Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

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This apartment has basically become my yard, says Alessandro Pasquale, an Italian designer, artist, and collector of incredible and one-of-a-kind pieces. Im an interior designer, so I love details. The little things catch my attention, he adds.

These statements find considerable weight when you scan Alessandros Bed-Stuy home, a 900-square-foot space filled with hundreds of objects hes arranged so that any angle of the apartment can be photographed. But while you may be thinking this guy is either incredibly wealthy or a bit of a shopaholic given his lot, its worth noting that Alessandro isnt raising a paddle at Christies procure these rare items. Rather, since moving to NYC hes become something of a scavenger, plucking obscure items that have been abandoned curbside or trashed in dumpsters, then finding a place for them in his home.

Ahead take a tour of Alessandros apartment,where hundreds of tiny details create one big and beautiful space for him to rest his head.

Where are you originally from?

I am from Padova near Venice but studied architecture and interior design in Rome. I later moved to Milan where a did masters degree at Politecnico in exhibit design. Then I moved to NYC in 2011 with sponsorship from an architectural office.

How did you find this apartment and why did you pick Bed-Stuy?

I had a hard time finding a place because Im Italian and at the time didnt have a credit history. My friend who is now living on the third floor of my building one day called me and told me that the second floor was available. I took it right away because at that point had a lot of money in hand for adeposit but not even a room.

As for the neighborhood: Bed-Stuy for me is still real and not super commercial like Williamsburg. I like the mix of people and especially how nice they areits like a big family here and you know everybody on these blocks. In the past two years that Ive been here, Ive seen some amazing changes in terms of restaurants, coffee shops, wine stores, bars, and the cleanliness of the streets. With that said, I love the neighborhood as it is, but thereality is that in two or three years it will be closer and closer to whats happened to Williamsburg.

How did you go about decorating this apartment?

A lot of things you see in the apartment I found on the street. This apartment has basically become my yard. A lot of my friends ask me how Im able to find all of this stuff, but its crazy because things just come to me.

Once I was searching for a very specific table on eBay and I stepped out in front of my apartment when I was living in Midtown and the doorman had the exact table I wanted. He sold it to me for $5. Another time, I was searching for mirrors and when I was wrapping up a job one day, I spotted several outside in the garbage.

I like to create moods in my home, so theres an idea being carried throughout that any angle of the apartment can be photographed. I try to pull the character out of objects by arranging them particular ways. Theres no TV here because I feel like it is distracting and hinders creativity.

The next step for me is to have a big open space with high ceilings so that I place all these pieces I found on the street on the wall and create an installation with these things.

Where have you found your best stuff?

Because of the projects Im working on, I find myself in Nolita, Soho, and Greenwich Village very often. But most of the thingsthe most quality thingsIve found in Greenwich Village and the West Village. Renovations I work on also reveal some really great pieces. If theyre not reincorporated into the design, Ill take them with me and try to find another use for them.

A lot of people dont know what they have. They throw these beautiful things out and Im shocked. I cant leave these things on the street, so I bring them home and I try to make them work in my space.

How do you feel American style stands up against Italian style?

Theyre truly opposite to me. In Italy, what people have in their homes is pure quality. Italians really love the U.S. and especially New York City, but when we speak about design in Italy, it doesnt have anything to do with America. In the U.S. its all about whats new and design is very business oriented a lot of the time. Things are treated as disposable items even if they have amazing value to themand thats because people just dont know what they have. Theres not this sensibility to preserve things. In Italy, we are exposed to amazing things from childhood so I think our brains develop in such a way that they become driven by beauty.

How would you describe your style?

Madness with a method. You can see there are a lot of little things here but everything has a place. If someone moves something, I know it. Im an interior designer, so I love details. The little things catch my attention. When I step inside a spaceany spaceI close in on the details and details are the most important thing to me. They speak to me a lot: in my work, in my life, everything.

Where do you shop when you do shop?

I dont like to buy things from IKEA. Id rather have less and invest in good piecesat least with respect to what I dont find. I also construct a lot of things myself. Im kind of picky; Not in the sense I need to have super expensive things, but I want the objects I have to communicate something to me. If I can do something myself, its better.

I love to search for things, so online is great for meeBay and 1st Dibs for example. I also got to flea markets, Brimfield. I dont like new things. Contemporary architecture and contemporary design, I dont like. If you spend a lot of money, you can have great things, sure. But I always seek things out from back in the day because with these you can see the process, you can see details in the materials; theyre not just sleek and modern.

