What was just a dream two years ago will become reality this week as two native Toledoans open an art supply store Downtown.

The Art Supply Depo, at 29 S. St. Clair St., will be open 6 to 9 p.m. July 21, during the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo’s July Art Walk. Its first official day of business will be July 22.

Hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday.

Proprietors Jules Webster and Dana Syrek said the shop will fill a niche by specializing in difficult-to-find supplies local artists need.

Dana Syrek and Jules Webster.

“We knew the area needed an art supply store,” said Webster, owner of Shine Ceramics and a graduate of the University of Toledo’s art department. “There’s a real void.”

Webster, a Toledo Free Press Star columnist, said UT once had an art supply store, but it closed. Downtown business Scrap 4 Art deals in scrap art material. Sylvania has For the Love of Art, but there was nothing Downtown, Syrek said.

The business model was inspired by an art supply store Syrek frequented while a student at Miami University in Oxford. That owner caters mainly to Miami’s small art department, working with professors to align what the store carries to what students need for classes.

“A lot of art stores can be overwhelming because there’s just so much stuff,” Syrek said. “This wasn’t overwhelming. It had exactly what I needed.”

The pair is working closely with UT’s art department and has reached out to other local schools as well.

The Art Supply Depo will carry typical items like paint, pastels and colored pencils, but will focus mainly on securing hard-to-find items, including large format paper for printmaking and drawing, rolls of canvas and encaustic, a type of paint made of color pigment and wax.

“There’s nowhere else to get that in town, so we’re really trying to fill some specialty needs for materials,” Syrek said.

The shop will also offer discounted bundle packages containing all the supplies needed for an art class. It will also carry copy paper and basic office supplies, Webster said.

Webster and Syrek, who met through a mutual friend, first looked into buying a franchise but didn’t find one, so they decided to come up with their own concept.

“It was literally one of those things that came to me in the middle of the night,” Syrek said.

Plenty of market research helped focus and refine the model based on what local artists were looking for, Syrek said.

“The model really cares about what people are looking for and that’s the core of how we’re building the business,” Syrek said.

A gallery space will sell work by local artists and patrons will be able to use Wi-Fi, browse art books, read, study and exchange ideas in a lounge area, Webster said.

“We just want it to be a place that sparks creativity and just inspires a new mode of thinking,” Webster said.

Future plans include displaying local artwork and becoming a stop on the Art Walks as well as offering in-store workshops, Webster said.

The store’s logo and website were designed by local artist Jemma Hostetler of Studio Sans Nom.

The Downtown location provides proximity to the UT art department, the Toledo Museum of Art and Toledo School for the Arts, Syrek said. It’s also convenient for the core group of artists who live, work and have studios Downtown.

“A lot of the smaller retail businesses are moving back Downtown,” Syrek said. “We felt like St. Clair Street was really the right neighborhood for us to do well.”

Their idea is testament to the possibilities of small business in Toledo, Syrek said.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this probably anywhere else the way we’re doing it here,” Syrek said. “We really believe in Toledo, we believe in Downtown. Small business is possible here and people should embark on their ventures if they choose to. It’s going to be an exciting week. It’s been a long time coming.”

For more information, visit the website www.artsupplydepo.com.

Tags: Art Walk, Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Dana Syrek, Jemma Hostetler, Jules Webster, Studio Sans Nom, The Art Supply Depo

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 at 9:21 am and is filed under Retail, Star.
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They are proud to live in Toledo and want everyone to know it. They also want to give others a chance to show it.

At least half a dozen entrepreneurs in the Toledo area have independently created pro-Toledo T-shirts, which have been popping up on everyone from local festival-goers to Mayor Mike Bell and members of City Council.

John Amato, founder and president of local clothing company JUPMODE, said the mainly grassroots effort was unplanned.

“I’ve never really seen it as a movement, but recently it has been more noticeable, and you could probably call it that,” Amato said. “We all kind of did it independently. I think it shows there are a lot of people out there realizing the same thing — that they really like Toledo and they want to showcase that and let other people know.”

Amato said the designers are supportive of each other.

“Even though we’re technically competing because we’re making similar T-shirts, we want each other to do well,” Amato said. “I want all those other people selling shirts to sell a lot of shirts because it’s good for Toledo. I think they all share the sentiment of the more shirts like this out there, the better it is for Toledo and Toledoans. It’s all the same message. It’s all about Toledo pride.”

Shirts range from $10 to $26 and are sold at local businesses, including Bozarts, 151 S. St. Clair St.; Downtown Latte, 44 S. St. Clair St.; Glass City Café, 1107 Jackson St.; and Loonar Station, 3142 Markway Road or 5801 Telegraph Road.

Amato’s designs are online at www.jupmode.com.

One of JUPMODE’s 10 Toledo designs features the slogan “You will do better in Toledo.” Mayor Bell has worn the shirt to several recent events.

“For me that was really neat,” said Amato, who grew up in Sylvania and counts himself among those who chose to counteract Toledo’s “brain drain.”

“We aren’t here by default; we’re here because we like Toledo and see opportunities here,” Amato said. “I think the shirts like ‘You will do better in Toledo’ speak to a lot of people because it’s a positive message. These are people who are proud of Toledo and are happy to be here. They want a shirt that says that. You can’t show your pride for Toledo in any better way.”

From left, Max Reddish, Joshua Kulpa, John Amato, Matt Crouse and Rachel Richardson.

Other JUPMODE designs feature references to Toledo history, including Buckeye Beer, the Lion Store, former NFL team the Toledo Maroons and UT football legend Chuck Ealey.

“There are a lot of really neat things that happened here that people may not be aware of,” Amato said. “I like to showcase that history. It gives people from Toledo a reason to be proud because our history really is significant.”

One of the earliest pro-Toledo shirts was actually made as a joke, said Jules Webster, a Toledo native and owner of Shine Ceramics.

Webster, a Toledo Free Press Star contributor,  designed a shirt reading “Chicago doesn’t need you” for Ryan Bunch’s [performing and literary arts coordinator at the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo] birthday party last year only to get orders from members of City Council.

“They debuted as a joke and they sold out instantly,” said Webster, who later made a Portland version as well as a “Team Toledo” design.

Webster and Dana Syrek are opening The Art Supply Depo at 29 S. St. Clair St. on July 21.

Designer Matt Crouse is excited to see pro-Toledo sentiment growing.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the first Toledo shirts; now there’s so many of them,” Crouse said. “It’s a pretty cool thing.”

Crouse’s family, who owns Erd Specialty Graphics and the Glass City Café, has designed seven Toledo shirts, most recently a depiction of the carousel at Walbridge Park.

The café sells shirts from several designers, including Jemma Hostetler, whose shirt reads “I chose Toledo over your bulls–t city.”

Crouse said the shirts get plenty of attention, especially when he wears one while working.

“If I’m wearing someone’s shirt, I sell at least one, two, three shirts a night just by wearing it,” Crouse said.

Crouse said he sees Toledo pride spreading beyond Downtown and Old West End to all corners of the city.

“Years ago, it was embarrassing to say you were from Detroit; now people from Farmington Hills are proud to be from Detroit. I feel like that same thing is happening here,” Crouse said. “I think it’s started to spread. I think people are not as ashamed anymore. It’s becoming cool and kind of accepted to be from here.”

Max Reddish quit his factory job last year to open Reddish Printing, a screen printing shop he operates out of Reddish Sporting Goods, his family’s store in East Toledo.

