Branding + Design : Development News

When it came to starting a career, Mary Helen Boeddeker, 24, knew exactly what she wanted to do. As soon as she graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s DAAP program in June 2012, she started her own clothing line for kids.
 
“I knew I wanted to start a brand in Cincinnati to make kids feel great, make moms happy and to bring manufacturing and design back to the United States,” says Boeddeker.
 
Today, much of the clothing bought and sold in the U.S. is created overseas, but Boeddeker didn’t want that for her clothing line, Mary Helen Clothing. She does everything from designing the garments to sourcing fabric, to patterning and creating the clothing.
 
Boeddeker was inspired to start Mary Helen Clothing by her late grandmother, Mary Helen. “She was all about being positive and being yourself,” she says.
 
Mary Helen Clothing isn’t sold in stores. It’s available online and at trunk shows, where Boeddeker goes to customers’ houses and puts on fashion shows with their children.
 
“I love when the girls put on my clothes and their faces light up,” Boeddeker says.
 
Right now, Boeddeker’s main focus is clothing for young girls. But in March, she started a small collection for boys, and she has plans for a collection for moms as well. She also has a collection of unisex clothing in the works.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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For 45 years, Bayer Becker’s civil and transportation engineers, landscape architects, planners and land surveyors have served the Tri-State area. And last month, the design firm opened an office in Over-the-Rhine.
 
“There’s a commitment to the urban core here in OTR, and we want to be part of it,” says Mike Dooley, an associate at Bayer Becker. “We want to be closer to the clients we work with and new talent.”
 
Founded in 1968 by Joseph Bayer and Keith “Sandy” Becker, the firm has served a variety of local and national clients and has consulted on projects in the public and private sectors. The OTR office is Bayer Becker’s fourth office in the Cincinnati area (its home office is in Mason, and there are smaller offices in Fort Mitchell, Ky., and Oxford, Ohio).
 
Bayer Becker’s new office is in the historic Saengerhalle building next to 3CDC and across the street from Washington Park. The firm looked at buildings in the Central Business District, but the opportunity arose in OTR to be near local architects and other design firms, says CFO and Vice President Tim Bayer, who is the son of founder Joseph Bayer.
 
“There are lots of businesses and entertainment here, which was very appealing to us,” Bayer says. “We want to be part of strengthening the community’s employment and aesthetic aspects.”
 
Currently, Bayer Becker is doing land surveying on several properties for 3CDC; they’re in the middle of the bidding process on a property in OTR near the casino. Yard House at The Banks was also a Bayer Becker project.
 
Bayer Becker wants to be a good business citizen and be active in the OTR Chamber of Commerce and be part of other business associations and endeavors in the business community, says Bayer. “Our goal is to continue to strengthen the community through employment, be part of celebrating client success and help improve downtown Cincinnati.”
 
The firm wants to help continue enriching the community, and later this month, they’ll be sponsoring the Urban Awakenings series, which focuses on four Cincinnati neighborhoods that are dedicated to revitalization and rejuvenation.
 
“We want to help OTR be a model for other communities,” Dooley says.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Good things come in small batches, whether its bourbon, beer or branding, says Keith Neltner, the native Kentuckian who has made a name for himself as a designer and filmmaker and darling of the latest Cincinnati ADDY Awards. (Soapbox profiled him last year.)

On the heels of winning an unprecedented three out of four Judge’s Choice awards at this year’s ADDY Awards, he's launching Neltner Small Batch, a venture that allows him to base all of his operations out of his renovated farmhouse studio next door to his home and two doors down from his family’s farm in Camp Springs, Ky.

It also allows Neltner to become a work-at-home dad for his 7-year-old and 3-year-old.

"I've noticed 'family' being a theme in a lot of my work recently," Neltner says. "They're little for such a short time."

Neltner Farms has been his home for his entire life and plays a large role in his identity. The land has been in his family since before the Civil War. That history inspires Neltner Small Batch’s manifesto: “Farming is hard. Sweat is religion. Art is blood.”

Known for his rustic aesthetic and acclaimed work with a wide range of artists (Hank Williams III, Shooter Jennings) and brands (Procter & Gamble, Wrigley’s), Neltner remains true to his well-established roots. “My dad taught me to work hard and be honest,” he says.

