The biggest picture on the wall of my home office is not of my wife or daughter, or our parents, or any other relative. It is of a now long-gone but still cherished member of our family—our first dog. Murphy was a brown and white, thirty-pound Sheltie my wife and I adopted a few years after we married. He was, before our daughter was born, our first “child.” He was a thoroughly lovable dog. Sharp as a tack—I taught him to sit and shake in about ten minutes—an endless source of delight in games of fetch, and great company—most of the time. He was also an incorrigible chowhound, forcing us to guard our food zealously at mealtimes. He exploded into fits of barking and jumping whenever we had guests or if he saw a bicyclist, car, or dog on our walks. We tolerated it all, not knowing that it might be possible to change those behaviors. We figured it was a small price for living with a wonderful dog.
Posts filed under Local Businesses
Kids in the community: Winter Boredum Busters
When the chill of winter sets in and the days grow shorter, it's easy for kids to feel stuck indoors with nothing to do. But winter doesn't have to be boring! From exploring local spots and discovering wildlife in its winter habitat to cozying up with a good book, trying out hands-on crafts, or creating a snow-themed masterpiece at home, there's plenty to keep young minds busy and curious all season long. All it takes is a little creativity to make this frosty time of year fly by.
What's New in the Community, Winter 2025
New Offerings by Local Established Businesses and Practitioners, New Classes, New Books, and more of What’s New in Our Community.
Simply Natural Business: Practices For Creative and Spiritual People
Many creative and spiritual people shy away from starting or growing a business. This is unfortunate because we all benefit when more heart-centered people are active in the marketplace. Some of the reasons business can seem like a “no” have to do with hustle culture, corporate culture, and the general “vibes” of doing business.
Green Living: The Sustainability Imperative: A Call to Slow Down and the Cost of Convenience in Shopping Small
In a world that often feels like it’s spiraling out of control—where climate crises loom, cities buzz relentlessly, and our pace of life rarely allows for a breath—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Amid this chaos, movements like sustainability, slow living, and shopping small have emerged as radical yet simple antidotes. What ties these practices together is the pursuit of a more intentional, connected, and grounded life. Each contributes not only to personal well-being but also to the health of our communities and planet. This interconnected wisdom offers us a pathway to stay sane in an increasingly unstable world.
Kindred Conversations with Hilary Nichols and Curtis Wallace
Curtis Wallace introduced his Be Creative Studio LLC in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 2019 after a lifetime of sharing his art professionally and prolifically. Be Creative Studios honors the honeybee and hexagons in their logo.
Weekend Getaway: Around the Corner – Hillsdale County Excursion
The aura of calm began with our arrival at Munro House, the bed and breakfast serving as our home base. Considering the stately tone of the exterior columns, we were surprised by a casual greeting from Layne, the tween son of owner Chris Riley
All Creatures Great and Small~The Decision
Dogs have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Their unconditional love has provided a lifeline of emotional support during some very dark times. In the aftermath of a failed relationship and a thoroughly broken heart, being accountable to my dogs, and needing to care for them, literally gave me a reason to get up and carry on living. I was struggling with a very bad episode of depression—the kind that comes with such crushing, completely debilitating fatigue that it’s nearly impossible to get out of bed.
Kindred Conversations: Susan McLeary and Kelly Campbell
It was a passion flower that first stopped Susan McLeary in her tracks. The exotic flower ignited her passion and initiated her purpose toward becoming a florist, a designer, an artist, and an author. Yet, educator is the title Susan McLeary identifies with most these days.
Imagine Fitness & Yoga: Getting and Staying Fit with Support and Community
It is not surprising that Dr. Farah got the idea for the name of the fitness and yoga center while on a long run. After all, he has been an athlete and a fitness enthusiast for most of his life. He has run competitive distance races, including more than 100 marathons for decades—19 of them in the famed Boston Marathon. (For several years and last summer at age 79, he ran the Crim which is a 10-mile race in Flint.) He’s also been a sailor, a skier, snowshoer, and bicyclist, and has been leading fitness classes at Imagine Fitness and Yoga ever since it opened in the summer of 2015, less than a year after he got the idea.