He has since designed six Toledo T-shirts, including one stating “Boring people hate Toledo,” one with the word “Explore” above a map of Toledo and one depicting the Skyway Memorial Bridge that asks, “Does yours change color?”

Reddish, who sold his shirts out of a backpack until setting up shop at the Erie Street Market on Saturdays, said the shirts offer a Toledo pride alternative to Mud Hens gear.

“The only Toledo swag around for years has been Mud Hens stuff,” Reddish said. “That’s one of the main things I was hearing from people. People love the area and they want to support it and they want to show their support, but there hasn’t been anything around.”

Detroit native Joshua Kulpa came to the same realization. After moving to Toledo for work more than a year ago, Kulpa has fully embraced his adopted home.

“I just started to realize, wow, this was a city I’ve always wanted to live in,’” said Kulpa, citing nice people, gorgeous Metroparks, urban agriculture, a thriving art scene and “a real sense of community spirit.” “The city, just by every measure, is just one of the best cities I’ve ever been in, period.”

He wanted to buy a Toledo shirt to show his support; not finding one, he decided to make his own.

Kulpa’s design, which reads “Toledo Love” in stacked block letters, was inspired by New York City’s iconic “I (heart) NY” shirt.

“I know it’s become cliché now, but the original was a very real and genuine statement people felt and connected with,” Kulpa said. “I think we’re kind of at the same place where New York was when that shirt was made, when it still had the stigma of the ’70s on it. People were like ‘Why would you go to New York?’ But people were like ‘No, it’s fantastic.’ You might have to look a little deeper, but they realized it’s awesome.”

Lifelong Toledo resident Rachel Richardson, founder of Art Corner Toledo and co-founder and co-director of Independent Advocates, recently designed a shirt that reads, “When you’re famous … tell them Toledo sent you.”

“I just feel like everyone in Toledo is so talented,” Richardson said. “I just feel like I personally am a product of Toledo and I hope everyone else feels the same way. I hope we give Toledo and the surrounding area thanks for helping us achieve what we are achieving right now.”

Richardson, a Toledo Free Press Star contributor, said she is excited more people are embracing Toledo.

“I’m thrilled,” Richardson said. “I’ve got a whole drawer of Toledo T-shirts. It’s like my entire wardrobe, There’s so many unique messages, but they’re all basically saying the same thing, which is that Toledo is a really great place to live.”

Tags: Art Corner Toledo, Art Supply Depo, Arts Commision of Greater Toledo, Bozarts, Dana Syrek, Downtown Latté, Erie Street Market, Glass City Cafe, Jemma Hostetler, John Amato, Jules Webster, JUPMODE, Loonar Station, Max Reddish, Metroparks, Mike Bell, Old West End, Rachel Richardson, Ryan Bunch, Skyway Memorial Bridge, Steve Crouse, Toledo Pride Joshua Kulpa

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 at 10:13 am and is filed under ACT, Featured, Star.
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Jurich and Webster: Calling all creatives: Help re-design Toledo

A shift has occurred within the hearts and minds of many in Toledo’s creative community.

During the past four years, a budding group of well-educated, passionate social and artistic entrepreneurs has been laying the foundations for a cultural and economic change in Downtown that has the potential to redefine what Toledo stands for to its citizens and the Midwest.

Our city has a diverse and talented population of visual artists, designers, musicians/producers, poets, writers, social activists and cultural entrepreneurs who have carved out career niches for themselves spanning across artistic disciplines.

We share a collective identity, strengthened by the affirmation of community and rooted in the collective discoveries made as we transform our inner passions and strengths into physical manifestations of visual art or economically productive business enterprises.

We have all heard glorious stories in the media of second-tier, Rust Belt cities re-emerging from post-industrial distress to become centers of economic development and cultural meccas for artists and innovators.  Although it may not be obvious to those who live in the suburbs, this story of urban rejuvenation is our story — Toledo’s story.

Those of us who have a lead role in the narrative, numbering in the hundreds and possibly thousands, invite all Toledo Free Press Star readers and Northwest Ohio residents to actively engage in helping to build and broaden the economic and cultural base of the Great Lakes region.

A small and dedicated few of Toledo’s creative community recently assembled to share our collective and individual histories, and most importantly, our thoughts regarding what we need to sustain and grow our sphere of influence within the city and region.

Through sharing our dialogue with readers of Toledo Free Press Star, we hope to inspire others to get involved in the artistic and creative community, to be the positive change we’d like to see for ourselves and the future of Toledo and the surrounding area.

The late Allan Kaprow, a well-known artist, critic and writer on the dissolution of boundaries between art and life, famously stated that acts of passive regard, even with a trained eye and critical mind, do not signify participation. Stated otherwise, to see and observe is not the same as to be involved.

Consider this an invitation to fully participate in the reshaping of Toledo.

Jules Webster is owner of Shine Ceramics and The Art Supply Dep?, a fine art supply store coming in July to Downtown Toledo. Stacy Jurich is a community organizer and freelancer. Both women are Toledo Free Press Star columnists.

Urban Activist Roundtable

Editor’s Note: Comments have been edited for length.

JULES WEBSTER: Welcome, thanks for coming. So what do we need to sustain and what do we need to grow this creative movement?

STACY JURICH: Just to recap what scene we have here: we have poets, muralists, Hip-Hop artists, visual artists, activists, entrepreneurs. We have people to document the creative class  with video, recording studios, writers. We have potters, all kinds of musicians, people with access to radio, newspapers, TV.

Urban Activist Roundtable at Blarney irish Pub.

IMANI LATEEF: Space is the thing we need the most. It’s nice to have the galleries and a lot of friendly venues, but you only get a space like Artomatic for a couple weeks. We need a space like Artomatic that’s there 365 days a year that we can work in if we wanted and that’s a community-type space for events. There’s so much talent in the city, but all the talent is forced to go to only a handful of places.

DUSTIN HOSTETLER: There’s so much talent out there, but most people are working from their homes. People are creating stuff in really isolated situations. Why things like Artomatic are so successful is because for a short amount of time you showcase stuff that normally you are keeping to yourself or selling outside of Toledo. That’s why [Jerry Gray’s] gallery [Bozarts] is so successful, because it’s focusing on these people who are producing lots of work, but that were doing it mostly behind closed doors. It’s a venue where there’s no pretenses — just show them what you got. We would benefit so much from some sort of more accessible workspace …

BEN LANGLOIS: Like a library, but for art …

DUSTIN HOSTETLER: … Where you could go in and use materials and interact with people. That’s the benefit of Artomatic.

KC SAINT JOHN: And maybe opening it up to educate, encouraging the community to come in …

DUSTIN HOSTETLER: Teaching music because the schools aren’t doing it. It’s the same idea. It’s opening up venues where we’re taking over some of this stuff because it’s not available otherwise.

IMANI LATEEF: It might not be a matter of finding space as much as introducing ourselves as a body to these organizations that need us, like going to the Boys & Girls Club, or going to a Y …

BEN LANGLOIS: Or the Catholic Club on 17th. There are already kids going there every day. That’s a captive audience, information sponges.

LILD: But more than that — and I can only really speak from the Hip-Hop end of it — there needs to be confidence instilled in the artists here. It takes a lot of confidence to take constructive criticism and until the people in the arts here realize they are good enough to make it — Lyfe Jennings made it, Anita Baker is from here. Part of what I’m doing is showing that it’s not about where you’re from or what they say about your CD, it’s about what you do. The artists here don’t believe they can go anywhere. Once they get popular here, they stop because they’re afraid to go to the next city and start over.

