*see below

designerslocal216 — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:57:35 +0000

Made in the 216, a mega-huge event spotlighting amazing things from amazing Clevelanders. A small sampling of items includes jewelry, handbags, clothing, tees, hats, art, paper goods, music, & food. Here is a link to a preview of some necklaces from Modern Pixie. & to get you in the mood … Regretsy. Where DIY meets WTF. You won’t see this kind of stuff at 216 … but that’s a good thing. Don’t forget to check out the “dead things” category of Regretsy, you won’t Regretsy it. —sorry, I couldn’t resist!

designerslocal216 — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 21:13:38 +0000

DIY Wed. Two former co-workers, who ditched their jobs in sales to use their design degrees, artisitcally collaborated for the first time. If you haven’t guessed one of the fore mentioned is me & the other is local artist Nicole Haney. As you can see the results were, well, fantastic! Her knowledge of printmaking & mine of graphic design joined forces to make the kind of wedding invitations people blow entire paychecks to purchase. Please take note of the shine paper & the neon ink.

designerslocal216 — Sun, 23 May 2010 00:25:52 +0000

Vegans like ranch too. Ranch dressing, or as my friend Brien once called it, American dressing, is the perfect condiment for just about anything. This being said everyone deserves to eat our national treasure & vegans are no exception. Here is a super easy recipe for it:

1 cup of Vegenasie

1 cup of unsweetened soy or non-dairy milk

1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1-2 Tsp of Penzeys Buttermilk Ranch Seasoning

a splash of red wine vinegar

fresh ground pepper to taste

Dissolve the ranch flavoring into a teaspoon of water & let stand for 5 min, this re-hydrates the spices & releases the flavor. Then combine all ingredients into a jar & shake, shake, shake! Done. Ranch dressing.

designerslocal216 — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:11:16 +0000

Look at blog Michael. & banner. & bike. Anyway, I’m back to bloggin & here is a peek at my new super sweet bike, sans back break, of course.

designerslocal216 — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:20:06 +0000

Oh Seoul. Seoul, South Korea, where your morning doughnut will cost 10,000 won and omnipresent couples wear matching outfits. Home to the Dr. Fish and English teachers from America. Neighbor to Kim Jong-Il and Northern Korea.
An altogether fascinating place, I was fortunate enough to explore in the hands of a semi-local. A close friend teaches English to groups of 5 and 6 years olds in a hogwan (English school) in Seoul. Visiting her at school was an experience in and of itself with the adorable youngsters being made to learn the order of the planets in our solar system. Did you know it takes Mercury 88 days to orbit the sun? These kids did and could shout it at the top of their lungs.

Korea had more adventures for me though. We attended a breakdancing marionette show, performed to the soundtrack of Amelie and visually stunning. Afterwards a trip to Dr. Fish. An innovative coffee shop where once you finish your latte, $3USD extra will get you 15 minutes in the fish tank. Your feet that is, hungry fish are anxiously awaiting your fleshy footsies arrival so they can nibble away at your dead skin.

Other magical finds included an old style teahouse with actual birds flying around in the rafters and singing, A fish market with sea curiousities galore and Artbox my new favorite stationary store.

If you dont find yourself taking a few years off to go teaching English in Korea, at least it can be reccommended as an interesting stopover during Asian travels. Sandwiched between China and Japan makes jumping around very easy & Seoul is a charming treat, just the place for a long weekend.

—Stephanie Hauk

Ms. Hauk is a native Clevelander, but is guest bloging from Hong Honk. She is obsessed with all things beautiful. See her blog HERE.

designerslocal216 — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:31:37 +0000

Graffiti in Paris. I’m a fan of street art & everything I know on the topic I owe to my good friend & artist Zachary. I really enjoyed what I saw on the streets of Paris. Since I had no background knowledge of the names, crews or even the language my brain viewed it as abstract art. I was drawn to the color combinations & juxtaposition of bright edgy designs and classically elegant architecture.

designerslocal216 — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:55:59 +0000

Spring mix-tape. No more snow, no more heavy coats, and no more SNOW!!! I might be jumping the gun here as it is only March and it is Cleveland. However, the weather is beautiful right now and I wanted to share with you some songs that makes me feel that spring is here.

For my first post as a guest blogger I put together my springtime playlist, perfect for spring cleaning, taking a drive to the country, or relaxing on a front porch. I have provided some links to the songs on youtube. Of course if you like them, buy them at your local record store, MUSIC SAVES.

—Jeff Sierpuotwski

_______________

Bisbee Blue – Calexico

Polish Girls – Califone

Lovesong of The Buzzards – Iron and Wine

Breezes – David Vandervelde

What is Life - George Harrison

Lookin’ Out My Back Door – Creedence Clearwater Revival

No Redemption Song – Jason Collett

Tegucigalpa – Fruit Bats

The Rabbit, the Bat, and the Reindeer – Dr. Dog

It Doesn’t always have to be Beautiful – Slow Club

In the Aeroplane of Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel

People Got A Lotta Nerve – Neko Case-

Here Comes My Baby – The Tremeloes

ELT – Wilco-

Bag of Hammers – Thao with the Get Down Stay Down

_______________

Jeff is a music fan & photographer. He loves all things Cleveland, including the weather.

designerslocal216 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:19:23 +0000

Need a new wardrobe? Maybe you just need Weardrobe. This is a blog generated by users who post their latest outfits. It sounds lame at first, but most users use awesome vintage finds to complete their looks. I find it very inspiring to peruse the featured looks. Not only is the clothing great, but I find the the photography is quite good too. Although Weardrobe is like a free magazine, it is most importantly a grass roots approach to fashion, not dictated by a single editor or brand.

designerslocal216 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:03:20 +0000

The happiest music in the world. “Happy Hour” reaches a new level at the Happy Dog when DJ Kishka takes up his post behind the turn table. From the bandstand DJ Kishka unites 20-somethings & folks reliving thier glory days all in one room, & more shockingly with the same music! But don’t be fooled, the happiest music in the world isn’t always paired with the nicest lyrics. A few of my favorites include She’s Too Fat for Me, the Strip Polka, Ice Cubes in Beer & the sadist of all No Beer on Sunday! The music fits seamlessly into the aesthetic of the bar. I love that The Happy Dog has embraced its old world charm even while being a part of an up & coming neighborhood. To me, hanging out there always felt like I was drinking in my grandparent’s rec-room. Now I feel like thier records are there too! Polka Night, as I refer to it, is hands down the one thing in Cleveland EVERYONE should experience, it is classic Cleveland! Join the fun this Friday for some tots ‘n shots —tater tots that is.

Polka Happy Hour 6-9pm, Tonight!

designerslocal216 — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:24:58 +0000

Not a baking disaster. A few weeks ago, when my winter cabin fever was full blown, I had an urge to bake cookies. I opened up my Joy of Vegan Baking cook book only to find I didn’t have the ingredients to complete any one recipe. I made a variation of the sugar cookie recipe found in the book with a 1/2 empty bag of trail mix I found in the pantry. & by variation I mean I only used 1/2 the amount of earth balance the recipe called for. So I shut the book and decided to wing it! I substituted substitutions, I added oil for some reason & ground flax seeds to substitute the egg replacer. Truthfully, the only reason I went on with the baking is because I already put most of the stuff in the bowl before I realized how bare the pantry was! They say baking is more of an exact science, something not to really mess with. Somehow I made cookies though. I can’t pretend I’m not surprised that they were not only edible, but REALLY GOOD! Next time I’ll plan ahead and have the necessary ingredients, but the addition of trail mix with dates, almonds, raisins, & seeds is a great mix in to any vegan cookie recipe!