One of Neltner Small Batch’s first projects illustrates the connections Neltner continues to make between art, life, hard work and passion. “Black Mule is a brand we're developing in Camp Springs that will release limited edition products,” Neltner says. “Farm tables, pottery, apparel...all made in Kentucky, sourced by local artisans.”

By Sean Peters

Russian-based Unipack Group, a full-service glass container decorating and packaging company that has served the alcohol beverage industry since 1995, is expanding into the United States. Westpack, a new branch of Unipack, will soon have a plant in Covington.
 
Currently, Kentucky is home to about 420 internationally based companies from 30 countries that employ about 80,000 people.
 
“With decoration plants in Russia and Europe, expanding into the U.S. market was a natural next step,” Westpack Managing Director Simon Mnoyan said in a press release. “And selecting the right state for our production was a function of customer logistics, business operating costs and quality of life. The Commonwealth of Kentucky provided and met all three requirements for our expansion. We would like to express our gratitude to the Commonwealth and the City of Covington for guidance and support in our endeavor.”
 
Westpack will mainly serve bourbon, spirits and wine producers, and the perfume and cosmetic industries, but the company will also produce promotional tumblers and other items for the tableware industry, according to Sam Popianksy, director of business development for Westpack, in a press release.
 
The company’s services include screen printing, etching and frosting, electrostatic and liquid organic spray coating, automated hot stamping, PSL and decal application.
 
Unipack’s expansion will create 63 new, full-time jobs and will represent a $4.49 million investment in Northern Kentucky. The 126,000-square-foot facility at 200 W. 43^rd Street in Covington’s Latonia neighborhood isn’t on the riverfront, but in a residential area with retail and other industries.
 
Not only is Westpack creating jobs, but it’s making use of an existing, vacant building. “The redeveloped building will hopefully attract new companies to the area and breathe new life into the market,” says Karen Finan, senior VP at Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation.
 
Construction is to begin on the Westpack plant this spring.
 
Interested in working at Westpack? Send your resume to: sunny.saloman@west-pack.com.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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The property at Fifth and Race streets has seen its fair share of change in the past 14 years. Plans for a Nordstrom, a skyscraper, even condos came and went. The parking lot stayed. But by December 2014, the new dunnhumby Centre will occupy the space.
 
Construction began on Jan. 31 on the nine-story, $122 million building that will house the branding giant’s headquarters. When completed, the project will include a three-level parking garage with 1,000 parking spaces; 30,000 square feet of retail space; and 280,000 square feet of dunnhumby office space.
 
Building plans boast lots of open space and glass windows, plus a wide staircase that will allow for more interaction between employees and less time at their desks.
 
In the future, dunnhumby can expand downward by taking over the parking garage, if needed.
 
dunnhumby currently has about 650 employees, and it plans to grow to more than 1,000 by 2018, which is one of the reasons for the new building. Also, the current dunnhumby headquarters is in the right-of-way for the proposed new Brent Spence Bridge, says Ann Keeling, public relations representative for dunnhumby.
 
Turner Construction Company is building dunnhumby Centre; it’s funded by new market tax credits, 3CDC-managed corporate loan money, and state and conventional loans.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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The branding firm Rocket Science now occupies a third-floor space in downtown Cincinnati’s Eighth Street Design District. The branding and design firm relocated from Mason at the beginning of December to be closer to major companies like P&G, Kroger and Macy’s, as well as other design firms.
 
“We really felt that being in the suburbs precluded us from being part of the local advertising and branding community,” says Chuck Tabri, director of business development and client strategy for Rocket Science, and one of the company’s three partners.
 
Greg Fehrenbach and Joel Warneke founded Rocket Science in 1999 under a different name. The company merged with one in Dayton, then de-merged, and in 2005, became Rocket Science in its current form. At the time of the merge, the firm was based in Mason; it then moved to a space in Deerfield Towne Center.
 
Rocket Science employs about 15 people, and it recently added in-house digital capabilities to its traditional print offerings to assist its clients' shift from print to digital. It made more sense for the company to develop its own digital branch rather than farm it out to another company, Tabri says.
 
Rocket Science had begun to outgrow its space in Mason, and after talks with 3CDC in the fall, the right space opened up. 

And from a talent standpoint, moving downtown gives Rocket Science greater access to young, fresh designers.
 