STACY JURICH: Other people need to realize there is so much talent here, so that everyone doesn’t have to look to the big cities for the new music or a new CD or a cool scene — they can look here.

DUSTIN HOSTETLER: Not only does the public need to appreciate the talent, but the venues and the promoters need to appreciate the talent is as good or better than the talent they are bringing in. It’s easier for me to get an art show in New York than it is in Toledo; it’s easier for bands to get a gig in Detroit or Ann Arbor than it is in Toledo. It’s a grass is always greener thing.

KC SAINT JOHN: I see a lot of bands saturate the market here. I also see bands that don’t go out of town. You can count on your friends only so often. You’ve got to put your heart on your sleeve, go to another town and then see if your music will stand.

Gig swap. This is something I always tell bands. Get out there and start networking and working together because, just like this group here in Toledo, there are groups that are trying to do the same thing there, so definitely keep pushing things out of Toledo, bringing things through. And document. Record everything. When you go play your show in Chicago, record your show in Chicago. You can’t have a “Live in Paris” CD if you don’t go to Paris and play.

JULES WEBSTER: We’re all doing really amazing things and  we all need to do a better job of documenting and then sharing that documentation. It would do a lot for all of us and get us into the suburbs. We’ve got to get us and our business and our art and our music and our poetry into the ’burbs. And get the ’burbs to come Downtown.

RACHEL RICHARDSON: And not even all the way out to the ‘burbs. When you [Tim Ide] said part of your show would be to document the architecture of a home in the Old West End, why aren’t we documenting architecture in Old Orchard or on the East Side or on George Street Corridor? We need to include the rest of Toledo into this.

I’m being told from a lot of different directions that the Old West End is a very exclusive club and we don’t let anybody in and that is really working on my nerves because I know that I try really hard to include everybody. But I might also be guilty of never going to Perrysburg or Sylvania. I need to work on it myself, but we all need to make Toledoans feel welcome, not just people who hang out in Downtown and in the Old West End.

One of my major goals is to revitalize Downtown; that’s still in my mindset. That’s because I want the people from Sylvania and Perrysburg to come and spend their money in Downtown. But we need to make them feel welcome if they are going to come and spend their money with us.

RYAN BUNCH: I’m interested in getting our story out to people because they need to come down and see what’s happening. But the other thing that needs to happen is while we’re expanding out we really need to focus on expanding inward; Toledo is a very culturally segregated place. It’s not incredibly diverse. I get that comment a lot that when you look around a table, it’s

Ryan Bunch

predominantly white faces. That’s one of the things I loved about the Ground Level. When you walked in that place, everybody was just cool and it didn’t matter, and that was a really rare thing. I think about this a lot. And I don’t know what the answer is. Part of it is we don’t have any mass transportation. We don’t encounter each other on a regular basis in our daily lives, so we kind of live two separate lives. We live at separate parts of the neighborhoods and we don’t cross paths very often. As we’re trying to draw people from the suburbs to come down and see our events, we need to think about who’s already down here, who’s two to three blocks away that’s not coming to the event, that doesn’t know it’s happening right next door to them.

NATHAN MATTIMOE: Collaborating, I think that’s the key to that. I don’t know the Hip-Hop scene in Toledo and I love Hip-Hop. I would love to see more live Hip-Hop at [Ottawa Tavern] or Frankies. It’s opening our minds to different cultural aspects in Toledo. That’s the neat part of Old West End Records. It’s not genre-based at all; it’s completely diverse. Thinking outside of the Old West End and the Ottawa Tavern and these specific hubs is really important because it’s sad to me to get content. Being content is going to be the worst thing that’s gonna happen because we’ll never grow, we’ll never change and we’ll never evolve. We’ll just be cool with what’s been tried already.

JASON QUICK: Toledo is a car culture. People are gonna go where they want to go. If they want to come Downtown and check out whatever, they’re gonna get down here.

JERRY GRAY: This might not come as a shock but a more diverse audience is ideal. A more intelligent audience is what it creates. We need to organize ourselves; we need to organize people, whether it’s patrons, or audience, or artists, or ourselves, our information, we need to document ongoingly, and have the stuff we’ve already documented to put ourselves in context. I have a lot of ideas about starting a digital cultural archive. We could have all our portfolios on two or three terabytes, and that’s a couple hundred bucks. If we set that all up in a formatted way where people could sift through to find the information they want, it can be done fairly easily. People could pay to submit their information, people could pay to buy the information It could become an institution in a moment.

K Saint John and Mighty Wyte.

RYAN BUNCH: Rachel mentioned that we get criticism for being cliquey or exclusionary. I’ve thought about that and I was really concerned about it and then I kind of arrived at the conclusion that that perception comes from a group of people who are working really hard to take control of their neighborhood, and our neighborhood is primarily Downtown. I think you can’t revitalize a city from Old Orchard; it’s not a hub and it’s never going to be. This is the hub, this is the city, this has to live and live really strong before any of that is going to succeed. So if those people are upset about it, then they have a responsibility to take control of their own communities and their own neighborhoods.

JERRY GRAY: I’ve been attacked for not being diverse enough or hospitable enough.

STACY JURICH: Just to comment on what Bunch said about the culture of being culturally segregated, we need to take responsibility amongst ourselves before we start trying to convince suburban people to come Downtown. We need to step out of our own comfort zones.  I went to the Peacock Café to hear Hip-Hop, first time I’ve ever been there. And because you [lilD] are writing in the paper and I am aware of those Hip-Hop shows, I went to the Peacock Cafe instead of going to the OT like I do every other day of the week. So I think if we want to see Hip-Hop, we need to go to where that’s playing instead of trying to get it to come to the OT.

JULES WEBSTER: Maybe we could all just try to be a little more friendly, try to welcome people to our events that we’ve never met before. I actually had someone at Bozarts once who asked me if I worked for the City of Toledo. (laughter) I was like ‘Welcome to Toledo, glad you’re here!’ But I’d like to encourage everyone to do that.  One thing I also think we need to work on is financial

Jules Webster

responsibility for artists, changing that perception of the lazy, unemployed, hard to get a hold of, won’t return phone calls artist. I think a lot of us have probably been that at some point in our careers. I think we’re all past that now, but if we could just kind of keep working on that and keep encouraging that and encouraging financial responsibility and savings. One thing I’m hearing from everyone is we all want another space to hang out in and be a part of, but we’re not going to be able to rent a space or create a space if we don’t have some savings to pull together.

KC SAINT JOHN: You touched on something that I advocate all the time: The 5-Foot Rule. If you come within 5 feet of anybody the rest of your life, you reach out and say hi. It just opens up a friendliness. And then I want to touch on something with the Old West End. Can someone tell me what the heart of the Old West End is and why it’s so awesome? The Toledo Museum of Art. We have got something that’s the most amazing thing and for those of you who aren’t aware, the Old West End is also the largest collection of Victorian houses in the world. People all over the world know the Old West End. They don’t know everything else, but if we can get them in, we can educate them. The art museum is free and it’s ours. Classes, the art, a priceless collection. I mean, you can walk down and have multimillion dollars around you.

IMANI LATEEF: That’s not the thing I would tell people about the Old West End. The thing I’d tell them is that all the artists live in the Old West End. Everything progressive comes out of the Old West End or Downtown. For the most part. Yeah, the art museum is cool, but the real value in that area is the fact that the Collingwood Arts Center is there, the artists, the actual people who create the value for Toledo, are there. The art museum, they’re bringing art from all over the world and rarely would an Old West End artist show there.

