Opening the summer of 2011, Ponyride, a 30,000 square-foot warehouse in the Corktown area of Detroit, presently serves as home to 25 socially-conscious businesses, ranging from non-profits like Detroit Soup, to for-profit entrepreneurial ventures like Detroit Denim. Following is my conversation with Ponyride’s Executive Director Kate Bordine on how they made it happen, the power […]
Posted in Detroit, entrepreneurism, Local Business | Also tagged 3rd Ward, branding, Brooklyn, business incubators, Cleveland, co-working, Corktown, Detroit Denim, Detroit Harmonie, Detroit Soup, Empowerment Plan, foreclosure, grants, hip hop dancing, Indiegogo, Kate Bordine, Knight Foundation, letterpress, local non-profits, makers, metalworking, networking, new models for non-profits, non-profits, Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy, Phil Cooley, pop-up retail, Pot and Box, recording studio, Slows Bar BQ, Smith Shop, social entrepreneurship, TechShop Detroit, textiles, the lessons of Detroit, triple bottom line, Two James Distillery, volunteering, woodworking |
By Mark | January 17, 2013
A few days ago, Linete and I foud ourselves in Detroit, without kids, poking around Corktown. The plan was to get something warm to drink at Astro Coffee, but it looked too crowded. Linette peaked in, through one of the fogged-up windows, to see if there was space for me. (She can fit most anywhere. […]
Posted in Ann Arbor, entrepreneurism, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Mark's Life, Uncategorized | Also tagged 2520 Michigan Avenue, absinthe, Andy Didorosi, Astro Coffee, Bureau of Urban Living, Canine to Five, City Bird, Claire Nelson, Cliff Bell’s, cocktails, Corktown, Dave Landrum, Detroit, Detroit Bus Company, Detroit Farm and Garden, Detroit gas stations, Downtown Home and Garden, Emily Linn, entrepreneurism, entrepreneurship, Felch Street, flowers, friends who do cooler stuff that I do, Gallery 555, gardening, Green Dot Stables, Hatch Detroit, Helen Harding, Honor & Folly, ice cream truck, indy retail, Izzy’s, Jean Henry, Joe Posch, Katherine Yates, Le Petite Zinc, Lisa Waud, Liz Blondy, Mercury Bar, Michigan Avenue, Model D, Mudgie’s Deli, new ideas in retail, Open City Detroit, Paper Street, Pete Bailey, Pop-up for the Holidays, pop-up retail, Popular Mechanics, Pot and Box, Rachel Parke, retail in Detroit, Rooselvelt Park, scotch, Slows Bar BQ, Small & Mighty, St. Cece’s, Stagger Lee, The Sugar House, Two James Distillery, urban gardening, Valentine's Day, Xavier’s, YEP, Young Entrepreneurial People |
By Mark | November 4, 2011
Thank you for all of your votes. It looks like our fried Joe Posch has won the grand prize in the Hatch Detroit competition. The following clip is from Crain’s: After several months of buildup and two rounds of voting, Hatch Detroit announced men’s accessories shop Hugh is the winner of its retail contest. Joe […]
By Mark | October 3, 2011
Two of my friends, Joe Posch and Lisa Waud are in the running for a $50,000 prize in a competition called Hatch Detroit. The ultimate objective of the project, according to organizers Ted Balowski and Nick Gorga, is to get entrepreneurs moving into downtown Detroit, and trying new things. And, toward that end, both of […]
Posted in Dreamland Tonight, Retail, Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged business ideas, crazy ideas that just might work, Hasan Mihyar, Hatch, Hatch Detroit, Joe Posch, Lisa Waud, new ideas in retail, Nick Gorga, Pop-up for the Holidays, pop-up retail, Pot and Box, Shop Indie in Ypsi, Ted Balowski, The Great Ypsilanti Retail Challenge |
By Mark | December 22, 2010
Things must be slow at my friend Joe’s shop, Hugh, tonight. He just sent me the following video, which I’m having some trouble interpreting. As best as I can figure, a new breed of furless furry has been discovered… Anyway, if you’re in Detroit, I’d appreciate it if you’d swing by Hugh and check on […]