For more practical, smaller things Ill go to CB2 and Restoration Hardware, but Im not crazy about going to big retailers and buying new, mass-produced things. I like things that have character.

Where do you find inspiration in the city?

The energy of NYC is my constant inspiration to do better and better. Creativity speaking I get inspired by many things.It can come from a beautiful flower or the worst looking thing. From my photography, you can see how I look at the world, and like I said, I am attracted to details and shadow. The book In Praise of Shadows by Junichir Tanizaki is exactly how I think when I design.

All images taken by James and Karla Murray exclusively for 6sqft

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Neighborhoods : Bedford-Stuyvesant

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My 900sqft: An interior designer fills his Bed-Stuy home with rare ... - 6Sqft (blog)

When Kristen Dees and Mercedes Curran made high school visits on behalf of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles to speak with adolescent students, many of the pupils seemed unsure about pursuing a future in the industry.

It was almost too late, like they were too scared to know if this was something they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, Dees said. Some parents wanted tutoring and mentoring geared toward the college-bound kids. But what about the age before that?

Dees and Curran decided to create Designer Camp, a Los Angeles-based company that held its first Orange County camp last month for students ages 11 to 17.

The weeklong Designer Camp 101 at SOCO in Costa Mesa exposed its participants to the elements of design, color theory, personal branding, trend hunting, sketching and draping.

On top of those building blocks, the camp aimed to teach the students life skills such as teamwork, public speaking and setting deadlines for projects, said the camps Orange County directors Anne-Marie Lockmyer and Rhonda McCaughey.

The 15 students took part in workshops with professionals in business, photography and fashion and interior design.

The designers are real with them, Dees said. Theyll talk about how hard it is, like how you need to know math for measurements and science so you know what materials wash well, what fades in the sun or what works well with ironing.

Kevin Chang / TimesOC

Carly Tawney, 13, left, and Milla Machuca, 17, work together to create an upscale, red-carpet look during Designer Camp 101 at Drifter SoCo in Costa Mesa.

Carly Tawney, 13, left, and Milla Machuca, 17, work together to create an upscale, red-carpet look during Designer Camp 101 at Drifter SoCo in Costa Mesa. (Kevin Chang / TimesOC)

During the weeklong camp, the students broke into different teams to create their own benefit corporation, also known as b corp.

We highlighted b corp, a brand that is for profit but gives back to a social good, Dees said. The whole goal is for them to come up with a company that gives back to a social good and to have them brand that company.

The campers came up with ideas such as selling long socks to help donate pairs to families in colder countries like Mongolia and designing special water bottles to help install clean water pumps to third world countries.

The first Designer Camp 101 took place in Los Angeles in 2015. Since then, the programs in L.A. have grown to include three more camps focused on fashion and styling, interior design and photography.

Dees said she hopes more extended camps will be able to take place at SOCO in the future.

A lot of students [in the L.A. camp] were driving up from Orange County, Dees said. Different brands and companies were also encouraging us to expand.

A cozy nook within the Drifter storefront at SOCO served as the Orange County camp site for the week, where the students could find colored pencils on the table and fabrics hanging on a rack.

Fashion is what really interests me because of how you can express yourself through the clothing, said Jacob Aguilar, 15, a student in the camp who draws inspiration from designers like Jeremy Scott and Charles Jeffrey. I really want to pursue that in the future.

Carly Tawney, 13, attended the Fashion & Styling Camp in L.A. the week before she came to Designer Camp 101 in Orange County.

I would love to work in editorial or be a stylist for a magazine, said Carly. Meeting the different designers has really helped because its shown me that you can go from styling to being a buyer to then marketing. You dont have to narrow down your career to one specific thing in life.

Alexandra.Chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10

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At Designer Camp's first OC session, students get a taste of fashion 101 - Los Angeles Times

Patrice and Richard Ellis sleep in their home, but they livein their backyard.

Theirs is anything but a normal backyard with a 16-foot-by-40-foot porch, a patio, a pond with a fountain, an outdoor kitchen, a gazebo and several planted areas, all designed and built by the Ellises.

But it wasn't always like that.

"When we bought the house in Broussard Oaks in 1978, you came out the back door to a little glass porch," Richard Ellis says. "The whole backyard was nothing but St. Augustine grass, three inches thick, up to the house."