TIM IDE: I’d just like to make one comment about social networking. One thing that we can do to promote the entire scene in general is when someone puts something up, share that. I have 2,300 friends and I haven’t added a friend in months. I get friend requests every day because I’m

Tim Ide

building a little buzz. Just click share. It only takes a second and so what? I’m friends with pretty much everybody in here, and when I look at your page we have 82 in common, but you got 380 or whatever, so it’s not the same people.  Spider that around and we’re reaching now thousands of unique individuals and it only take a second. Yeah, I know 180 of my people have already seen it, but the other 2,000 haven’t, so it goes a long way for really free, quick promotion to where you see somebody’s doing something, spam that out for them, knock that out quick.

IMANI LATEEF: As far as documenting where this all started, the first Artomatic was definitely the starting point, the way I see it. Because it did bring all these different genres together in one spot, artists networking far more than they ever did previously. We had Hip-Hop represented, we had the Toledo Ballet, we had every other genre represented. At that point it really pushed the whole creative scene that much further.

And I don’t know if anyone mentioned it, but I think Marc Folk being on the Arts Commission sort of changed the energy for me. I think that’s when things started to really change. I’ve been an artist my whole life, but until around that time, I never actually got a call or an email from the arts commission saying we want you to be involved in this. So they were reaching out to me more and reaching out to other parts of the community, keeping that up is important.

YUSUF LATEEF: I don’t mean to get metaphysical (laughter) —

RACHEL RICHARDSON: Oh, please do!

YUSUF LATEEF: But I think we need a soul. There’s so much body and mass and talent — the body of everything, it’s here. We need to — whether it’s virtual space like the Internet or actual space like a building — whatever we infuse into that has to be a soul that beams out, you know what I mean? Wherever it goes, it just beams out there like a beacon. I can’t wait to say ‘I told you so, I told you so,’ because I saw this coming years ago, just in meeting people and watching people and what they were doing. I saw that, man, this place is just a giant and still growing. But I think right now it’s at a point where we see this thing, now we’ve got to put a name to it, we need to put a face on it. And I think expand it even further than any type of Internet social networking could ever do. It could be something as small as a bumper sticker, it could be a word, it could be a name, like Julie’s shirts, ‘Team Toledo.’ Actually, what did it for me was ‘Chicago Doesn’t Need You.’ That was the shirt that did it for me. I want to wear that to Chicago, you know what I’m saying?

MIGHTY WYTE: What I keep noticing, regardless of what angle we approach it from, is attitude and opinion. Whether it be the attitude of local artist saying I can’t do it, I can’t go to Chicago and be successful, or the opinion of people saying the art crowd is cliquey and not accessible, it all boils down to the way we think. We are the art community, and I think the biggest thing we can do — and we can start doing now, we don’t have to wait for a place or wait for somebody to do something else — is encourage interdependency. What can I help you with? I need CD art, or you need somebody to help you record music, you need somebody to help you master. I need someone to help put a website together. It’s OK to ask for help. If everybody’s accessible and OK with each other, and quick to ask for help, it lightens the mood and everybody’s happier. … Interdependency. It’s free, we can do it now, it’ll change the mood of everything and it’s so easy to do.

BEN LANGLOIS: We’re already aware we’re all working the same audience and that audience is relatively small still. So we are all competing in a way for that same audience at times. The only way around that problem is if we have a show or an event that is competing, we both need to be working just as hard to promote the other one. Just so that the audience in general can be bigger.

DUSTIN HOSTETLER: Five years ago, we didn’t have the problem of there being too many things to do, and I think now we have that all the time and that’s an awesome problem to have. It’s a big-city problem. And you’re right, if I go to your event and you remind me there’s that thing going on across the street afterward, I might actually do a little bar-hopping or I might actually drive across the city and check out more than one thing because God forbid we have multiple experiences in one night with multiple groups of people and spend our money in multiple places.

IMANI LATEEF: Maybe if we promote a collective event for each month, so basically your show is our event and we’re using all of our personal resources to promote your show …

Imani Lateef

YUSUF LATEEF: Possibly, or maybe this particular event is the official Team Toledo event of that night and that’s what we are all doing. So even if we’re sharing other nights, that night no, it’s the official night and maybe we intentionally keep the crowd for two or three different acts ourselves. We act like our own promoter.

MIGHTY WYTE: Organized crime works because it’s organized (laughter)

STACY JURICH: OK, final comments. Thirty seconds each.

JULES WEBSTER: One thing I want to say is that what we don’t have is more support from channels 11, 13, 24 and FOX. I want television coverage of our groups. I feel like we don’t have it.

LILD: I just think we all need to know each other better. Let’s just continue to diversify. Let’s just go to each other’s events and be more supportive and send that support out to the rest of the community.

NATHAN MATTIMOE: We can’t be afraid to crosspromote. We can’t be afraid to be like, ‘I know you’re doing this, but here’s this flier.’ You go to Detroit, fliers are everywhere, from every single other bar; you do that in Toledo and it’s like, Oh my god. It’s just the way it is. Don’t be afraid of that and don’t be afraid of bar owners that are just trying to make their place the hub of culture in Toledo because it’s not gonna happen.

RYAN BUNCH: I think the best way to spread the message is to be an individual ambassador. As much as we’re talking about helping each other promote each other’s events and pushing that outward, I think that’s great, but I think we should also make the personal commitment to once a month visit an area of town that we don’t go to, be it the South End, Old Orchard, or wherever, and go to an event there and talk to people at the those events and tell them what we’re doing. The best way to get people to come down here is to have a conversation with them in a place that they feel comfortable. I’ll take that challenge.

JERRY GRAY: Shake hands more often, stay friendly, just keep doing what you‘re doing and you’ll become more in demand and, as you do, so will your friends, and as they do, so will their friends. Everything’s going a lot better than what I’ve ever seen in Toledo.

DUSTIN HOSTETLER: I’m with Jerry. I don’t think anybody’s doing anything wrong, I just think we need to do more of what we’re already doing.

HAR SIMRIT SINGH: One thing I was thinking about this whole time is when I lived out West it was really cool because there are a lot towns out there that were built upon certain industries

Har Simrit Singh

and some of those industries’ times came and went. There’s just this void that’s left there, and it tends to draw creative people into it. It’s kind of what’s going on in Toledo, but on a larger scale. It’d just be cool to see Toledo follow that energy and move into something bigger and better. Not only just for Toledo but even this region, kind of becoming a cultural mecca for this whole Midwest area and have that be Toledo’s new identity versus Jeep or whatever else that Toledo’s known for. Transvestites on “M*A*S*H” or whatever. (laughter) Let’s redefine it. It’d be cool to see something come out of it.

YUSUF LATEEF: One thing about Toledo is we have a work ethic like crazy. There are more scrappers (laughter), a scrap yard in every corner. I used to scrap. Talk to everybody in a 500-yard radius and somebody scraps. And it’s a small city and there’s still scrap! (laughter) So it’s just like that’s the spirit of Toledo right there. You don’t need a lot to make it. We really create from what’s here. I think that’s the spirit of Toledo and I see it everywhere. We don’t have shit but we got shit. (laughter)

JULES WEBSTER: OK, we’re out of time.

MIGHTY WYTE: Thank you Stacy and Jules for putting this together. This is the catalyst. We all want better things for our city and this is it. We’re getting together and doing it instead of just talking about it. I’m excited.