“Young designers want to be in a more urban environment,” says Tabri. “They get more inspiration from the creativity in a downtown environment than from a strip center in the suburbs.”
 
Because of Rocket Science's size, it can offer new thinking and capabilities that larger firms might not have, says Tabri. He adds that the move will help Rocket Science expand its consumer, business-to-business and healthcare verticals.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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A group of eight University of Cincinnati students have designed seven projects that will bring creative elements to existing, underutilized spaces in Covington. The projects this semester focus mainly on the area around Pike Street and Madison Avenue, but in the future, the class hopes to have a continued impact and involve community members in Covington and other areas in the region.
 
The students are members of Matt Anthony’s Tactical Urbanism class at the UC Niehoff Urban Studio. It’s the first year for the class, but many elements of it have been seen in other classes where students have engaged and built projects that focus on changes in urban areas. Soapbox sat down with Anthony to discuss the impact of the class.
 
Q: Why are the projects based in Covington when there are opportunities in Cincinnati to revitalize the city’s urban core?
A: “Recently, the CDC has been engaged with a few projects in Covington, including some involvement in the studies or development of their Center City Action Plan. Covington itself offered a unique set of issues to address and also a territory that was largely unfamiliar to students, even though we are so close to this very central and urban area.

When we first started talking about doing this project, Frank Russell, director of the CDC, was the first to suggest Covington as a prime location. We’ve been fortunate to have a great relationship with some city officials, such as Natalie Bowers, who is the arts district director in Covington. She has been a great internal champion of arts projects and knows the right channels to get more official approval for some of our projects that require it. Katie Meyers from Renaissance Covington has also helped organize some business and commercial-oriented work.

There are more communities in our region on both sides of the river that we’d like to work with. Our hope is that there is some excitement with these projects and we can take what we learned in Covington and apply it elsewhere. There was interest in some temporary installation projects around the Pendleton neighborhood recently, so that is a possibility.”
 
Q: Has anything like this ever been done at UC before?
A: “I don’t think there have been many projects of this specific type at UC. There have been many design/build activities over the years for both architecture and art projects, especially in urban areas, but I think this is one of the few that have allowed the students to identify the opportunity area themselves through personal research and viewing existing urban studies and then planning a temporary installation.

The studio is called “Tactical Urbanism” after a more recent movement to try to empower people to create temporary projects that have a potential to create long-term change. The idea itself isn’t new, but there is a renewed interest and a growing movement around it right now—I recently heard someone call it ‘urban prototyping.’”
 
Q: What about in Covington?
A: “In Covington, I know there have been various arts engagement projects around the city, including a class from NKU that created an installation under one of the train overpasses, so I don’t think we’re claiming a lot of firsts. The Awesome Collective has also been talking a lot about doing more subversive positive messaging and advertising to make people aware of Covington. But again, I think the student’s control of the projects and the kind of blitz we’re putting on with eight projects is more unique.”
 
Q: Does the Tactical Urbanism class partner with any organizations for projects and/or events?
A: “We’ve done a lot of work with the people from Renaissance Covington and the City of Covington, CSX for train overpass inquiries and various small businesses have been generous with their support of projects in effort and materials. One of our students is collaborating with holiday storefront installations that Covington merchants are planning, and another is working with the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center to transform student drawings into life-size renditions that will enliven a train underpass. So the students have been a whirlwind through Covington and various organizations there.”
 
Q: There are lots of rejuvenation efforts going on throughout the Tri-State area. Why do you think it’s important for students to get involved in rejuvenating a city?
A: “I’ve seen more and more students looking for a way to make a difference in the world by utilizing the skills they are learning in school. I wanted to find a way to connect students with real problems that they could identify and physically make something that could make a difference that they can and should detect, even if it’s limited in scope.

I think it’s important from a civic engagement perspective both from the city’s and the student’s sides. Design and creative problem solving will continue to grow in importance as our cities grow, and empowering students now with experiences in affecting their environment is an important step.”
 
Q: What do you hope to see come out of the tactical urbanism class?
A: “I’d like to see students execute successful projects that are well attended that positively influence the City of Covington. But of equal importance is that the students understand the impact it had and the implications or suggestions they could make to the city regarding the issue they hoped to affect.