Spiedo with Love
Brad Greenhill bought a vertical rotisserie on a whim. As the owner of the James Beard nominated “Best New Restaurant” Detroit’s Takoi, Greenhill wanted to experiment with spit roasting meats. He had the notion that once a new location became available, he might branch out. Last October, along with his team, executive chef Michael Goldberg and General Manager Matthew Ferreira, Greenhil did just that.
Leaps of Faith, Winter 2024, Whitepine Studios
Fast forward to the summer of 2023, and I stood in an elegant gallery in downtown Saline, Michigan looking at a variety of impressive 2D and 3D artwork. I was there to learn how Whitepine Studios went from that upsetting message in 2020 to a thriving women-founded business that had already outgrown its first studio location (opened in 2021). Here is what I learned about their journey from setback to success.
Leaps of Faith, Winter 2024--Grace Proper
When I first heard about Dexter, Michigan’s new boutique gift shop called Grace Proper, a memory passed through my mind. It was from roughly four years ago when I worked at a high-end retail store in Ann Arbor. I was getting to know a fellow employee named Breana Jackson as we worked on what the company referred to as standards—tidying up products to display them perfectly folding t-shirts symmetrically, lining up candle labels, and arranging sizes from smallest to largest. In this memory, Jackson told me where she lived and why she and her husband Dan and their two daughters loved the community of Dexter. She beamed about their country home, great schools, and proximity to Ann Arbor that made them fall in love with the town. She said another reason the Jacksons chose Dexter was that she eventually hoped to open a shop on bucolic Main Street which attracts shoppers and diners from surrounding cities.
Ashes in Art Glass: Encapsulating the Spirit of Remembrance
One local artist has found a way to etch a world of fleeting moments into eternal beauty. Nestled in a studio in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown district, Chris Nordin, the creative mastermind behind the business Ashes in Art Glass, breathes life into the ethereal by transforming the ashes of loved ones into stunning, sculptural remembrance pieces. At the core of this artistry lies a poignant convergence—the intersection of grief and craftsmanship--where glass encases the essence of a human spirit.
What’s New at Crazy Wisdom, Winter 2024
Many people in southeastern Michigan will be excited to know that after being closed since February 15, 2022, Crazy Wisdom Bookstore reopened on December 1, 2023 under the same ownership of Bill Zirinsky and Ruth Schekter, the couple who have shepherded the store forward over the last 30+ years.
Lovingkindness in Action: A Visit to the Arab-American Museum
I stared at the man silhouetted against the murky gray December sky. Strings of blue and white lights arched skyward as he placed them over the turquoise tiled sign announcing in Arabic and English Arab American National Museum. Walking under the lights felt like a metaphor for the threshold I crossed as I entered the building. I stepped into an atrium that reminded me of dun stone buildings and courtyards, sunnier climates, and warm weather clothes. I breathed in, tuning into my body and the stream of sensations.
In Pursuit of the More Perfect Apple at Amrita Farms
Amrita Farms is the only organic apple orchard within over a 50-mile radius for U-Pick apples. The farm was started 27 years ago, on a 54-acre parcel, in order to combine sustainable farming and education in pursuit of an eco-friendly lifestyle. The owner’s first initiative was to help mother nature by planting several hundred evergreens. The farm struggled since its start to find its identity, milling through multiple products with a revenue stream not taking root because of the clay soil. Kymal, known in business circles as a serial entrepreneur, refused to accept failure
Urban Ashes: Triple Wins for the Economy, People, and the Environment
Paul Hickman is one of a number of individuals and companies nationwide, who have a better idea—actually a number of better ideas—about ways to put those 600 trees, and the many thousands more every year throughout the US, to better uses and to sequester their carbon. Hickman is founder of Urban Ashes, a local company that, since 2009, has been using salvaged wood to produce furniture and picture frames, and has done it primarily by employing formerly incarcerated people, a frequently marginalized population.
Leaps of Faith--Fall 2023, London Beauty & Misfit Coffee
This column is a look at brave souls who have taken a leap of faith to open their own businesses in and around Ann Arbor. Business owners who are following their dreams and thriving despite the odds.
Great Tastes in Local Food: Fall 2023
Local restaurant reviews for fall 2023.
