Storefront Volunteer Thank You

Storefront friends and volunteers are invited to explore a partially renovated storefront at 122/124 E Broad St tonight from 5:30 to 8p.



This event, co-sponsored by Douglas Development, Polis Ventures, There/Here, and Storefront, will highlight the great potential for architectural revitalization and new business use on Broad Street. Participants will be invited to engage the streetscape with their design and innovation ideas in an interactive photo exhibit of Richmond’s downtown. Light fare from Comfort and beverages will be served.

i.e.* SHOP CLASS

For the next six Thursdays, starting this Thursday, August 4, i.e.* will be hosting a free SHOP CLASS series. The events will take place from 5:30 to 7:15p in the The Marvin Lang Building, 1623 W Broad St (next door to The Camel). From the invite:

“Organized and hosted by Peter Fraser, Ansel Olson and John Sarvay, each SHOP CLASS session is designed to be a two-hour, hands-on discovery zone... We’re creating the container, the invitation, the rough design. We’re inviting a dozen RVA creatives to provide the content, the passion and their unique perspective. We’re inviting you to shape, influence and imprint each evening with your own sensibilities.”

Anyone can attend. Just click here to register for one of the classes, subjects ranging from music to cooking to writing. I signed up for the August 18 event, It Don’t Mean a Thing, featuring composer Samson Trinh. If you’re interested, act fast! This Thursday’s event has already filled up.

Couch Surfing & Cob Ovens

Two Saturdays ago I ended up at a Couch Surfing potluck in the Fan. I’d heard of Couch Surfing before, but didn’t really know what it was all about. From what I understand, it’s a worldwide project about bridging cultural gaps and making traveling more accessible. The website has profiles for surfers (travelers) and hosts (people offering accommodations) to connect. As a surfer, you can stay with a host for a minimal cost (one traveler mentioned $10/day), so all you have to cover is food and travel expenses. One woman at the potluck was just settling in from a whirlwind three month tour through Europe! What a liberating and minimalist way to live. Right up my alley.

At said potluck, we built a cob oven (for baking bread and pizza) together:


This involved a lot of stomping in the mud, which I loved.


Click here to learn more about cob ovens. Photo credits Rachel Rhoney.

TRS Birthday Party

The Richmond Scene (TRS) is a social networking site for RVA music. My buddy Chris Payne (who also helps run The Listening Room series with The Greater Richmond Foundry) started the site two years ago. Since then, it’s become the hub for musicians, artists and their fans to stay in tune with what is happening in our city.

To celebrate, they are partying at The Camel on Sunday night and man, what a line up! Starting at 7p, Dogs on Main Street, Dave Watkins, and The Snowy Owls will perform. The night will wrap up with Richmond’s well known jazz band NoBS! Brass. Chris says that the party on Sunday, “is not just about celebrating the site, as much as it is celebrating the individuals in our city making great music.” Bonus — all attendees will receive a free take-home Mixtape of local music from the past year. Hope to see your lovely faces there! RSVP on Facebook here.

Gungho Guide

I’d like to present to you Richmond’s new Gungho Guide — “the definitive guide to where you should be.” From their new site (which just launched on Friday):

“GunghoGuides.com is a place to celebrate the best things we love about Richmond. We picked the top hundred or so places that we feel contribute to the pride of living in this city. We wanted to create a site that presents these unique experiences and JUST these experiences as places you absolutely SHOULD patronize.”

You can find info on food, museums, galleries, entertainment, apparel, beauty, retail and of course, events! We love the idea of consolidating all of this information in a city guide that’s easy (and fun!) to search through. And oh hey — Minimalist is a featured blog. Thanks GG! You can find their free pamphlet/map in participating locations around town.

Side note — Anne Marie told me that a random guy on the street asked her if she wrote for Minimalist and then gave us a big compliment. Thanks guy on street, we like you too!

Goodwill Really Is Good

Most people think of Goodwill as that place we take our old stuff when we don’t want it anymore. Last week, Ellen Thornhill, Goodwill of Central Virginia’s Communications Manager, gave a presentation entitled “Goodwill: I Had No Idea!” at NAPO Richmond’s chapter meeting. We toured Goodwill’s Midlothian facility this past Monday to see it all in action.


NAPO Richmond at Goodwill’s Midlothian facility

The presentation’s title was fitting — I really had no idea about all of the awesome things Goodwill is doing for our community and the environment. Read below for my top three “I had no idea” facts.