A number of students have projects aimed at changing perceptions of areas or creating some awareness around spaces and problems, so I think seeing people gather or talk about those things would be good as well. A number of students have ideas that they are documenting that could successfully be executed again, or have a version that with a few more local champions and perhaps a small cash infusion could scale up to be nice civic projects. So we’re looking for partners whose interest may have been peaked by some of the events to keep the ball rolling.”
 
The projects for this semester kicked off on Nov. 16 with Chalk Walk in the Arcade, and Covington’s first urban golf tournament was held on Nov. 17 on top of City Center Garage. The other projects will be popping up in Covington throughout the month of November.

• Through Nov. 31, images of what Covington looked like in the past will be juxtaposed with what the vacant commercial properties look like today.
• Weekends in November: Empty planters along Madison will see new plant life and help beautify the area.
• Until Nov. 23, signs were on display along sidewalks to encourage people to visit local attractions.
• Friday, Nov. 23: The Covington Urban Spaces Installation Project put up holiday storefront installations in windows near the corner of Pike and Madison, which will be on display until New Year’s.
• Wednesday, Nov. 28: A pop-up park and café will appear under the overpass on Pike to bring together residents and visitors.

By Caitlin Koenig
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With 10 restaurants and bars launched in 10 years, and more set to open soon, Four Entertainment Group (4EG) continues its successful run with Igby’s downtown, at 122 E. Sixth Street in between Main and Walnut streets.

4EG founders Bob Deck, Dave Halpern, Dan Cronican and Ben Klopp have two spaces reserved in the new U Square development in Clifton, one of which will be the group’s third Keystone Grill (other locations are in Covington and Hyde Park) and an adjacent bar.

“I think Cincinnati’s just moving in the right direction,” says Deck. “I grew up here, so, just seeing the city change over the last, you know, six or seven years, with all the independent restaurants and all the independent owners, it’s pretty cool.”
Deck and his partners cemented their commitment to the city by opening a central business office in Over-the-Rhine, across the street from The Anchor-OTR restaurant and above Zula, a bistro and wine bar slated to open soon.

“We moved our offices down here because we’re invested in the city,” Deck says. “We didn’t have a central office, so we thought, ‘Hey what better place than to put our offices down in OTR, and support the whole area and movement.’”

Just across downtown, Igby’s represents 4EG’s collaboration with Core Resources, Beck Architecture and 3CDC. Think its name sounds mysterious? That’s the point.

“We called it Igby’s because we really wanted to come up with a name that didn’t really give you any idea of what the bar would be before you walked in,” Deck says
.
“We’re really designing this bar around good beer, and good wine and good craft, fresh cocktails,” Deck says.

Open Monday through Saturday, Igby’s weekends ramp up the energy by opening its second and third floor open up and featuring a DJ.

The space itself is huge—approximately 7,500 square feet. The Civil War era building posed challenges, but developers persevered through massive restoration work to create a wood-filled, modern and hyper-stylized space. Igby’s atrium features balconies around each level so that patrons can look up or down onto the other floors. Igby’s also has an outdoor patio with a lounge.

Cincinnati Chef Lauren Brown has a five-item menu, featuring oysters, sodabread and cheese and even seasonal salads, that is served from 4 to 10 pm. “It’s really meant to accompany people coming in and having some drinks,” Deck says. “It’s all very high-quality and fresh, and everything we can source locally, we try to source locally. It’s hard to source West Coast oysters locally, though.”

All of the juices for the extensive cocktail list are also fresh. Mixologist Brian Van Flandern from New York created the craft cocktail menu, which includes the bourbon-tinged Black Cherry Sling (with a kick of nutmeg), the Apple Toddler, which has Gerber Apple baby food in it, and locally themed drinks like RedsRum and Naked in Newport. Igby’s has 16 beers on tap, including craft beers, imported bottles and cans.

By Stephanie Kitchens

As brewery equipment rolls into Over-the-Rhine, the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company is just weeks away from reaching another milestone in reviving the Christian Moerlein and Hudepohl names in Cincinnati.

The former home of the Kauffman Brewing Company and Husman’s Potato Chip factory at 1621 Moore Street is nearly converted to brewing headquarters for Moerlein and Hudepohl beers.

With this building, “exponential growth is possible,” says Josh Baker, marketing director for Christian Moerlein.

The lingering question in many beer fans’ minds, though, is simple. What will be the first beer off the new production line?

“Whichever beer we need will be first to be brewed,” says Baker, who hints at a secret ale likely to emerge from the brewing lines soon.

