aren't many in our community who are more passionate about contemporary music (than Ziebarth)," concludes Jarrells. Source: Interviews with Chris Ziebarth and Matt Jarrells John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI.  He can be reached at [email protected] For story tips you can e-mail [email protected]

Deborah Johnson WoodLaFontsee Galleries/Underground Studio was one of the first businesses to brave Monroe North's collection of abandoned warehouses back in about 1992, with the hope that the district would become a Mecca of art galleries and boutiques. Instead, developers turned the warehouses into condominiums and office space. So gallery owners Scott and Linda LaFontsee seized the opportunity to purchase a 2.5-acre property and the former Network 180 building at 833 Lake Drive and join four area galleries – Byrneboehm Gallery, Richard App Gallery, Mercury Head Gallery and Gallery 154 – in creating an art lover's destination."I personally walked into each of those galleries and talked to them about our move to the district," says Scott LaFontsee. "They were all very open-armed." LaFontsee's founded the gallery 24 years ago as a small frame shop and now has 14 employees and two interns. "A gallery our size is not this common," he says. "So we're a little different than most places because of that." The 24,000-square-foot building will retain its mid-century modern outside, but LaFontsee plans to gut the entire inside and open it up for display space, framing and for working on large projects, such as the framing and installation of the artwork for all 13 floors of the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, opening soon.LaFontsee hopes to create an outdoor sculpture garden on the property in the future. He says he'll open the building as-is to the public on October 22 when Site:Lab (of "Land of Riches" fame) will take over the building for a one-day art installation that will be open to the public. The current gallery, 820 Monroe Ave. NW, will remain open until its move in spring 2011. For the next few weeks, it will be an ArtPrize venue for 21 artists. "It's easy right now to be afraid of this economy, but it's not all bad," LaFontsee says. "We just bought a building we could not have afforded a year ago. I believe in this community. I believe it's not going to get worse, it's going to get better."Source: Scott LaFontsee, LaFontsee Galleries/Underground Studio Related ArticlesLong Live LaFontseeAmenta -- A Man of RichesDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

Deborah Johnson WoodPaula S. Fogarty's undying passion for fine art, furniture and design has driven her to create an unusual new gallery where she marries Grand Rapids-made vintage furniture with mid-century modern pieces and pulls it all together with fine art by world-renowned artists. The new endeavor? Fogarty Collection, 560 5th Street NW, Suite 301. Fogarty owns Paula Scott Unlimited (her middle name is Scott), a product design, development and marketing firm at the same address. But with a degree in Art History, the former president of Kindel Furniture felt a need to combine her passions under one roof. Peter Jacob, designer and owner of Profile Peter Jacob, is a collaborator in the endeavor.Vintage furniture from Baker, Widdicomb, Sligh, and, of course, Kindel, will head the list of home furnishings. The Collection features the paintings, sculpture and bronzes of eleven renowned artists from Michigan, New York, New Hampshire and elsewhere, including Detroit's Janice Trimpe and local sculptor Carlos Aceves."It's time to bring compelling art to the area," Fogarty says. "These artists have real compelling subject matter and execution that will appeal to people who are sensitized to the arts, especially this community right now with ArtPrize being here.""I'm doing this because I can't help myself," Fogarty says, followed by a hearty laugh. "It was inevitable that at some point I would parlay my passion for art and furniture into some kind of a showroom. The atmosphere is one of a highly collected and eclectic mix of what I would call 'best of kind' objects, whether contemporary or antiques."Fogarty Collection's grand opening on September 22 featured the five ArtPrize artists who will call the venue "home" during ArtPrize 2010. The Collection will be open every day during ArtPrize hours. After ArtPrize, the hours will be Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; weekends by appointment.Source: Paula S. Fogarty, Fogarty Collection and Paula Scott UnlimitedDeborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Development News tips can be sent to [email protected].

A report from Press & Guide states that 16 Michigan cities will host public forums on the future of high-speed rail in the state for passenger and freight systems. Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland are on the list for hosting three of those gatherings.According to excerpts from the story:Mayor Jack O'Reilly and other city officials took part in a public forum on Michigan's passenger rail transportation future Wednesday on the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus."I've been in and out of issues with transit since 1980 when I was working with the Senate Transportation Committee," O'Reilly said. "We've had a lot of false starts, but no real progress in any kinds of mass transit and there's got to be a starting point. If we can get the momentum going, we can begin to explore this."Recent federal support has put Michigan in a great position to build a modern rail transit system that is clean, fast and convenient, according to John Langdon of the Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers.Wednesday's forum was part of a series of 16 taking place throughout the state to engage citizens on a vision for the future and forward the ideas to state and federal policymakers.According to Landon, similar forums have drawn hundreds of residents and civic leaders… Others are planned for cities including Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Flint, Monroe, and Ann Arbor.Read the complete story here.

Using a design-build model, the city of East Grand Rapids has found a way to both save money and reduce construction time.

According to excerpts from the story in MiBiz.com:

In a time of strained budgets and dwindling state revenue sharing heading to local governments, design-build capability is proving a means of conserving valuable financial resources while reducing the timeline for building projects for the city of East Grand Rapids.

The city started work on a $1.3 million expansion of its Department of Public Works this summer, its first using the design-build model, said Ken Feldt, director of city services.

 

Read the complete story here:

http://www.mibiz.com/news/design-build/16352-design-build-cutting-construction-timeline-for-egr.html

John Rumery A local technology, marketing and communications firm has not only weathered the recent economic storm, but continues to thrive by focusing on existing clients and helping them maintain and grow their services.   To keep up with their growth, ddm marketing & communications is looking for an account manager and a front end CSS Developer. "For the account manager we are looking for someone with extensive experience working in an agency setting," states Paul Kortman, director of Online Marketing. Kortman indicates "our business has grown, primarily from existing clients who have seen the value in our services." Kortman explains that their team's technological and marketing expertise has helped many of their clients keep current and be more effective.   However, finding the right people is not as easy as many might feel it would be in a job market where there are more "buyers" than "sellers." Kortman says, "we hired several people over the last few years, but it is tough to find the right fit.  Some individuals have the skills, but the not the experience to keep up with our pace." Kortman also explains that in the online marketing world, everything is emerging and although individuals coming out of college may have working knowledge of many of the tools, they don't have the business experience or savvy to apply them in a business setting. His advice for someone graduating from school or trying to retool their skill set is to gain as much real world experience as possible.  "It's nice if you can demonstrate your work in a portfolio, like a site you developed for your school organization, but even better would be if you can show how you contacted a business, developed their site and implemented some type of program.  It's even better if you have done this multiple times." "We also value initiative," Kortman continues. "We look for experience, but realize in the area of social media marketing, so much is emerging. We look for ambition, the ability to learn and the ability to be flexible." The ddm marketing & communications firm has been around for 20 years and focuses on the education, financial and health care sectors. Its services include traditional marketing, hosting, custom applications and web development. To learn more about ddm marketing & communications you can visit their website. Source: Interview with Paul Kortman John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI.  He can be reached at [email protected]  For story tips you can e-mail [email protected]