I had no idea fact #1 — Goodwill’s primary role and mission is as a workforce development organization, not a thrift store, that helps people with disadvantages and/or disabilities obtain employment. Their retail centers (stocked with your donations) serve as revenue to support these programs. What’s more, you can feel good about helping your local community by donating to Goodwill. While it’s a nationwide franchise, nearly 100% of the local revenue goes back into local programs — not into a national pot. Learn more about their workforce development services here.

I had no idea fact #2 — Goodwill can resell or recycle a lot more than you think. They package stained or torn clothing and resell it to textile salvage companies. Your old cell phones, computers and other electronics (even the broken ones!) can be refurbished by skilled staff and resold or responsibly recycled through Goodwill’s Reconnect partnership with Dell. Medical equipment is sold through their partnership with the Free Foundation. Instead of tossing it, donate it! You’ll be helping your local community and the environment. Click here for an official list of what you can and cannot donate at Goodwill.

I had no idea fact #3 — In addition to revenue from their retail sales, Goodwill raises money for their workforce development programs through their Business Enterprise services, which includes Goodwill Staffing Solutions and Goodwill Document Destruction (shredding). Businesses can request a quote from Goodwill Document Destruction through Goodwill’s website. Individuals can simply bring their documents to Goodwill’s main facility where for $30, you can get up to 180 lbs of paper shredded (for anything above 180 lbs, it’s only $0.18/lb). Last year, Goodwill recycled over a million pounds of paper through its Document Destruction business and plans to do even more this year.

Every paper grocery bag of donations averages about $27 of revenue for Goodwill. If you were on the fence about spring cleaning, hopefully this post has provided new motivation to let go and give back to the community. Find a Goodwill donation center near you here.

The 3/50 Project

Visit The 3/50 Project to find simple ways of supporting and growing your local independently owned retail businesses. There’s even some well-designed free marketing material for businesses to use! As an owner or a consumer, there’s definitely some valuable information to be shared.

Party in the Park

Monroe Park, that is.

Tomorrow from noon until 4p, All the Saints Theater Company is hosting a free event in support of the Monroe Park Campaign to keep the park open and free during renovations. The party will include live music from local bands such as No BS! Brass Band, The Diamond Center and Lobo Marino, a parade, face painting, food and beverage from local restaurants and a market featuring free clothing, toys and books. Bundle up — it’s sure to be a fun day! RSVP here on Facebook.

Cast a Vote for NAPO Richmond!

Our NAPO Richmond chapter has received very exciting news! We have been nominated for an annual Organizing Award in the category of Philanthropy. Each year we’ve made sure to give our time and talent back to our community, either during Project GO or through other events. NAPO Richmond is the only chapter to be recognized in this way this year. Our partners Closet Factory and ShelfGenie are also nominated in the Best Closet Design Firm and Best Home Organizing Product, respectively. Hooray!

Now here’s where you come in, lovely friends and Minimalist readers. Please cast a vote to support NAPO Richmond — voting is totally open to the public. It would mean a lot to us, and would help continue to grow Richmond’s professional organizing presence on the map. Click this link to go to NAPO Richmond’s homepage where you can read more about the award and cast your vote. Also, while you’re there, have a browse at all the lovely people I get to collaborate with in the professional organizing business — what a wonderful bunch of supportive and talented colleagues!

Lotsa Helping Hands

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m being treated for ovarian cancer via chemotherapy — starting on Monday. Eep! Since my diagnosis, everyone has asked what they can do to help. It feels great that so many people want to contribute in some way. However, sometimes mass offers of help can feel overwhelming. I needed a way to organize it all.

Enter Lotsa Helping Hands (LHH). LHH allows anyone to create a free, private, web-based community for organizing friends, family and colleagues during times of need. Coordinating activities and managing volunteers is streamlined, allowing time for help instead of wasting it on scheduling. I invited about 20 friends and family members to join my community. I then created a calendar showing the days I need rides, meals, etc and members of my community can pick days to volunteer those services. The calendar also shows which needs have been met versus ones that still need to be filled. There’s a place to enter important contact or medical information in case of an emergency and the site can be set so that members can see each others’ contact information if desired. What a great idea! I definitely feel at ease knowing I have a wonderful (and organized) network of support.

Sustainable Urban Planning in RVA

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting with several board members of Richmond’s non-profit Partnership for Smarter Growth (PSG). Their mission is to “educate and engage the communities in the Richmond region to work together to improve quality of life by guiding where and how we grow.” Richmond is a wonderful place with a lot of potential to be even better — it’s great that we have a specific organization invested in such a cause. They are working to promote smart urban growth, community leadership and awareness, better public transportation, local food, and land conservation (to name a few).