While the Lager House at the Banks will continue brewing to fulfill the restaurant’s beer needs, all other brewing will happen on Moore Street.

At first, the Moerlein lagers and ales and Hudepohl seasonal beers will be brewed on Moore Street, but eventually all the Hudepohl beers will roll off the lines there as well.

Beer won’t be the only focus of the expanded space, Baker says. The location will also feature a banquet hall (in the space that has served as Bock Fest Hall the past few years) as well as a tap room, slated to open next spring. Brewery visitors will be able to purchase their favorite beers in cases, growlers and kegs from the tap room, located in the old Kauffman malt drying room.

Since the building was a pre-refrigeration era brewery, it also offers access to lagering cellars, which are currently featured in several Cincinnati tours, including those given by the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation and redevelopment of Cincinnati’s rich beer brewing roots.

Moerlein and The Brewery District are closely tied with Steve Hampton, executive director for The Brewery District and project architect for the new brewery, and Gregory Hardman, CEO of Christian Moerlein and president of The Brewery District. They plan to incorporate tours and history into the new brewery, which allows visitors to simultaneously experience Cincinnati beer, past and present.

The Brewery District CURC is in charge of the annual Bock Fest, as well as the seasonal Biergarten at Findlay Market. The nonprofit will be in charge of beer sales at an open house for the brewery from 4 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 21.

If all goes smoothly, brewing is set to start “within two weeks after the open house,” says Baker. “People have been knocking on our door wanting to see what is happening. The amount of support and cheers has been overwhelming the past year.”

Guests at the open house can enter a drawing to win one of the first 100 bottles off the production line. The bottles will be numbered, signed and accompanied by a letter of authenticity. Registration for the contest will take place until the open house and can be done at Findlay Market or by mail.

After the open house, the next brewery-related event will be the Third Annual Hudepohl Thanksgiving Eve Turkey Trot featuring $2 Hudepohl Amber Lagers at bars along Main and Vine streets.

By Blaire Mynear
Blaire Mynear is an aspiring biologist and a resident of Walnut Hills

This year, Black Friday will be a “Bright Friday” for the community of Northside.

Up and down Hamilton Avenue, businesses will unveil fun and funky new signs that bedazzle Northside’s main drag. In an unlikely collaboration of 11 businesses, local artists, several zoning officials and one museum, the CoSign project is now a proven success in creating attractive, cohesive street signage with hopes to shape future signage projects in city neighborhoods locally and across the nation.

What started as a broader grant application to ArtPlace America for several city neighborhoods became a personal quest for Northsiders after the city-wide application went unfunded last spring.  

Stepping up with funding support, the Haile US Bank Foundation, Northside partners and the American Sign Museum created a pilot project that paired local businesses and visual artists with sign fabricators to design and install a critical mass of new signage along Hamilton Avenue.  

With an idealistic launch date of November 23, this year’s Black Friday, Eric Avner knew this would be a challenge. “We wanted to do multiple things at once,” says Avner, vice president and senior program manager of the Haile/US Bank Foundation. “Help the sign museum, help local business districts gain vitality and give the creative sector of Cincinnati more opportunities to make a living.”  

The American Sign Museum played a vital role in the project, serving as the primary grant recipient and providing staff as content specialists for the design process. The museum held two August training workshops for artists and businesses, put together a team of professional sign fabricators and installers, and participated in a judging panel to decide upon the best signage proposals from business/artist teams.  

“Part of our mission is to educate the public and special interest groups about signs,” says Tod Swormstedt, founder of the American Sign Museum. “The workshops helped to educate the business owners on why signage is so important for marketing, as well as to educate artists about what is a good sign. Artists may create an aesthetically-pleasing sign, but it may not identify the business well.”   

The week before their unveiling, the American Sign Museum displayed the signage in its brand-new facility near Camp Washington at 1330 Monmouth Street.  

CoSign documented the progress of the project from start to finish with help from The Queen City Project so other communities have the opportunity to replicate the project and broadcast their own creativity and collaborative spirit through signage. And the sign museum plans to go after that ArtPlace grant again - the one it lost just a few short months ago.

Says Swormstedt, “The application is much stronger now, given the learning curve we experienced, the lessons learned and the project’s success.”  