ARTIST BIOS:

Ryan Bunch: Performing and Literary Arts Coordinator at the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. Music Editor at Toledo.com. Community events coordinator. Former Arts and Entertainment Editor at Toledo City Paper. Poet. Southeast Michigan native. Old West End resident. More info: acgt.org, Toledo.com.

Jerry Gray: Owner of Bozarts. Artist. Writer. Vocalist. Bartender. Advocate. Toledo Free Press Star columnist.

Dustin Hostetler: Graphic artist (under moniker UPSO). Publisher of art magazine Faesthetic. Partner at design agency Studio Sans Nom. Runs Pretend Records. Board member at Arts Commission of Greater Toledo and Old West End Historic District Commission. Co-owner and manager of Grumpy’s Deli. Toledo Free Press Star contributor. Toledo native. More info: dustinhostetler.com.

Tim Ide: Filmmaker. Farmer. Founder of Justajunkie Films. Partner in TiMe To Productions. Producer of the DVD series/TV show “Miserable City … you’re in good company,” an ongoing project documenting Toledo’s music and arts scene. Toledo native. More info: miserablecity.tv (soon to be live).

Stacy Jurich: Activist. Traveler. Community organizer. Advocate of sustainable living. Co-founder of nonprofit Toledo Choose Local. Organizer of Toledo Green Drinks. Board member for Toledo Bicycle Co-op and Urban Environmental Institute. Toledo Free Press Star columnist. Sylvania native. More info: toledochooselocal.com, greendrinks.org, toledobikecoop.org, ueitoledo.com.

Ben Langlois: Musician. Music teacher. Creator of Old West End Records. Toledo native. More info: oldwestendrecords.com.

Imani Lateef: Graphic designer. Poet. Event promoter. Adminstrator and contributor to local events blog Groundleveltoledo.com. Co-owner of former Ground Level Coffeehouse. Raised in Toledo. More info: myillwork.com, groundleveltoledo.com.

Yusuf Lateef: Working Visual Artist (painting/drawing). Operates collaborative Web gallery Lateefinstereo.com with brother Imani.  Raised in Toledo. More info: igotppls.com/lateef.

lilD: Radio host. Entertainment blogger at thewordeyeheard.com. Toledo Free Press Star columnist. Toledo transplant from Louisiana. More info: facebook.com/thewordeyeheard.

Nathan Mattimoe: DJ. Producer. Musician. Sculptor. Member of Detroit-based Bang Tech 12 international DJ collective. Works with Old West End Records. Toledo native. More info: bangtech12.com.

Jason Quick: Singer-songwriter and guitarist. Contributor to OWE Records.

Rachel Richardson: Musician. Activist. Co-founder and co-director of nonprofit Independent Advocates, which works with domestic violence victims. Founder and project coordinator for Art Corner Toledo. Toledo Free Press Star columnist. Product of Toledo. More info: iatoledo.org, artcornertoledo.com.

Kc Saint John: Musician. Glass artist. Fire artist. Owner of Lost Peninsula Arts and Glass and Support Your Local Talent. Former record executive and major label talent manager. Does special events at Toledo Museum of Art. Manager of collaborating artists group The Glass Dojo. Toledo Free Press Star columnist.

More information: www.kcsaintjohn.com.

Har Simrit Singh: Artist. Muralist. Owner of Intuition Clothing Company. More info: www.intuitionclothingco.com.

Jules Webster: Potter. Owner of Shine Ceramics.  Ceramics instructor at Space 237 Galleries.  Pro-Toledo Apparel designer.  Preparing to open a Downtown art supply store called The Art Supply Depo. Toledo Free Press Star columnist. Toledo native. More info: www.artsupplydepo.com, shineceramics.com.

Mighty Wyte: Songwriter. Audio producer. Owner of production company Unfeher Advantage. Toledo Free Press Star music writer. Born in Toledo. More info: mightywyte.com.

Tags: Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, Ben Langlois, Dustin Hostetler, Har Simrit Singh, Imani Lateff, Jason Quick, Jerry Gray, Jules Webster, Kc Saint John, lilD, Marc Folk, Mighty Wyte, Natahn Mattimoe, Rachel Richardson, Ryan Bunch, Stacy Jurich, Tim Ide, UPSO, Urban Activist, Yusuf Lateef

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 at 10:47 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Featured, Star.
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Michael S. Miller will guest host the Feb. 14 broadcast of “Eye on Toledo” at 6 p.m. on WSPD 1370 AM, on the topic of the Forbes “Most Miserable Cities” list. Call the show at (419) 240-1370 and share your opinion.

While channel surfing a few nights ago, I found a “M*A*S*H” episode that featured Jamie Farr in one of his more interesting subplots. Farr’s character, Cpl. Max Klinger, cleared a circle in the 4077th compound and doused himself with what he said was gasoline, preparing to immolate himself unless Col. Potter agreed to send him home with a Section 8 discharge.

It’s easy to take Farr for granted; he has been consistently gracious to Toledo as the decades have flown by, and his comfortable celebrity status overshadows the amazing impact he had through cameos and minor subplots on “M*A*S*H,” working in the shadows of some of the greatest talents in television history.

Farr’s story parallels Toledo’s history. Competing against bigger, richer cities, Toledo has done well but is often relegated to the background and is under-appreciated despite its consistent contributions.

In the “M*A*S*H” episode, Klinger, soaking in “gasoline” and holding a match, offered these final words: “Scatter my ashes over Toledo.”

Apparently, Forbes Magazine is ready to spread Toledo’s ashes over the Midwest.

Forbes named Toledo No. 12 of 20 U.S. cities on its recent “America’s Most Miserable Cities” list. The magazine said, “A recent economic analysis of the Toledo metro forecast that employment would not return to pre-recession levels until after 2025. Unemployment has averaged 10.6% during the past three years.”

Other Ohio cities cited were Cleveland, No. 10, and Youngstown, No. 14. Detroit charted below Toledo at No. 15.

Last year, the business publication ranked Toledo No. 15. Forbes looked at the 200 largest metro areas in the country, with a minimum population of 249,000. It ranked the cities based on qualifiers such as unemployment, taxes, commute times, violent crimes, weather and how professional sports teams played. Housing prices, foreclosures and convictions of elected officials were other factors.

The first response from a classy Toledo guy like me is to open a window facing the Forbes offices in New York City, thrust a middle finger high in the air and bellow, “#&@% you, Forbes!” with pride and road-rage level anger. But that’s not conducive to an intelligent discussion.

Are we miserable? Certainly our city faces elements of misery, but that’s not the same thing as being miserable as a way of life. Unquestionably, there are major crisis-level problems in Toledo. A declining population. Unemployment. City budget issues. Public school system troubles. A crumbling infrastructure. A dearth of business leaders willing and able to step up. Mediocre leadership at the daily newspaper, the University of Toledo and nearly every facet of political leadership on the state, county, city and school board levels.

But those problems are not unique to Toledo, nor are they as bad here as they are in some areas.

There are undoubtedly many miserable people in Toledo, but it would take a lot of research to determine how much of their state of mind is attributable to Toledo and how much would be part of their life no matter where they live.

I have lived and worked in Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, San Jose, Calif., South Florida and Southeast Michigan. Each of those cities offers exciting things, but each of them also offers more than a few challenges that could be described as miserable.