PSG is hosting an exciting public event this month! On October 24, their third annual River City Saunter event will focus on an exploration of the future of Broad St and sustainable development in the Richmond region. It’s only $15 to attend and will take place at the Renaissance Conference Center on 107 W Broad St. Don’t think of the fee as a fee, but as a small contribution to an organization that is vital to Richmond’s urban growth and development. RSVP by October 14 via PSG’s website.

Favorites

Lately I have been entertaining the idea of leaving Richmond, largely for career-related reasons. Actually, it’s a thought I’ve had off and on for the past four years since I’ve been here. The longer I live in this town/city, the more I dig my heels in and want to stay. I feel at home — Richmond’s an easy place to love.

In that vein, I asked everyone at Emily’s backyard Fan potluck tonight to name at least one of their favorite things about Richmond. We’ve all lived here for varying lengths of time, but have a common excitement and affinity for the place.


Clockwise from top — me, Noel, Evan, Christie, James, Chris, Chase and Veronica


Sir James Hill

Shared around a circle and documented via iPhone, here is our {list}.

James Hill
1. Scuffletown Park
2. Proximity to beach/mountain/lake within two hours

Emily Jones
3. Backyard Fan parties
4. Personalities at Shields Market
5. Shows at Balliceaux
6. Richmond’s Marathon Training Team
7. McSorley’s on tap at Bogart’s

Chris Holmes
8. China Panda
9. New York Deli’s multicade and photo booth

Chase Goitia
10. Houses with place names (“The Dallas”)
11. Eight places to get coffee in any given area
12. Restaurants with proper outdoor spaces
13. Quantity of trees in the city

Veronica Park
14. $2 movies at The Byrd Theatre
15. Free stuff in alleys

Kristen Ziegler (me)
16. Local art and music scene

Noel Ives-Rublee
17. James River (we all say, “Ohhhh yeah. Duh!”)
18. Retro-ness via Plaza Bowl, dodgeball leagues and rollergirl teams

Evan MacKenzie
19. Adult soccer scene via CVSA, SCOR and RISE
20. Beer culture at bars compared to other cities
21. Bicycling culture and local shops

Christie Thompson
22. Vegetarian/vegan friendly dining options
23. Awesome dance parties

24. And the obvious one — our friends! (Cheesy, but I had to.)

Photo credits to the always awesome Miss Emily Jones.

Gallery5 After 5

This one’s extra exciting, so hold on to your seats! Gallery5 is celebrating their five year anniversary with a free lecture series and happy hour event every second Wednesday of the month. With an unusual mix of speakers, ranging from tarantula masters to statue artists, the goal of the series is to remove the fourth wall between experts and the community. We can all learn from each other and collaboration is what it’s all about! The lectures will be short and sweet (20 to 30 minutes max) with time allotted for q&a at the end.

Aside from being super informative, the events are structured for fun as well! Live music performances will sandwich each speaker’s presentation. The musical guests have been cleverly selected to match the tone of their accompanying subject matter. Additionally, drinks will be at wallet-friendly happy hour prices.


Tracy Wilson

The series starts this month! Don’t miss Tracy Wilson of Independent Label Collective next Wednesday, September 8, speaking on the subject “The State of the Music Industry Today and What It Means to You. AKA Don’t Quit Your Day Job. No Really.” Musical guests Sara Gossett of Cherry Bomb and Climbers featuring Adah will be performing at the event, which kicks off at 5p. All guest speakers and musicians are donating their time so come on down and help make it a successful community event!

Special shout and thanks to Prabir Mehta, President of the Board of Directors of Gallery5 and rockstar (Long Arms, Prabir/Goldrush) for collaborating with me on this post. He and John Bryan, President of Cultureworks, are the brains behind this special series. Awesome job, guys — can't wait! Follow the series on Facebook.

Let’s Collaborate!

I have been daydreaming a bit lately about what this blog has the potential to be. I’m currently in talks with several friends about coming on as co-writers and several others about collaborating on single posts. It’d be awesome to have daily material and make this more of a community discussion. I’ve even had fleeting images of Minimalist becoming a weekly discussion group — or even a ’zine! One thing at a time.

What’s awesome about Richmond and what are some ideas for improvement? Let me know if you have any topics you’d like to see covered on here — comment or email (kziegler83@gmail.com) your thoughts!

Mysterymeeat

What a simple (and awesome) concept! I have been meaning to do one of these for awhile.