To Do {list}: Public Speaking

This week is an exciting one! In addition to my usual client work, I have two unique engagements.

1. Guest critic at VCU’s Department of Interior Design. Tomorrow (Wednesday) I’ll be giving feedback to Rob Ventura’s studio for their final project. I’ve critiqued his studio’s work in the past and absolutely LOVE participating in academia. There are some talented designers in that program for sure!

2. Guest speaker for the Melanie Finley Ovarian Cancer Foundation’s (MFOCF) Blue Hydrangea Tea Party fundraising event this Saturday in Philadephia. Many of you know that I was diagnosed and treated for ovarian cancer in 2010/2011. I’m cancer free now and thankfully came out of the whole experience financially unscathed (a rarity). I have MFOCF to thank for helping me pay many of my medical bills. Hopefully my story will motivate others to donate to the Foundation this weekend.

Next goal — public speaking to groups about organizing!

The Slice RVA

For those of you who have followed Minimalist for awhile, you may have noticed we’ve changed things a bit. We’re no longer at www.minimalistrichmond.com and it’s just me (Kristen) writing for time being. Former collaborating writers Emily Jones and Christie Thompson (of Fibre Craft) branched off and started a new blog called The Slice RVA to showcase “everything Richmond”. Minimalist has been returned to its roots of sharing musings on simplicity and organization (with a Richmond flavor).


Emily and Christie

Just so everyone knows, there were no hard feelings. It was one of those “hey, so I think we’re moving in different directions — let’s make two awesome things instead of one” kind of conversations.

Balliceaux Love 3 Nights in a Row

I love Balliceaux for their modern ambiance, “big city” feel, tasty cocktails and excellent bar staff (you know who you are). This week three of my favorite events are happening back to back! Dare I attend them all?

THURSDAY

The Garbers + Snowy Owls + Peace Beast
9:30p | $5
RSVP on Facebook


Photo from Style Magazine

I’ve enjoyed the shoegaze sound of the Snowy Owls for awhile now. They’re starting to get some press around town — check out their recent article in Style Magazine. I haven’t heard the other two bands yet, but am looking forward to it.

FRIDAY

No Richmond
10:30p | free
RSVP on Facebook

My favorite monthly dance party in RVA. DJs will be spinning post-punk and new wave tunes. Expect to see me bust a move on stage before midnight.


It’ll go something like this — photo credit Shannon Lynn

SATURDAY

RVA Magazine Presents Soulpower Dance Party
10:30p | free
RSVP on Facebook

Another favorite. Funk, soul and boogaloo will be spun on vinyl all night long.



So, is it obvious yet that I love to dance? Not only is it fun, but it’s an excellent work out. How efficient of me.

Handmade RVA: Rare Bird

I’ve always had trouble accessorizing because it makes me feel cluttered (surprise). I love local artist Pauline Stanley’s work. It suits me well — minimal and delicate, goes with everything. I’ve already purchased several pieces and wear them constantly. She will be at the Bizarre Market at the RVA Street Fest this Saturday from noon to 6p selling her designs. You can also find her on Etsy here.









Our good friend Christie with Fibre Craft will also be at the market selling her handmade ties and bags!

Minimalism for Your Ears: The Low Branches & Small Houses

I have major respect for anyone who can do something extremely well. Christina Marie, the voice of The Low Branches, can sing extremely well. Her precise yet emotionally raw songs touch a nerve like few others do for me. They are currently recording an album — until then, listen here.


The Low Branches, photo credit Sarah Walor Photography

Tonight from 7 to 9p you will have an opportunity to see The Low Branches live at Globehopper in Church Hill. A favorite traveling band (er, guy), Jeremy Quentin of Small Houses will be playing as well.


Jeremy of Small Houses



Don’t miss out! The show is free with donations encouraged. Get there early — it’s an intimate setting (perfect for these bands), so space will fill up quickly. RSVP on Facebook here.

The Listening Room 2nd Anniversary!

If you haven’t made it to one of Richmond’s renowned The Listening Room series, tomorrow night is your chance! It’s the two year anniversary of the series and my good friend Nelly Kate will be playing. Check out (and help fund!) the hand crafted video she made for her Kickstarter project to support her new album, Ish Ish.