While their two children, Emily and Dawson, were young, the Ellises did nothing to the yard except build a tree house in the back corner.

"The yard was all for the kids," Richard Ellis says. "They just lived in that tree house."

When Dawson made the golf team at Catholic High, he converted part of the yard into a putting green.

In 1981, when St. Joseph's Academy was demolishing its old parking lot, the Ellises asked if they could have the concrete slab. They hauled the pieces of concrete to their backyard, dug out an area on the south side, added a layer of sand and set the pieces of concrete in the sand to make a patio. Several years later, they built a trellis for a swing and a small deck from the house. And, when Richard Ellis' brother decided to give away a fireplace, they took that, too.

The backyard was nice but inefficient with two small patio areas at different ends.

"The area was just not big enough for entertaining, which we love to do," Patrice Ellis said. "We had two entertaining areas that did not work."

In 2010, while Patrice was out of town, Richard Ellis took down the trellised area. And, as they often do, one thing lead to another, and so started the process of redesigning the backyard with the large porch attached to the house.

The Ellises hired someone to frame up the big porch and put in the rafters.

"We did the posts and everything else," Patrice Ellis said. "We painted, did the tile work and moved the fireplace."

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With its seating and dining areas, the porch functions like a large den with wooden shades that can be pulled down in cold weather. Dawson Ellis made the Adirondack-style outdoor furniture.

As part of their improvements, the couple added a work area with a kiln for Patrice Ellis to make pottery, a potting area for gardening and a kitchen. One Christmas, Richard Ellis gave Patrice a book on gazebos and told her to pick one out. They built it together.

Years before, the Ellises had built a pond and landscaped the area around it in a formal English style.

"We got tired of it," Patrice Ellis said, "so one Mother's Day, I got 2,000 pounds of river rock, and Dawson and his wife, Madeline, came and pulled out the old pond. The original liner was there, so they opened it out to make the pond a little bigger and a little less formal."

At the center of the backyard is a water oak planted from a seedling by the Ellises' daughter, Emily Ellis Welch, when she was about 6. She lives in Shreveport with her husband, Johnny, and their two children.

The water oak, along with four live oaks, completely shades the yard, which is lined with masses of aspidistra interspersed with ligularia, nandina, crepe myrtles, caladiums and coleus. There are two main planted areas and a small serenity area around a statue of St. Francis. Connecting the areas are gravel paths laid out and maintained by Richard Ellis.

The last addition is a cottage garden on the street side of the house by the entrance to the backyard. It's the one sunny spot in the yard. They also added an attractive garden shed copied from one they saw in Southern Living magazine. "We built that, too," Richard Ellis said.

Both Richard and Patrice Ellis are from large families, and they are always getting together with family members and friends. They continue the tradition of a Christmas Eve party started by Richard Ellis' mother many years ago. They have New Year's Eve, St. Patrick's Day and often Mardi Gras parties.

"All of our friends know we are going to be in the backyard," Patrice Ellis said.

"We don't use our front door," Richard Ellis added. "You have to come to the side."

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How a Broussard Oaks couple slowly, but surely, created the backyard of their dreams - The Advocate

In her kitchen, Jenifer Strachan never breaks a dish. Every day, meals are eaten on antique china free from cracks or chips. But down in her studio there are piles of cracked and chipped plates, cups, saucers and bowls, dating from 1790 to the 1940s. They live in stacks and get crunched into pieces to begin a new life as mosaics.

Ms. Strachan works in the pique assiette tradition, translating loosely to stolen from dishes.

An ornate curlicue floating on the edge of a plate is a cats whisker or a butterflys antenna. An inscription on an old plate becomes a cats name, Marmalade or Jewel. A blue and white illustration of a ship is placed in the tumultuous swell of a wave.

The shards may be found half buried in the sand on the beach, in tubs of donated dishes on the shelves of Chicken Alley, or stacked at yard sales held on the weekends.Almost every day of my life, someone will give me a dish they loved, said Ms. Strachan. But she doesnt work with just any dish. Ms. Strachan prefers to work with English china.

Tile nippers help her to be precise when breaking dishes. Jeanna Shepard

Ive worked with them for so long, I know exactly how theyll break, she said. These are paintings with plates, so the plates are my palette.

And she never uses a hammer. Its too noisy and wasteful, she said, preferring instead the specific control of tile nippers. In fact, everything about her mosaics comes down to control. The spaces between the shards is as important to the integrity of the piece as the shard itself.