By Becky Johnson

Startup Grind is coming to Cincinnati. On Dec. 6, The Brandery will host a Startup Grind event featuring Tim Schigel, founder of ShareThis, an online sharing platform.
 
Startup Grind is a national organization of founders, entrepreneurs and “wantrapreneurs” looking for inspiration and education, as well as a way to network with the best and brightest in startups. It began in 2010 as friends getting together to chat about startups, but it has grown into an international speaker phenomenon, says Venture for America's Chelsea Koglmeier, who is serving as program coordinator at The Brandery.
 
The first official Startup Grind event was held in Feb. 2010. Nine people attended. Since then, there have been about 50 Startup Grinds around the world. They’re chances to brainstorm, provide and receive feedback on ideas and, just maybe, start something new.
 
There are Startup Grind chapters in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, St. Louis, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, San Diego, Seattle, Tempe and Utah. International chapters are in Budapest, Cyprus, Dubai, Johannesburg, Ottawa, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Ireland, London, Melbourne, North Bay, Singapore and Sydney.
 
The Brandery has never had an event like Startup Grind, but they’re excited about the opportunity.
 
“The startup community in Cincinnati is growing tangibly, and The Brandery is doing everything in its power to provide resources and inspiration to continue the positive upswing of entrepreneurism,” says Koglmeier.
 
During the event, Schigel will be answering questions from Dave Knox, CMO of Rockfish and cofounder of The Brandery. Schigel will also chat about his experience with startups and starting his own business. Then, there will be time for Q&A and networking.

It’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to interact with one another.


There isn’t a deadline for registration, but make sure to sign up early, as The Brandery has limited space. Check out the event’s meetup page for more information.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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A bright, smiling face—it's electric, really—greets diners at today's opening of Metropole on Walnut, the 21c Museum Hotel restaurant downtown.

The art installation, created by New York-based Sanford Biggers, serves as a cultural tease for the more than 8,000 square feet of exhibit space set to open with the 21c before the end of the year.

"We have eight site-specific commissions that are in various stages of being installed," says Molly Swyers, SVP of design and communications for 21c Museum Hotels. The Cincinnati location is the company's second site, with a flagship in Louisville and a third site slated to open next year in Bentonville, Arkansas.

The boutique hotel serves as a free museum open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, Swyers says. Though the iconic 21c penguin sculptures (red in Louisville, yellow in Cincinnati) will remain on-site, curated exhibits within the museum hotel will change regularly.  "On any given visit, you'll see something different or new."

Guests won't even have to enter the 21c to experience the art. Last week, workers began installing a sound installation by Austrian artist Werner Reiterer; it's the same one that used to hang outside 21c's Louisville restaurant, Proof on Main.

"There's a trigger for chandelier inside the hotel," Swyers says."It's been adjusted some and we had to do some engineering around constructing the sidewalk to support it."

The opening of the 21c isn't just a boon for art lovers and foodies. Swyers says the company hired 160 employees property-wide, including a mix of 21c-seasoned pros from Louisville and newcomers from Cincinnati. "You have a good mix of people who have been with 21c for some time and people who are just joining the team," she says.

Metropole chef Michael Paley is one of the Louisville transplants, as is the site's food and beverage manager.

"I'm excited just to open the doors and see people's reactions to the space," says Swyers, who has been working on the project for two years.

As she plans the full opening in the next few weeks, she notes that 21c's historic predecessor, the Metropole Hotel, opened its doors on New Year's Eve in 1912. "It's exciting to make this a public space again, and it's nice to be inviting the public back in."

Follow 21c and Metropole on Walnut on Facebook to find out more about the opening, enter a yellow-penguin-spotting contest and sign up for regular email updates.

By Elissa Yancey
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Looking for something "crafty" to learn, Chris Sutton took up jean-making nearly two years ago.

"I wanted to learn how to make something with my own hands. I'd been doing a lot of tech endeavors, and wanted to get my hands dirty," says Sutton, whose background is in live event production.

Once he began sewing jeans, Sutton found he had a real talent for it. He decided he wanted to make high-quality, American-made jeans, a rarity in today's clothing manufacturing sector. He sought out American sources for his material, thread, zippers and pocket materials. Yes, he found them all in the USA; and he created Noble Denim.

"I wanted to make my own rules around what could and couldn't be done. I wanted to make my jeans in America, and make them as sustainably as possible," he says.