Richmond musicians Bonnie Staley of The Girtles (all female Beatles cover band), Cliff Boyd of Sportsbar, and James Wallace will also be gracing the stage at the Firehouse Theatre Project on 1609 W Broad Street. Secret tip — you are allowed to park at the Lowes across the street. Now you have no excuse not to come!



The show is free but donations are always encouraged to help support the series. It’s one of my favorite Richmond music scene experiences. Hope to see you there!

RSVP and get all the details on Facebook here.

Goodbye Sprout

I can hardly believe it, but local restaurant/bar/venue Sprout is closing their doors forever after tonight. Come give them a proper send off! Starting at 5p and running until all hours of the morning, a free BYOB indie rock party will take place on Sprout’s intimate stage for one last time. 21+ only kids. RSVP on Facebook here. You know where I’ll be tonight! Hope to see you all there.


Photo from the show, posted on September 6 — credit PJ Sykes

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.

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.

Events This Week

This weekend is Memorial Day! I hope all of you have something fun planned. (I’ll be reuniting with some old college friends in Baltimore). In the meantime, here are a few fun happenings around town to keep you distracted until vacation time.

Wednesday, May 25 from 7 to 8:30p, Modern Richmond is hosting a film screening of Modern Views: A Conversation on Northwest Modern Architecture at the Virginia Center for Architecture located at 2501 Monument Ave. There’s a $10 admission, RSVP and get more info on Facebook here.

Thursday night is gonna be great. Sprout is hosting a free show (donations suggested) featuring Cinnamon Band (of Harrisonburg, recently toured with Handsome Furs), The Snowy Owls (of Richmond) and Silversmiths (of Richmond). I have seen the first two bands and I highly recommend! The show starts at 9:30p — RSVP on Facebook here. Also, this made me giggle (from The Snowy Owls webpage):

“The Snowy Owls have been observed as both solitary and social creatures. A single individual has been heard dissolving pop songs into enveloping sonic landscapes — a behavior also noted in other species such as the Yo La Tengo. When they gather in groups, the sounds range from sparse and dreamy to gritty and energetic, similar to Bedhead and Idaho varieties. Their vocalizations are typically hushed, creating intrigue through lyrical vignettes.”

Friday night, Balliceaux is hosting its third 1930s themed dance party — PLF Presents SPEAKEASY! Come dressed in your best fedoras, suspenders and/or flapper garb. The event begins at 10:30p and is free to all. There will be old time music mixed with new school tunes, a dance contest, costume contest and a photo booth. What a night. RSVP on Facebook here.

Events This Week

We’re a little late this week, but there’s still a ton happening! It’s a great week for minimalist/indie folk music indeed.

Last night was The Listening Room at the Firehouse Theatre Project. If you weren’t there, be sure to make it next month on Tuesday, June 21 from 7:30 to 10p. I had the pleasure of grabbing drinks with Small Houses from Michigan after last night’s show. Rad kids — good music. Have a listen.

Thursday night is Vandaveer with Ferraby Lionheart and The Low Branches at the Sound of Music Recording Studios at 209 N Foushee St. Doors are at 7p and the show starts at 8. There’s a $10 cover, but it will be WELL worth it. Check out the Facebook event page to learn more about the bands and for a pre-show listen. Sneak peak:

“Vandaveer is the song-singing, record-making, globetrotting project penned and put forth by alt-folk tunesmith Mark Charles Heidinger. Born in Ohio, raised in Kentucky, and currently camped out in the nation’s capital, Vandaveer offers up melodic Americana that is both haunting and easy, forlorn and welcoming, with stories as universal as the songs they inhabit. Vandaveer shapeshifts from studio to stage and back with a revolving cast of characters, most prominent among them Rose Guerin, offering up the loveliest harmonies heard this side of Eden.

The Low Branches are a captivating, minimalist-songsmith duo that calls Richmond their home. With carefully placed notes and words, they unfold scenes full of tension and beauty.”

Sunday might technically be next week, but I’m going to include it anyway. At 7:30p, Homemade Knives and Brown Bird will be playing at the Firehouse Theatre Project. This will be my first time with both bands, but I’ve heard great things. Also, the show is free, with donations encouraged. RSVP and get more info via the Facebook event page.