It creates a labyrinth between them, a passageway, even there I use a lot of control, she said. Around the picture I leave a bigger space, but the background is just as important to me.

Words on the dishes, the cartouches on the backs, the texture of a feather edged plate and the pattern all decide the fate of a piece of china.

As Im working, Im constantly inspired by the dishes that I find, Ms. Strachan said.

Blue and white English china makes for frothy reaching waves, a consistent theme in her work inspired by Hokusai. Ms. Strachans work often features animals, be they on land or sea, and water themes. A current commission is a mermaid swirling in the waves, destined to join a narwhal in Aquinnah.

A photograph of one of her mosaics of a North Atlantic right whale recently

made the cover of The National Academies of Science Ocean Studies Report.

Looking at the mosaic still hanging in her home, Ms. Strachan said, I dream a lot about whales.

Breaking it down to build it back up again. Jeanna Shepard

She is drawn to cool colors, blues and greens, finding bright oranges and fiery reds difficult to look at for long periods of time. Born on the Vineyard, its no surprise Ms. Strachan feels a deep connection to the beach. She grew up on the South Shore, looking for arrowheads, picking blueberries and crabbing. Occasionally, shells make their way into her mosaics.

She comes from a long line of artists and people who worked with their hands. Her great-great-great-great grandfather was the renowned Connecticut clock maker Seth Thomas. Her mother made all her clothes, her father did stained glasswork. One grandfather carved wooden birds and did glass art.

She remembers casting concrete mushrooms when she was a child. Her father thought it would be an excellent trick to plant the mushrooms in her grandparents garden.

We liked fun and a little bit of mischief . . . we would never go to stores and buy things, she said. We made everything.

One of those early mushrooms now sits near the dirt path specked with chips of china that leads to her tree-house-like studio, which she built herself. Nearby, sits an eight-foot rabbit chair she hand-sculpted.

Along with a childhood marked by nature, Ms. Strachan also remembers being a careful child. She was a classically trained ballet dancer and played classical flute. She was drawn to arts that favored a light touch and grace to hide the amount strength required. Though she does not dance or play the flute as much as she did in her youth, the discipline to focus on a single task stayed with her.

My work takes a lot of concentration, I have to be able to sit here for hours and hours and hours gluing little pieces together.

Her childhood ingrained within her a sense of wonder and a respect of nature. It also instilled an independence by necessity.

See Jenifer's work at mvmosaics.com Jeanna Shepard

I did run away when I was 16, she said. Ive had to change my life over a couple times. Ive lost everything in my life a couple times.

The losses have helped Ms. Strachan understand she can restart anywhere. Wherever I am I can go to the thrift shop, find some broken dishes and find a piece of wood, she said.

Ms. Strachan is self-taught. Her lessons began in a restaurant called Spoleto in Northampton. She was in grad school and her friend was opening a restaurant. Shed been inspired by a trip to Barcelona where she saw Antonio Gaudis work and suggested covering the 50-foot bar in a mosaic.

From the very beginning, she gravitated toward fine china and slow, careful work.

Everyone was trying to work as fast as they could . . . and I just sat down and made a face of a moon out of these dishes. I sat there for days and days and days making this moon with exact eyes and exact lips.

Though she went to school for science, Ms. Strachan has never been anything but an artist. In graduate school, while studying bio-chemistry, her professors began buying her jewelry and mosaics. All the time Im selling my art, selling my art, selling my art, and I thought, well I like the lifestyle of an artist and I dont really want to work inside in a

laboratory all day long, so I think Ill be an artist, she said.

She was offered a show at the Field Gallery, where she showed for many years through the 1990s. Now she mainly works through commission, often incorporating the clients own dishes into the piece.

Ms. Strachan has innate dish sense; she can walk into a shop and immediately find the exact dish she wants. She also always knows who is calling when the phone rings and can always find peoples lost items.

For a mosaic, she begins with a complete vision in her head and then draws it in detail on a board. I stick right to the drawing thats underneath, I really do, she said. If I do a tongue of a snake or an eyelash on a bird I will find a plate that has that eyelash.

She uses tile nippers to nibble out pieces of plates and cups and turns them into the flowing hair of a mermaid, the regal curve of a right whale, the twinkling eyes of a randy cat. She usually starts with the eyes.