Using his home in Over-the-Rhine as a sewing factory, Sutton began making and selling Noble Denim jeans. Twelve industrial sewing machines later, he moved the company into a space at Camp Washington.

Designer in style and quality, they're meant to have a longer shelf life than your average mass-produced jean. Materials come from suppliers in Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado, Oregon and California.

They're made from raw selvage denim, made through a time-consuming process that makes the material thicker and more durable. This type of denim is supposed to better fit the wearer's body and resist shrinkage.

Sutton launched an online shop in November, where buyers can chose from two styles, Regular and Earnest Slim Straight. The jeans are pricey, $250 a pair, but all materials are 100 percent organic, reclaimed or responsibly produced. Currently Noble Denim sells jeans only for men; a women's line is planned for next fall.

Noble Denim is a young company, and Sutton still does most of the sewing. He does have interns who are learning the jean-making craft. Within the next year, he hopes to hire three or four employees, who'll make 3,000 pairs of jeans a year.

"I want to grow, but only as fast as I can stick to my philosophy," Sutton says. "So our mantra is grow slow, but do it well."

By Feoshia H. Davis
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Advertisers, marketers and PR representatives gathered at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza hotel for the fifth annual Digital Non Conference. This year’s two-day conference featured six keynote speakers and numerous breakout sessions that focused on different aspects of the digital world.
 
AAF Cincinnati founded the Digital Non Conference in 2007 to bring together employees of the more than 400 package design, branding, advertising and marketing firms in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. A few attendees were from firms in Cleveland and NYC, but most were local. 
 
Bing evangelist for Microsoft Jason Dailey’s keynote address on Tuesday focused on innovations in technology. Lesley Fair, senior attorney for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, offered insights into legal rules for the digital age; David Payne, chief digital officer of the Gannett Co., talked about the importance of the "mobile first" mentality; and Dave Dorr, creative director and consultant of Epipheo Studios, shared lessons learned about getting your message across to consumers.
 
“Many of the things in today’s conference weren’t even imagined when the Digital Non Conference began in 2007,” says Lori Krafte, chair of the Digital Non Conference organizing committee.
 
It's true. Some of the technology featured in Dailey’s keynote won’t be made a reality for decades to come. The bare bones of the technology exist, but forward-thinkgin professionals know that it will take lots of testing before every household can have a refrigerator that provides recipes based on the ingredients inside.
 
The breakout sessions gave conference-goers the chance to learn about the digital world in social media, data measurement and related areas. Many sessions featured local entrepreneurs and digital gurus who spoke about their experience with new technology in Cincinnati.
 
By Caitlin Koenig
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Caitlin is also an Associate Editor for Barefoot Proximity

Two recent graduates of The Brandery shared how to pitch a startup idea to investors and potential employees at on of the Digital Non Conference’s breakout sessions last week. Hunter Hammonds and Freddie Pikovsky recently pitched their startup ideas at The Brandery’s Demo Day and are now in the process of procuring funds and building teams.

Hammonds is the CEO and co-founder of Impulcity, a city app that makes a night on the town a breeze. Users can buy tickets to shows and view the specials at bars all in one place. Originally from Louisville, Hammonds came to Cincinnati because of The Brandery.

While searching for employees, he realized Cincinnati has a lot of local talent—he hasn’t needed to hire anyone from outside Ohio yet because of the wealth of designers here.

Pikovsky, originally from Brooklyn, is the CEO and founder of Off Track Planet. His startup began as a travel blog three years ago and is now a travel site and mobile app geared toward people in their mid-20s and early 30s. Pikovsky was drawn to The Brandery like Hammonds was, and wanted to be part of the startup ecosystem.

“Right now is an amazing time to be part of The Brandery,” Pikovsky says.

Hammonds and Pikovsky know it’s important to sell their ideas, whether it’s to a potential investor or new hires. In both cases, they have to make sure the startup’s roadmap is clear and focused; otherwise, investors might not be interested and employees won’t know which way is up.

Off Track Planet recently launched its beta version, and in three months, Pikovsky and his team hope to have the full release out. Impulcity will be launching soon and focusing solely on Cincinnati to start with, but Hammonds’ goal is to have it be an app for those living outside of the Tri-State area too.

By Caitlin Koenig
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Caitlin is an Associate Editor for Barefoot Proximity