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Business models with impact

GOOD Tuesday, January 31, 2012

We've made it a habit to check out what's cooking at GOOD magazine on a daily basis. Every Friday, GOOD gives some space over to a budding entrepreneurial leader with vision to present a 1-minute video.

Ahmad Ahskar is founder and chief operating officer of the Hult Global Case Challenge, an international competition that pits teams of business school students against one in another to develop social enterprise solutions to the world's most pressing problems.

Check out the video here.

'After the Factory' film contrasts Detroit with Polish city

HuffPost Detroit Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Documentary filmmaker Philip Lauri and cinematographer Steven Oliver got a chance to mix with creative filmmakers from a world-renowned film school -- which produced Andrej Wajda, Roman Polanski and many others -- and with the aid of producers and translators, the filmmakers launched a month-long cinematic investigation of Lodz, Poland.

The result is After the Factory, a tale of two cities an ocean apart but sharing a number of characteristics.

The film screens at the Detroit Film Theatre Feb. 2. Read all about the project here.

What is the Detroit brand? Experiencing people and place

Forbes Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Independent filmmaker Erik Proulx spent nearly two years traveling to Detroit to film Lemonade: Detroit, trying to find stories of reinvention that accurately reflect its brand. A brand, he says he could have never fully grasped without the first hand experience of being there.

Experience was the teacher for Proulx, as it is for us all.

He writes all about it for Forbes, no less. Great stuff. Read about it here.

AIA: Detroit part of "New Big Three" for practicing architects

American Institute of Architects Tuesday, January 24, 2012

In the voluminous, intriguing scholarly piece, writer Wellington Reiter describes Detroit, New Orleans and Phoenix as U.S. cities "that have visited the frontlines of the future and are reporting back to the rest of the us, a bit wobbly and worse for wear, but still standing and in some respects, regaining their footing."

The rest of his paper is even better. Read it here.

Bethany Shorb's 'ties that don't suck' make Etsy's list of 1,000 handmade sellers

Handmadeology Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Etsy, as many of you know, is an international marketplace made up of a community of artists, thinkers, doers, makers, sellers, buyers and collectors.

So it's none too shabby when you're biz places 20th out of 1,000, as did Bethany Shorb and her Cyberoptix line of ties. Look for her moniker, Toybreaker, hit it and check out Shorb's fab collection of hand-printed wearables, all produced in a studio on Techno Boulevard (that's Gratiot, on the southern edge of Eastern Market).

Michigan Municipal League touts economic importance of immigrants

MIchigan Municipal League Tuesday, January 17, 2012

A new report by the Immigration Policy Center shows Michigan's immigrant population growing, excelling educationally and contributing to the state's economy.

Using the latest census data, the report shows that in 2010, immigrants made up 6 percent of the state's population or 587,747 persons. This compares to 1990 when the figure was 3.8 percent.

Follow Model D's coverage of this topic in the pages of Model D in the coming months and read more about the Immigration Policy Center report here.

Photography beyond the 'poetic inconsequence' of ruin porn

Design Observer Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Dave Jordano was a student of photography at the College for Creative Studies in the early 1970s. Following the example of his photography heroes -- Walker Evans, Robert Frank and others -- he set out back then to photograph his city.

He came recently back to "re-photograph" the city. The result is an overall picture of Detroit that connects decades 40 years apart.

Take a look at the entire piece here.

BBC reports: Space for growth in Detroit

BBC Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Sure, you may have heard much of this before -- that the city is underserved by national food chains, the manufacturing base has collapsed and population has been on a decades-long decline -- but it does feel kinda good to get the BBC to weigh in on urban farming, Eastern Market, the importance of Whole Foods entering the marketplace and, of course, the creative possibilities of having incredible amounts of space as an asset.

Read it all here.

'Work, Reimagined': Detroit producer pens a piece for Yes! Magazine

Yes! Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Independent radio producer Zac Rosen takes a dive into Detroit's creative communities and comes up with some blueprints for the changing nature of work. COLORS--Detroit, On the Rise bakery and the Boggs Educational Center are part of "a revolution of values," he writes. Nicely put.

Read the whole story here.

Giddy up: Pony Ride nurtures creative life in Corktown

Vimeo Tuesday, January 10, 2012

You heard? A group of outside the box investors, including Phil Cooley of Slows, purchased an 80-year-old factory on the corner of Vermont and Porter streets last spring and created a community empowerment project that enables artist and social innovators to get massive amounts of space at an affordable price. You probably did, since we ran this story about the Corktown incubator in November.

But that's OK, because it looks even better in this video clip. Roll the tape and check it out here.

Kickstart Kresge grant winner Steve Hughes' 'Stupor' project with Matthew Barney

Kickstarter Tuesday, January 10, 2012

When writer-builder Steve Hughes met art world maverick Matthew Barney a few years back on a Detroit film set, who knew the two would hit it off and one day collaborate on a book project as part of Hughes' elegantly wasted 'Stupor' series? It's a match made in, well, some stinking, cinematic barroom in a town that is equal parts Hamtramck (where Hughes lives and gets plenty of inspiration) and Boise, Idaho, where Barney spent his formative years.

We don't really know, it's just a guess on our part. But we're eager to see the finished product, to be called Washed in Dirt. Help support it here. Then listen to WDET-FM's Rob St. Mary talk to Hughes here.

DC3 helps grow collective voice for Detroit creatives

Detroit Creative Corridor Center Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Speakers Bureau is an initiative by the Detroit Creative Corridor Center to help establish a voice for Detroit’s creative community. This collective voice is that of many people and businesses who demonstrate forward progress in the city.

All of these individual entities have worked with or work alongside the DC3 in Detroit. Maybe they’ve participated in the Creative Ventures Program or consulted with the DC3 staff on a location for their business. Whatever the case, this is the story of Detroit’s forward movements through our lens. Read all about it here.

HuffPo Detroit rounds up Dan Gilbert's greatest hits of 2011

HuffPost Detroit Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Most of us have followed the multiple stories of Quicken Loans founder/chairman Dan Gilbert buying up Detroit skyscrapers in the lower Woodward corridor. His newish company, Bedrock Real Estate Services LLC, manages the properties.

And there are hints of more to come. While we wait, HuffPost Detroit editor Simone Landon maps out Gilbert's real estate scores -- purchased for a cool, cumulative $50 million -- here.

Knight Foundation's BME reinforces good works of Detroit's African American men

HuffPost Detroit Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Knight's Black Male Engagement program is rolling forward in Detroit and Philadelphia. Since BME launched, over 1,000 African American men have shared their stories. It offers a chance for community leaders to talk about their projects and connect with others doing similar work in Detroit.

One of the participants is Curtis Lipscomb of KICK, and organization that supports LGBT African Americans. In his BME video, Lipscomb says he's worked with over 3,000 people in nearly 20 years of service.

See the KICK video and read the entire story here.

HuffPost Detroit's top 11 tech startups for 2011

HuffPost Detroit Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Our friends at HuffPost Detroit are ending the year with some best of lists and roundups just like we are. This week, a list of the 11 top tech startups is making the rounds around the webs.

Check it out here.

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