Matching the plate to the piece is mostly about color, she said, with texture added in. Some pieces, like a small mosaic of a coffee cup, utilize the Favrile technique, placing shards at angles to increase the texture of the piece.

In each case, a delicate piece of china is given strength in a mosaic.

Mosaics survive everything, theyve been around for centuries and centuries, Ms. Strachan said.

See Jenifer Strachans work at mvmosaics.com.

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Breaking Into Art, a Shard at a Time - The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News

With the new school year comes new updates, renovations and projects for school districts in and around Howard County. The following is a look at what has changed at area schools.

KOKOMO

The Kokomo School Corporation has been working to renovate several buildings in the district, including Pettit Park and Wallace elementary schools and Maple Crest and Central middle schools.

At Pettit Park Elementary, the district is working to move the administration office and add a cafeteria.

Until now, the administration office has been in the middle of the building, meaning parents and visitors have to walk through the halls to sign in. The change is part of a district-wide initiative to add more security.

The school also has not had a kitchen that allows for food to be prepared on-site, so it has had meals prepared off-site and delivered to Pettit Park. The renovation will allow it to prepare food on-site and will provide a dedicated cafeteria, along with a stage for school performances.

The work at Wallace Elementary is now complete. The school now has a new drop-off area for lower grades, allowing for faster drop-off and pick up before and after school. The renovation included five new classrooms, a new cafeteria and a new kitchen.

At Maple Crest Middle School, the renovations are underway to add a new media center and a new art room. Other work has included a new culinary arts space and renovations to the restrooms. With the culinary arts space, students will be able to prepare food, which they can then sell in the cafeteria.

Work is being done at Central Middle School to expand the media center and renovate other parts of the building.

The district also is renovating its football field and practice field, as well as the track at the high school. The project will transform the fields from grass to synthetic turf, a move that many schools in the state have been making over the last few years.

The projects for the Kokomo School Corporation are expected to be completed from the end of the year into 2018.

TAYLOR

The Taylor Community School Corporation announced earlier this year its plan to add solar panels on land it owns near the middle and high school. The panels will allow the district to generate most to all of its energy needs.

Chris Smith, superintendent of the district, said the project hopefully will allow Taylor to save money in its general fund that is usually spent on power. The money could potentially go toward salaries and classroom supplies.

We run a pretty tight budget so that could really help us out, Smith said.

The work was initially planned for completion by the end of the summer, but a change to specifications for the transformers in the project set it back. Smith said the project should be completed in the next few weeks.

Taylor will be the first district in Howard County to have solar panels, and the project will take advantage of current net metering rules, which will allow the district to sell back energy to Duke at a retail rate, making it cost-effective for the district.

NORTHWESTERN

The Northwestern School Corporation is completing work on its first project for its athletic fields. The current project will ultimately include three renovated fields, changing the fields from grass to synthetic turf. The tennis fields are also included in the projects, and the school is also renovating its pool.

Its going to be a beautiful, beautiful place for the athletic facilities, said Blake Betzner, director of facilities at Northwestern.

Betzner said the rain has slowed the project a little over the summer, but the work is currently wrapping up.

See more here:
New year, new look: Schools work to update facilities - Kokomo Tribune

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According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the average bathroom remodel in 2016 cost a little over $10,000 with 20 percent of that being spent on labor. But if you can do most of the work yourself, just think about the savings.

Tasha Agruso, blogger at Designer Trapped In a Lawyers Body, did just that, and the money she ended up saving was phenomenal. For half that average price, a total of $5,000, she was able to completely remodel the dark and outdated bathroom in her home, turning it into a modern space with a clean look and fun pops of color.

Before the remodel, this bathroom felt outdated with old tiles and dingy carpet.

One of the most dramatic differences is the use of white subway tiles in the bathtub/shower area and wall. Agruso said it was a ton of work, but completely worth it.

After the remodel, the bathroom feels clean and modern.

It just makes all the difference in the world, she wrote on her blog. It serves as the perfect backdrop for this awesome lucite shelves I found at Homegoods. They just wouldn't pop the same way if this wall was just painted.

How to transform your bathroom for $10 Play Video - 1:02

How to transform your bathroom for $10 Play Video - 1:02

These lucite shelves really pop against the subway tile.

A unique design feature is the penny tile used in the shower niches. I love the contrast and visual interest it adds, she said.

Penny tile in the shower niches adds texture and interest.