Forbes can crunch its subjective factors and declare Toledo a miserable place to live, but having lived and worked here for more than three decades, I strongly refute that designation. Toledoans are far too varied and interesting a group of people to be labeled as sharing any one characteristic. There may be a tendency toward apathy and there is definitely a deficiency of self-esteem, but that has its roots in Midwestern humility, spiked with an inordinate amount of bad-mouthing and negativity from daily media and a series of egomaniacal politicians.

I could assemble an army of people who love this city and spend their days working to make it a better place. I would need two more pages to list all of them and their respective affiliations, but many of them spread their Glass City Gospel in these pages, through stories about their work or through their own words. Rachel Richardson, Robert Russ, Kc Saint John, Jules Webster, Lisa Renee Ward, Michael Drew Shaw, Alan Cohen, Jennifer and John Rockwood, Tom Waniewski, Bill Kitson, Marc Folk, Martini Rox, Sammy Spann, Doni Miller, Tim Yenrick, Tom Pounds, Ed Beczynski, Eric Slough, Warren Woodberry, Chris Kozak, Stacy Jurich, Contessa Porter, Dustin Hostetler, Justin Moor, Ellen Critchley, Jerry Gray … and there are many more.

We could ignore the Forbes report and pretend it has no impact, but I prefer we stand and fight for our reputation and show the nation that while we are not perfect, we certainly are not miserable, and we are not ready to have our ashes scattered to the wind.

Oh, and by the way: “#&@% you, Forbes!”

Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. E-mail him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: Alan Cohen, Bill Kitson, Chris Kozak, Contessa Porter, Doni Miller, Dustin Hostetler, Ed Beczynski, Ellen Critchley, Eric Slough, Forbes, Jennifer and John Rockwood, Jerry Gray, Jules Webster, Justin Moor, Kc Saint John, Lighting The Fuse, Lisa Renee Ward, Marc Folk, Martini Rox, Michael Drew Shaw, Michael S. Miller, Miserable cities, Rachel Richardson, Robert Russ, Sammy Spann, Stacy Jurich, Tim Yenrick, Tom Pounds, Tom Waniewski, Warren Woodberry

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Letter To The Editor, Opinion.
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My Jan. 19 column, “Schedule C for artists — made simple,” shared some basic information regarding Schedule C, the IRS form attached to your 1040 tax return that breaks down profit and loss for businesses operating as sole proprietorships.

It’s very possible that you are employed full time by someone else’s company, and don’t think that information related to keeping solid expense and profit records applies to your economic situation.  You may be right. However, each of us has some sort of talent, skill or service that can be of benefit to the community and can be sold for income or traded for other goods and services within the market.

In the past 60 years, the United States has shifted from a manufacturing to a service economy. Think of all the goods and services that used to be home-produced — most food was home or community farmed, meals were home-cooked and the majority of clothing was made by Mom.  Today, we purchase most of our food precooked from grocery stores or fastfood restaurants, and the average person under the age of 30 does not know how to repair worn out or torn clothing.  We went from self-sufficient to almost helpless in two generations. As a society, we spend an enormous amount of capital on “ready-made” consumables, capital that could be saved or invested in enterprises that contribute to our long-term well being and financial security.

I’d like to challenge everyone to rethink how they earn their money to pay for their basic needs.  Although many are simply thankful to have a job in this “down” economy, others find themselves unemployed or under-employed.  Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, let’s assess what each of us can do to contribute to the “economic recovery” of our communities and our personal household finances. It’s true that when one door closes, another opens.

If you have lost your job or have had your working hours reduced, this could be your opportunity to review your lifestyle and create a positive change that is also financially empowering. What can each of us do to reverse the unsustainability of consumer-driven lifestyles?  What skills or expertise do you have (or could you develop) that are in demand in your area?  How can you create income and wealth from your God-given talents and education?

I’d like to encourage everyone to “think outside of the box.”  What sort of a job would you have if you could redesign your life from the ground up? Think of what you wanted to be when you were a child.  Did you want to be a doctor or a teacher to nurture others? Did you want to be an artist and sell your paintings? Did you have a love for animals and want to be a veterinarian? Although it may not be possible to go back to school and change professions completely, you can start a small side business that is a derivative of your hobbies and interests.

Those who enjoy spending time with others can become an after-school tutor or babysitter for children of family and friends. If you enjoy animals, create a pet-sitting or dog-walking business. If you have a passion for art, why

not offer lessons to children and retired adults in the community?

There are myriad goods and services we can each contribute to the market. Some other ideas for creating capital include: baking breads and sweets for sale, refinishing and refurbishing old furniture, and offering janitorial/ home cleaning services. The changing seasons also present opportunities for seasonal employment. You could: clean snow from cars and sidewalks, transport elderly community members to the store and to doctors’ appointments, or knit scarves, hats and blankets. In the summer, landscape and plant gardens, paint the exteriors and interiors of houses, repair automobiles and assist homeowners with routine maintenance and renovations.

Remember that it’s also possible to create demand for your labor through advertising and marketing. I never thought that I would be able to make as much money as I do selling Shine and Gloom Ceramics.

Always be optimistic.  What would you create for yourself if you knew you couldn’t fail? Positive change and economic development within our community starts with each of us.

Jules Webster is owner of Shine Ceramics and Shine 419, a division of the business created to promote Toledo’s vibrant creative scene. Visit www.shineceramics.com or e-mail julieshinewebster@gmail.com.

Tags: Jules Webster, Minding Your Creative Business, Shine 419

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 26th, 2011 at 8:08 am and is filed under Mind Your Creative Business, Star.
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For about four years, Rebecca Facey (co-founder and co-director of Independent Advocates) and I have spent much of most workweeks and beyond with an imaginary string connecting us. We’re a team. There’s no doubt about it. We’ve grown accustomed to certain responses when people see us coming. One of our favorites is the “(groan) uh oh … here come the partners in crime …” To which we always answer in unison and probably a little sing-songy (because we’re obnoxious like that), “We’re not partners in crime. We’re partners in peace.”

It’s habit now, but if I remember correctly, the first time we ever said it, it was in spontaneous unison. We share a brain.  We also share the closest thing to a child either one of us is going to have anytime soon. We recently took this analogy all the way and traced back to what month in 2007 we began to “decorate the nursery,” which was when Rebecca was doing all of the difficult stuff like managing our 501(c) (3) application while I was schmoozing and trying to get meetings with people who might be able to give us advice about how to raise this thing.

Not a whole lot has changed. I still do the schmoozing and Rebecca still does the hard stuff, but Independent Advocates is a strong and healthy toddler by now and if it weren’t for the both of us feeding and parenting it, it couldn’t grow. Yep, you heard me right. “Independent” Advocates could not possibly operate “independently” of one another.  We each bring something that the other one doesn’t have but that the agency needs to progress.

I’ll guess that Jacob David and Joel Washing (the “Js” as us “Rs”  call them)  hadn’t considered the “having a baby” analogy in 1993 when they started making movies together — because how uncool would that be for a couple of guys in high school?

But, the outcome is the same. Above the Shop Studios is a fixture in video and film in Toledo. Not only is it the resident videographer for Toledo City Council, but it is very connected to the art community through the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo (ACGT) and seems to always be working with a mind toward documenting and respecting the history and importance of artists and their work in Toledo. I don’t know what the inside of the J’s partnership looks like as far as division of labor goes, but I assume that Jacob’s talents complement Joel’s and vice-versa in ways that only serve to make really solid work and a really solid reputation.

