New City Bird studio and store opening in Midtown!

We recently signed a lease on a beautiful space in the Canfield Lofts (the same building which houses the wonderful Bureau of Urban Living) for our new studio and shop/gallery space.  Ours is the ground-floor space directly to the right of the tall birch tree in the photo above.  The shop will sell our own designs in addition to work by others (we're going to feature local and regional designers and artists but will carry great goods from all over).  We're so incredibly excited about it!  Here's an interior shot of the front of the space which will be the shop:

We're busy painting and building fixtures - I'll post some progress shots soon.  It's going to be awesome!  We'll be opening in late October (more details soon) - can't wait!

Hugh Opening

I'm definitely going to head downtown tomorrow night between 8 and midnight to catch the grand opening Hugh, the latest venture from Joe Posch of Mezzanine. A pop-up men's shop located on the ground floor of the Iodent Lofts Building at 2233 Park Avenue, it will only be around for six months, so you'd better make the most of it! Our pals at Model D say that "Hugh will have bar accessories, smoking accessories, some furniture and lighting, host/hostess gifts and decorative accessories." Check it out!

Fluxus at the DIA

Seven or eight years ago I had the opportunity to view the Lila and Gilbert Silverman Fluxus collection which was housed in a small commercial building on Grand River. My friend Cary Loren (of Bookbeat fame) arranged for a visit and I got to tag along. Their collection was huge and amazing and I was blown away! Since that visit, I've often wished that there was some way for the collection to be open to the public. Earlier this year I learned that the Silvermans dissolved the collection and donated the bulk of it to the MoMA in New York, but recently I discovered that they also made a sizable gift to the DIA and some of it is now on view! It's worth a visit and while you are there you should check out the video installations in the "Action Reaction" exhibition and "Photography: the First 100 Years."

Burton Theatre

I'm super excited about this new theater in the neighborhood! Housed in the old Burton International Elementary school (which I attended from about '81-'85!) the Burton Theatre has a blockbuster Fall line-up. Kicking the season off in two weeks with the beautiful 1973 The Spirit of the Beehive, which has haunted me ever since I saw it at the DFT a couple years ago, the inaugural season is also featuring classics (Scarface) and new releases (Dead Snow - a Nazi Zombie thriller). The theater will also house the Cass Avenue Film Syndicate which the theater's website says "exists as a resource for independent filmmakers in Detroit with public outdoor displays of art, lectures from professionals and by providing a space and encouragement to inspire local filmmakers to experiment and create." Awesome.

Read about the theater in the Metro Times and support the theater by attending the benefit tomorrow night at the Magic Stick (8pm, $5) - read more about the event in the Detroiter.

Open City

Tonight is the first Open City meeting of the season! All aspiring Detroit business owners, current Detroit business owners and people interested in Detroit small-business development should attend! It's a great place to meet people and get inspired. Here is some info about this meeting from their website:




"Opportunity in the D"
Co-Sponsored by Model D Media

Join us to kick-off Season 3!
Our first meeting is all about opportunity.
Come learn about exciting new resources to
start or grow your small business in the city.

Speakers:
- Randal Charlton, TechTown
- Olga Stella, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
- Mary King, Detroit Investment Fund

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
6:30-8:30 PM
Cliff Bell's
2030 Park Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48201
www.cliffbells.com

Open and free to all. Seating is limited. Cash bar.
Register in advance at www.modeldmedia.com

DIY Street Fair!

Visit us this weekend at the DIY Street Fair in Ferndale.  We'll be there selling our wares all day Saturday and Sunday along with lots of other super vendors.  There will be yummy food and great bands, too!  We had a blast at last year's fair.  Above is a photo of from our friends at Handmade Detroit.

Leopold's Books

Our friends recently opened Leopold's Books, an amazing new bookstore in Midtown. They're located in the Park Shelton on Woodward at Kirby and have a wonderfully-curated selection of books and magazines - graphic novels, new and classic fiction, interesting nonfiction, art books, comic books, local and independently-published books a great selection of magazines. They're next door to the new location of the always-delicious Good Girls go to Paris Crepes - mmmmmmmm!