designcincinnati

schwartz's point

Schwartz's Point now has a new website. "Ed Moss invites you to the most intimate jazz experience. Jazz at Schwartz’s Point, great jazz is the point."

click to enlarge

From the website: How often have you headed up Vine Street and stopped at the five-way corner at West McMicken, waiting for the light to change and staring up at a funky triangular building with a circular sign naming it “Schwartz’s Point?” Reward you’re curosity and go in side for a musical treasure that’s been around for a while but is only just getting on people’s radar. The Jazz Club is the longtime labor of love of Jazz pianist Ed Moss, who happens to live upstairs. He’s always at the keyboard; and depending on the night he might be joined by singer Pam Ross or vocalist Kathy Wade.

Check out the site for the calendar, music clips, newsletter signup, etc.

balluminaria

Check out this cool video of the Balluminaria event held a few weeks ago in Eden Park:

blue wisp

I like this Soapboxmedia.com video about the Blue Wisp:

weekend

I hope you are all having a great weekend so far. I've been to the movies, spent a lazy Friday night people watching and listening to indie bands on Fountain Square, walked through the wonderful Friendship Park, had a picnic with an amazing view...

click to enlarge

I hope you are getting outside and enjoying the amazingly chilly and NOT HUMID July weather!

What have all of you been up to so far this weekend?

cincinnati t-shirt fest

I'm excited to check out this year's Cincinnati T-Shirt Fest, being held this Friday (July 17) on Fountain Square from 11am to 11pm.

click to enlarge

The list of vendors include: Park + Vine, Nati Evolvement, Alternative Motive, Wire & Twine, Donkey Tees/Look at Me Shirts, among others.

(Check out the interview with Nati Evolvement on local fashion blog, The Style Sample.)

The t-shirt sale will also be happening during MidPoint's weekly Indie Summer concert series with Wussy, Roundhead, The Tigerlilies and Pasquali.

otr/gateway summer celebration

I think all of you should stop by the OTR/Gateway Summer Celebration on June 20th.

From the event website: "This year is the kickoff event for the celebration. Over-the-Rhine has a rich, colorful and historic past. It is the most diverse and architecturally significant neighborhood in Cincinnati. The OTR/Gateway Celebration will create a gathering that celebrates the past, present and future of OTR."

Check out some really cool indie art/craft vendors, including: ICFTB (It Came From The Basement), Ovenfried Beads, Wire&Twine, Visualingual, among several others. Oh, and I will have a booth there, too, so say hello if you are a designcincinnati reader!

click to enlarge

There will also be some cool bands, such as: The Pink Ladies, Matthew Shelton’s Picnic, The Sundresses, and several others.

The event is on June 20th at the corner of 12th & Vine in the Gateway Quarter in Over-the-Rhine. The event starts at 10am and ends at 7pm. Check out the event page on Facebook, too.

See you there!

flowers

I really like this year's flower carpet on Fountain Square.

click to enlarge

You find the concentric circle thing a lot in graphic design these days. But, I really like how this allowed the designer to break out of the normal carpet-means-a-big-rectangle that the flower carpet designers have used the past few years. For an aerial photo, check out Queen City Survey.

The carpet is being dismantled on Sunday, April 26. The plants will be handed out for free. The remaining will be planted in local parks.

game?

I guess I am a bit late reporting this, but through most of November these curious marks started appearing throughout the city...

images from www.cincipulse.ourtown.com | click to enlarge

According to cincipulse.com, "Many people who have noticed the game’s spray-painted navigation markings have speculated it’s a wild pub crawl, but owners of bars along the way say they are unaware of any such thing. Some believe the curious trail of painted arrows is a scavenger hunt. Others have theorized the trail is part of some sort of initiation or fraternity or sorority hazing."

The markings begin at Party Source in Bellevue and end at Boswell Alley in Northside. That eight miles by car.

This is pretty cool. Anyone have any updated info?

ha ha

Via Twitter, Wine Me Dine Me alerted everyone to this hilarious postcard that showed up on Post Secret the other day.

image via postsecret.blogspot.com | click to enlarge

As Julie said, "I guess [the postcard sender] doesn't like WCPO." Too funny.

fashiony

The current issue of Cincinnati Magazine has a fun article about the process that the fashion design students go through before the annual spring DAAP Fashion Show. Starting with the "final crit" senior students present a collection of 4-5 garments based on a theme, and idea, literature, event, etc. Once that is complete, students show their creations at the DAAP Fashion Show, usually held in June.

images from cincinnati magazine | click to enlarge

I've always been interested in fashion. I had even planned on studying it in college, until someone at my parents' church, who was a high school art teacher, said to me, "Well, you'll end up designing socks for J.C. Penny, so I wouldn't waste your time." That pretty much killed that dream.

images from cincinnati magazine | click to enlarge

Anyway, the DAAP Fashion Show is one of those "I can't believe I am in Cincinnati" events that everybody should go to at least once. Tickets are hard to get, so get them early through the School of Design at DAAP.

yard sale

A long time thrifter, I'd never been to the World's Longest Yard Sale, which passes through Cincinnati. I've never really been in to garage and yard sales. They are sort of hit or miss. Actually, they are more miss than hit, in my experience.

click to enlarge

However, since it was such a nice day, Blake and I decided to head down to Mainstrasse to check it out. Fueled by a large latte, we had a good time. My attention span didn't last that long, however, and after about two hours we left. (Unlike some other people that are turning it into a huge multiple day event.)

I did find some cool stuff for my Etsy shop...

northside rocks!

image from northsiderocks.com

If you've never been to the Northside 4th of July parade, then you're missing one of the best local events of the year. The parade starts at noon at the corner of Ashtree and Hamilton, heads down Hamilton, ending at the festival in Hoffner Park. Check the website for more info and for the schedule and list of bands playing at the "rock 'n roll carnival."

dinner and a movie

I recently found this Enquirer article via the Esquire Theatre web page. These are the reasons why I love living a half a block from Ludlow avenue...

"We've surveyed people at the Esquire," says Morrison, adding that he believes the demographic and desires are fairly similar at the Mariemont. "More than half of our patrons are repeat customers. Many of them come here so they can eat on Ludlow before or after the movie. They like it because they've got Graeter's a few feet from the front door (also true at the Mariemont). And Biaggio's and Ambar and Skyline," he says rattling off a trio of the neighborhood's dining mainstays.

"What they really like, though, is the pedestrian scale of the neighborhood. They can walk out of our front doors and find sidewalks and stores and restaurants, as opposed to going into a 4 million-car parking lot. It's definitely a different experience."

It's almost summer movie time. Come to the Esquire instead of going to one of those 55billion theater megaplexes in the 'burbs. You can park in the Merchant's lot and have your parking ticket validated for two free hours.