The outdated cabinets were replaced with a walnut hue, and the counter and sinks were updated, too. Agruso also replaced the tub, toilet and hardware basically everything in the room is new.

New cabinets and countertop give the room an fresher feel.

A fun detail is the rustic, farmhouse-style towel hooks she ordered from Decor Steals. They next to a gallery wall of original artwork from her daughters and pages from inexpensive art print books. Throw in some fun geometric wall vases with air plants and it was a wrap, she said. I love how it turned out.

Unique towel hooks hang on the gallery wall filled with pictures by her kids.

While Agruso and her family did most of the work themselves, they did hire professional help for some plumbing and drywall work, costing about $1,500. See how quickly labor adds up when you don't do it yourself? she pointed out.

See more of the gorgeous DIY bathroom remodel on Agrusos blog.

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This 1 DIY feature turned an outdated bathroom into a modern marvel - Today.com

Sightglass Coffees newest shop at Divisadero and Page in San Francisco. All photos courtesy of Sightglass Coffee.

Last week, San Francisco mainstay Sightglass Coffee opened its fifth retail location in the city by the bay.

At the corner of Divisadero and Page a block north of Lower Haight, the new 2,000-square-foot coffeehouseis the companys third standalone shop, and its first to feature a walk-up window, providing passers-by with the opportunity to snag a quality coffee while hustling on their way.

This location has a lot of street traffic, theres a lot of commuting happening there Its a block off The Wiggle, Sightglass Cofffee Director of Content Arlo Crawford told Daily Coffee News, referring to a popular San Francisco bike route that zig-zags through several neighborhoods. A number of busy bus lines also stop nearby, and so to get coffee in peoples hands quicker, the new shops window service has its own dedicated 2-group La Marzocco Linea turning out a simplified menu that excludes manual pourovers.

For the full Sightglass menu, slow drinks and all, patrons can stroll in among the detailed tile, wood and metal work. Yet for all the intricate details, it was the foundation and originally low ceilings in the 1906 building that required some serious work, making the shop opening four years in the making in order to meet code.

The building required extensive structural work, Crawford said. It was as extensive a rebuild as you could possible do.

Sightglass Divisadero was also a passion project for owners and brothers Jerad and Justin Morrison, both of whom lived in the neighborhood when they launchedthe coffee business eightyears ago, considering it an area of interest from the get-go. Jerad still lives nearby. Said Crawford, Its a feeling like theyve come full circle over there.

Two Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machines turn out drinks ground by a Mazzer Kold and roasted in the companys SOMA-district roastery caf. Manual pourover options are available for those with a moment to spare, while Fetco batch brews are at the ready for those on the move.

The tap system for cold brew and other cold drinks is slightly more elaborate than at the other locations, reflective of a direction Crawford thinks the other bars might follow in time in terms of streamlining cold drink service. However, the menu in the new caf is essentially the same as at other Sightglass spots.

The Sightglass SOMA roastery and cafe.

The focus is just on getting this store dialed in, Crawford said. Its not a growth first company by any means,

The new Sightglass Coffee is open for business at 301 Divisadero Street in San Francisco.

Howard Bryman Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.

Tags: Arlo Crawford, Jerad Morrison, Justin Morrison, Kees van der Westen, San Francisco, Sightglass Coffee, Sightglass Coffee Roasters

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After Years of Work, Sightglass Coffee Opens On San Francisco's Divisadero - Daily Coffee News

The Mall of Georgia is set to begin work on a new food court that they will call The Dining Pavilion and also plan to renovate the outdoor area known as The Village, officials said.

Simon, which owns the mall, said it has its sights set on making the food court into a premier dining destination. In a press release, Simon said the food court will undergo a major transformation that will involve many upgrades, including a new color palette, a bar-height seating area, soft-seating banquettes, communal-style table along with lighting upgrades and new tile flooring.

The mall announced enhancements to the Village that will include a new fire pit, state-of-the-art synthetic turf in the amphitheater and a newly designed childrens play area named The Park. Upgrades will also include the installation of comfortable seating, Adirondack chairs, accent lighting, a new sound system throughout The Village and LED lighting in the interactive fountain.(Artist Rendering: Simon)

Our goal is to continually evolve as a shopping, dining and entertainment destination, both for our local community and across the southeast, said Mall of Georgia General Manager John DiCioccio. This renovation project further strengthens Mall of Georgia as one of the areas premier landmarks and will ultimately provide our guests a next-level experience, whether visiting one of our coveted brands, dining in any of the top eateries or attending one of the many community events and live entertainment held in The Village area.