Toledo’s creative class is a bunch of Fertile Myrtles. We recently received word of a new addition to the family.  Proud mamas Jules Webster and Dana Winfield-Syrek have announced the impending arrival of a bouncing baby art supply store on South St. Clair Street in Downtown Toledo due in July. The Art Supply Depo floor plans were spread across my dining room table one evening last week when Jules looked up at me with the most precious mixture of fear, weight and hopeful anxiety in her just-short-of-tearful eyes.

“Dana said we just had a baby,” she said.

“You better believe it,” I said. Then, I went on and on about how amazing it will be and how Toledo will support the effort and that she has nothing to worry about and that the time is now while we have the momentum to revitalize Downtown and to add more layers to the artist-friendly atmosphere, poised for the Great Toledo Brain Gain of the 2010s.

These partnerships are so powerful to think about. Jules said to me once (and I immediately relayed to Rebecca) that, “You should only go into business with someone who you respect more than you do yourself, because you’ll never want to let them down.”

That’s some pretty intense motivation, but absolutely necessary when the level of responsibility is so high.

Thank goodness for the biological clocks of artist and activist teams in Toledo. What I think may be the moral of this story is that you don’t always have to make a human when you hear the ticking.

You can make action instead.

Rachel Richardson is an activist, musician, co-founder and co-director of Independent Advocates, and a product of Toledo, Ohio. E-mail her at star@toledofreepress.com.

Tags: ACT, Independent Advocates, Jules Webster, Rachel Richardson, Rebecca Facey

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 at 11:06 am and is filed under ACT, Star.
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2010 was a good year for many artists and designers in Toledo. Although the economic downturn was unkind to some in our field, others saw their sales and the demand for artwork and art-related services (graphic, Web, and sound design; event promotion) increase beyond expectations. When you reach the point where your hobby or side job becomes a regular form of work for profit, you are required to file a Schedule C with your 1040 tax return.

Many people aren’t comfortable taking on the responsibility of converting their primary form of artistic expression into a “for profit” entity, and are even more uncomfortable keeping business records and filing paperwork with the appropriate government agencies. I felt the same way until I sat down with a certified public accountant who explained how the IRS categorizes types of deductible expenses for sole-proprietors. Most artists are sole-proprietors, and the paperwork required for this type of business is relatively simple. Even if you take in only slightly more money than you spend on art materials and supplies used in art production, you can significantly reduce the amount you owe in taxes or increase your return by keeping accurate records of your expenses and deducting them from the amount of your taxable income.

Each artist and business is different; consult a professional CPA who can assess your situation and help prepare your tax return. The more organized your records, the smaller the fee for preparing your return. Print or download the two-page Form 1040 Schedule C and related instructions at www.irs.gov and familiarize yourself with the documents. Most artists will list their expenses in 10 or fewer categories in Part II: Expenses of Schedule C and itemize large or miscellaneous purchases in Part V: Other Expenses.

For ease of preparing your year-end taxes, keep a running total (which you tally and record at the close of each month) of how much your business spent in the following deductible categories. The number listed next to the expense category title corresponds with numbers found on Schedule C. Assume that all receipts being counted are ordinary, necessary and generally accepted within your business field.

• O 8-Advertising. The cost of print ads, design services, website production, TV and radio commercials, postcards and printing for all promotional materials.
• 9-Car Expenses. Keep a log of all miles driven for business purposes. This does not include the miles driven to and from home to your office or main workplace. It’s usually better to record your mileage and be reimbursed at the set mileage rate than claim itemized car-related costs. Keep a tab of tolls and parking fees incurred because of your work.
• 17-Legal and Professional Services. Fees paid to lawyers and accountants who prepare business documents.
• 18-Office Expenses. Pencils, pens, paper, ink, Post-its, file folders, envelopes, tape, etc. This category also includes money spent on postage and package delivery. It does not include office furniture or computer equipment, which are listed on Form 4562 and depreciate over several years.
• 20-Rent. The amount paid for office/ studio space.
• 22-Supplies. A broad category which includes all merchandise and materials purchased for resale or consumed during one year’s production. It also includes professional equipment with a useful life of one year or less such as paint brushes and dust masks.
• 23-Taxes and Licenses. Keep records of the sales tax paid to the state and government fees related to starting or operating the business.
• 25-Utilities. Total cost of utilities for your workplace. Does not include home phone or cellular lines, unless the phones were added on top of current “base” coverage and used for the business.
• 27-Other Expenses. This is the sum of all business-related expenses that don’t fit into other categories. These expenses are itemized in Part V and can include, but are not limited to: computers and related equipment, credit-card processing fees, tuition for classes/training in your field, selling expenses (juried show and craft fair booth fees), professional photographic services and a plethora of other things. File copies of all miscellaneous or questionable expenses and have your tax professional help you decide where to account for each.

More info on the Schedule C and helpful tips will be continued in the next Star.

Jules Webster is owner of Shine Ceramics and Shine 419, a division of the business created to promote Toledo’s vibrant creative scene. Visit www.shineceramics.com or e-mail julieshinewebster@gmail.com.

Tags: Jules Webster, Mind Your Creative Business

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 20th, 2011 at 5:56 am and is filed under Mind Your Creative Business, Star.
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Nothing beats getting out of the daily humdrum once a week to learn something new in a vibrant, creative space, believes local artist Jules Webster of Shine Ceramics.

Webster, Space 237’s resident artist and ceramics instructor, has released her new schedule of winter clay classes at the gallery’s ClaySpace, 237 N. Michigan Ave., in Downtown Toledo.

Jules Webster at a pottery wheel.

Two new classes are among the offerings, a beginning wheel-throwing class for kids and a hand-building functional tableware class for adults.

“I do a lot of tableware in my own work personally,” Webster said. “A lot of people just think of the wheel when they think of ceramics, and maybe have tried it in the past and weren’t good at it so have given it up, but really there are an unlimited number of ways to make ceramics and pottery.”

Webster, who contributes a column to Toledo Free Press Star, said kids like her classes because she gives them instruction but doesn’t force them into specific projects, letting them come up with their own creative solutions, while adults sometimes come in nervous but end up thrilled with their finished products.

“Because classes are relatively short, it’s not that hard to integrate it into one’s schedule, but you get a lot out of the time that goes into it,” Webster said.

Classes are as follows:

• Beginning Throwing for Adults (day class): Four sessions, $95, Tuesdays, Jan. 11, 18, 25, and Feb. 1, Noon-1:30 p.m.
• Beginning Throwing for Adults (evening class): Four sessions, $95, Thursdays, Jan. 13, 20, 27, and Feb. 3, 7:30-9 p.m.
• Beginning Throwing for Teens (evening class): Four sessions, $90, Thursdays, Jan. 13, 20, 27, and Feb. 3, 5:30-7 p.m.
• Beginning Throwing for Kids, Age 8-13 (Saturday class): Four sessions, $90, Saturdays, Jan. 15, 22, 29 and Feb. 5, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m
• In these sessions, participants will learn wheel-throwing basics through a demonstration by the instructor followed by guided hands-on wheel time. The fee includes 20 pounds of stoneware clay. An optional one-hour glazing workshop will be offered at the end of each four-week session for $15. See www.space237.com for dates and times.
• Beginning Sculpture for Kids, Age 5-11 (Saturday class): Three sessions, $75, Saturdays, Jan. 15, 22, 29, 1-2:30 p.m. This class will explore sculpting and building techniques. Class size will be limited to six participants.
• Hand-building Functional Tableware for Adults (day class): Four sessions, includes glazing, $95, Thursdays, Jan 13, 20, 27, and Feb. 3. Noon-1:30 p.m. In this class, participants will learn the basics of working with slabs of clay to create beautiful and functional tableware. Pieces will be glazed during the last session using lead-free and food-safe glazes.
• Create Your Own Class: If a class is full, doesn’t work in your schedule or you don’t see what you are interested in, Webster also offers the option to create your own class.