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!

Handsome Furs in RVA

In the past few years, I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in the number of well-known good indie artists passing through our city. Typically you have to shell out a standard concert rate for said artists — usually starting around $20. This Friday, Gallery5 has managed to book the Handsome Furs (comprised of husband and wife duo Dan Boeckner, from Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic, and Alexei Perry) for only $10/ticket!! That’s insanely cheap, so of course I’m going. I would have paid plenty more to see them, but $10 means I can grab a drink or two at the show guilt free! The show starts at 7p. RSVP on Facebook here and buy tickets here.

Gallery5 has been hosting some pretty exciting (and often free) events lately. Tomorrow night (Wednesday) is the Gallery’s six year anniversary celebration! It’s Gallery5 After 5 night — doors open at 5:30p and the event is free. RSVP on Facebook here.

TLR Review

Jonathan Vassar, owner of Triple Stamp Press and musician in several bands (The Speckled Bird, Homemade Knives, Ophelia), asked me to write the official review for February’s Listening Room show — yay! Read it here.



Check out this month’s chapter of The Listening Room on Tuesday, March 29 from 7:30 to 10:30p at The Firehouse Theatre Project. RSVP on Facebook here.

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.

Handmade Goodness

The holidays are here and this weekend officially kicks off the retail madness. Christmas has often been a stressful time for me because of all the “stuff”. As a minimalist, there are very few buyable things that I feel I need, or even want. I did stumble across something that money can buy today in my quest for simplicity.


By rae dunn

This little plaque delicately solves the age old problem of having to ask people to please take off their shoes every time I have guests. I always feel annoying, so now this cute little sign can do the dirty work for me! Life just got a little bit easier, maybe 1%? It all adds up, I say.

I love rae dunn’s work. I stumbled across the San Fran ceramics artist while doing my search for “remove shoes signs” on Etsy, my favorite handmade goods website. Another favorite item is her fortune cookie ornament. What a great little gift idea!

Speaking of gifts, I fully recommend going handmade and supporting the arts community whenever possible. There’s no better way to find a super unique and personalized gift. Richmond is having its very own Bizarre Market for the holidays as well. Currently being hosted on the upper level of Chop Suey in Carytown, find more information on the handmade fair here.

LifeEdited Competition

I stumbled across an awesome design competition today — thanks to one of my best ladies, Brenda. It’s called LifeEdited [a tiny huge design contest] and runs from October 27, 2010 to January 10, 2011. The challenge is to “design a jewel box of an ultra-low-footprint apartment in 420 SF” in NYC for Treehugger founder Graham Hill. Some of the main goals include using one space for work/play/sleep/guests, digitizing everything possible, access versus ownership (Netflix, Zipcar, Airbnb, etc) and a general lifestyle of necessity (nothing extraneous). The grand prize is $10,000 cash along with a few other exciting treats like a Strida folding bike.

This is right up my alley. Man do I wish I had the time! Let me know if you’d like to collaborate — perhaps I could contribute to a team effort. My mind was racing with exciting ideas for minimal and space-saving design as I read the brief. I practice many of the habits described in the competition, such as a shoe-free home with a place at the door for storage. I call this “preventative maintenance”. No shoes equals cleaning the floors every other week versus every week! I’m also in the process of digitizing my old film photos and recently digitized and recycled all of my old planners. Less is more, lovely people.

Apartment Therapy in Richmond!

Next Thursday, November 11, Apartment Therapy’s co-founder Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan will be speaking in Richmond at La Différence in Shockoe Bottom from 6 to 9p. Tickets are $15 for one or $25 for two and all proceeds benefit the School of Richmond Ballet’s need-based scholarship fund. I say it’s worth it — a guaranteed-to-be-awesome speaker and money toward a good cause! Read more and buy tickets here.

FTBB at Balliceaux

Photo credit Cameron Lewis

Wait, you haven’t seen these guys yet?! Fight the Big Bull, a local progressive jazz band, plays at Balliceaux in the Fan about once a month. It’s usually free, too! They are finally settling in after promoting their new album, I Mean to Live Here Still, with David Karsten Daniels. See more photos from this Wednesday’s free show here and be sure to catch their next event! Throw in some brewed cider and you have the perfect autumn mix.