Officials said renovations will also take place in the mens and family restrooms adjacent to the food court. According to the relase, both restrooms will receive updated paint, modern accent fixtures and upgraded lighting. A new hand washing station will also be installed in the mens restroom corridor. These enhancements follow a recent update of the womens restrooms.

In addition to those areas insise, the mall plans to renovate The Village area located right outside of the food court. That area includes six restaurants including The Cheesecake Fatory, Marlows Tavern and Tin Lizzys Catina. Plans call for a fire pit to be installed in that area as well as state-of-the-art synthetic turf in the amphitheater and a newly designed childrens play area named The Park.

Officials said the renovation will also include the installation of comfortable seating, Adirondack chairs, accent lighting, a new sound system throughout The Village and LED lighting in the interactive fountain.

The plan, officials said, is to have all the renovations completed by the end of the year. The mall will remain open through all phases of the work.

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Mall of Georgia food court, outdoor Village to undergo 'major transformation' - Gwinnettdailypost.com

The small blue and turquoise pieces of the Cannon River wind along the west exterior wall of Faribaults Chamber of Commerce.

Nearby, a grove of trees in shades of green stand at attention and a cluster of daisies is tickled by an oversize hummingbird buzzing overhead. Piece by piece, section by section, Caron Bell affixes the colorful segments of tile to the backing board, made specifically to withstand the weather. With each step up the ladder, the design comes more clearly into focus.

The 5-foot-6 mosaic, which celebrates the life of former Chamber Marketing Director Barb Larson, came from images of the Cannon and the areas wildflowers, said Bell, a Minneapolis artist whose proposal was selected over nine others. Bell said she wanted a design that was reflective of the city and of Larson, a beloved Faribaulter who was killed last December at the chamber office by her ex-husband in a murder-suicide that shocked the community.

It was something Im truly connected to, said Bell. So it didnt feel like work.

Bell, who lost her father, younger brother and longtime boyfriend within a three-year span, said she immediately felt drawn to the project. Grief counseling, she said, taught her that nothing will ever fully take away the sadness that those type of losses bring.

Theres always going to be this hole. Its how we fill it. Why not fill it with goodness, love and kindness? I knew I was going to be picked, she said of her selection, laughing off her prescience.

As Bell, Chamber staff, and Larsons sisters and sons worked to hone the design, the artist wanted to use colors Larson favored and incorporated six words that describe Larson and the Faribault community: welcoming, friendly, beautiful, strong, hopeful and passionate. Those words are embossed in many of the tiles, made specifically for the project by a Minneapolis tile maker.

Barbs son, Erik Larson, who checked on the installation Saturday morning, said he was especially taken with those tiles, and others from Portugal and Italy. The words and the tiles origin truly reflected his mom, her personality and her love of travel, he said.

Watching Bell complete the piece, Erik Larson said he thought how beautiful it was and how beautiful my mom was on the inside and out.

Bell said the project took about two months start to finish.

It follows a remodel of the Chamber lobby where the Larsons died. Its now an open space filled with vivid hues deep turquoise and orange that reach skyward. Chamber President Kymn Anderson, who points out the remodeling was paid for by several local businesses, says a second piece of art honoring Barb Larson will soon grace the lobby. This one, a textile, will be completed by Northfield artist Judy Saye-Willis.

Saye-Willis, a friend of Larsons, shed her initial grief by dying fabrics using deep, dark tones, said Anderson. But as she moved through the shock, the colors became brighter. She ended, Anderson said, by using a turquoise dye on a creamy silk that will be used to create the finished piece, Hope.

The connection to Larson, for mosaic artist Bell, didnt end once the design was set.

During the process, I felt there was motivation because of (Barb) and I could feel her presence, said Bell, noting how the synchronicity would give her chills.

Kymn needs this, she said of Anderson, the community needs this.

Erik Larson said, he, too, has experienced a measure of healing from the artwork and what it represents.

It feels good that the community wants to do this for her, he said. I just cant get over how helpful the community has been. Its home.

Reach Regional Managing Editor Suzanne Rook at 507-333-3134. Follow her on Twitter @rooksuzy

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Artwork celebrates the life of beloved chamber employee - Southernminn.com

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Kitchen Tune-Up of Twin Falls - Twin Falls Times-News