To register for a class, contact Webster at

julieshinewebster@gmail.com or (419) 460-3673. For information about the classes and facilities, visit www.space237.com. For more information on the instructor, visit www.shineceramics.com.

Tags: Clay, Jules Webster

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 9:17 am and is filed under Education, Star.
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What do fine art, Starbucks Coffee and a new pair of Nikes have in common? All of these items are purchased with expendable income, the money left after the essential bills are accounted for. These items are all “lifestyle enhancing” luxury items, not exactly necessary, but they make us feel good when we buy them and project a certain level of social status.

When artists think about their “competition,” they often think that means other artists and craftspeople.  In reality, our competition is any service provider or merchandise retailer that gets the last cut of an individual’s budget after the groceries are bought and the utilities are paid.

Although many of us in the “creative class” would argue that having art around the home is essential to living a fulfilled life, there are families struggling to make ends meet who would disagree. Regardless of one’s perception of the value of having art in the home, and no matter how limited resources may be, everyone will splurge once in a while and make purchases outside of their budget.  Starbucks and Nike know this, and they use attractive packaging to create demand for consumers to buy goods they want but don’t need. I suggest that we “creatives” rip off some of advertising ideas from large corporations in an effort to take back a part of the expendable income market share.

Remember that people often buy art because it makes them feel good; it’s a “little luxury.” Creating hip packaging that will increase the value perception and demand for your work is a snap and will give you a competitive edge on your competition for consumers’ disposable income.  The easiest place to start is with bags and boxes for customers to tote your products home after purchase.  Good packaging will protect the art within, reflect the aesthetic philosophy of the artist, make it easier for your customer to transport the product and include information on where to find more of your pieces for sale. You can buy new paper bags and boxes from a wholesale retailer in any size that will accommodate anything from small jewelry to large blown-glass vases. Papermart.com has an enormous selection of inexpensive wholesale packaging options that will accommodate almost anything; the only downside is that it isn’t a local company (if there are any local wholesale package retailers, please contact me, as I’d love to keep my money in the area).

If you want to be more environmentally friendly, find used paper bags or boxes that will fit your products and “up-cycle” them by painting over the existing graphics and cover them with a label or graphic of your own. Explain that your choice to employ recycled materials is mindful and intentional, and your customer will have a greater appreciation for your art and your thoughtfulness.

Design a package label that includes your contact information using the same color scheme, fonts and logo that appear on your business card and bio (see the previous MYCB column for tips on creating these items).   If you have friends who are graphic designers, ask them to assist you with the layout. Microsoft Word has templates for every size label ever made, but I recommend Avery Label # 6464 or 6462 (3 1/3-by-4 inches) for larger bag and package labels. Use the smaller Avery 8160 to make a label with your name and website to affix to the back of the product, if possible.

Create your labels using Paint and Word, or insert a jpeg design created in Photoshop or Illustrator into the template. Blank adhesive labels can be purchased in all shapes and sizes from any office supply store. If you’d prefer not to spend money on adhesive labels, print your label design on cardstock and use spray adhesive to affix your logo and info to your packages.

Custom packaging enhances the credibility of your product and of yourself as a maker, and creates the image of your work as a luxury good worthy of one’s hard-earned discretionary income.  A small investment of time and money will reap large returns in increased customer confidence while ensuring that your customers will be able to find your product when they have more money to spend in the future.

Jules Webster is owner of Shine Ceramics and Shine 419, a division of the business created to promote the Toledo area’s vibrant creative scene. Visit www.shineceramics.com or e-mail julieshinewebster@gmail.com.

Tags: Jules Webster, Mind Your Creative Business, Shine 419, Shine Ceramics

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 at 10:40 am and is filed under Mind Your Creative Business, Star.
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With the holiday gift-giving season right around the corner, I’ve begun ramping up production of my most popular pieces in preparation for the busiest months of the year. The holidays are sure to cause an increase in new-customer sales, and with a little effort you can turn the one-time purchaser into a lifelong collector of your work. Many people love to give and receive handmade gifts because of the connection of the piece with the hand and heart of the artist.

Creating promotional materials and packaging to accompany a piece when it is sold or given is an effective way to “brand” yourself using your aesthetic style. The information on your cards, statement and bio also increase the perception of value for what you’ve created.

There are a few things that every artist should make or have printed, without exception. These basics include a business card, postcard, biography and artist’s statement about your work.  Also helpful in making sales now and in the future are tags or labels to adhere to your artwork and a printed brochure with pictures of current pieces.  Bags, boxes and packaging labeled with your name and website are also highly encouraged, as they assume a level of professionalism beyond beginner or student status.

Professional printing of all these materials could be costly.  All your printed info can be made inexpensively at home or the studio. A paper cutter, simple computer software and heavyweight card stock are all that’s needed to get started.

First and easiest to create: the business card.  Every artist, at every level from student to professional, should never leave the house without a business card. It doesn’t have to be the standard 3.5-by-2-inch rectangle; anything that will fit easily into the wallet or pocket will do. The most striking card I’ve seen from a local artist was a little larger than a fortune-cookie slogan. It included a small logo, a representation of his signature, e-mail, phone number, and the words “call or TXT.” The back of the card included an abstract geometric pattern that referenced his minimalist paintings. The card is simple yet complex by containing only the necessary information, and is visually striking because of the smaller than average format.

Because the majority of my sales are driven by weekly retail shows and galleries, I’ve adapted the business card to a larger postcard format to include listings of the names and locations of upcoming events. I use Microsoft Word and Paint to create a hybrid flyer & business card that includes my logo, contact info, a cropped detail photo of my work and a listing on the reverse of galleries and gift shops that carry my products.

Also necessary is a biography of the artist that tells about your style and materials used, as well as the definitive aspects of your aesthetic that distinguish you from others in your medium. For retail sales purposes, you can combine both the bio and statement on the same card. Keep it short and succinct. It’s better to leave your audience hungry for more information than to detail your entire educational history with a list of awards won.

The average individual outside of the art world is more interested in the personality and emotion driving the work than the technical details of one’s resume. If possible, also include a small photo of yourself at work, engaging in one of the definitive processes of creating art.  With this bio, you’re selling the value of purchase price for the piece as well as yourself as a maker of fine goods.  A potential buyer is more likely to invest in your work if they believe you will continue to create for years to come, assuring that the piece will retain or grow in value.

Update your business and postcards, bio and statement before every exhibition to ensure that all the information is accurate. Don’t expect clients to buy into your work and philosophy if you aren’t willing to invest the time and effort to create a solid and professional first impression with print materials.

Tips for creating packaging appropriate for your artwork will be continued in the next Toledo Free Press Star.

Jules Webster is owner of Shine Ceramics and Shine 419, a division of the business created to promote the Toledo area’s vibrant creative scene. Visit www.shineceramics.com or e-mail julieshinewebster@gmail.com.

Tags: Jules Webster, Mind Your Creative Business, Shine 419, Shine Ceramics

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 at 6:53 pm and is filed under Mind Your Creative Business, Star.
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