Macklemore made a number-one song about it. Joanna Gaines is spinning ratings gold for HGTV with “Fixer-Upper.” No doubt the obsession with thrifting, upcycling and antiquing has reached a fever pitch—and City Salvage & Design’s Janice Beckler is living the DIY dream. Beckler has spent more than 50 years training her keen eye for offbeat, eye-catching furniture and items to add unmistakable flair to any decor scheme.
 
To that end, she and her husband, Doug, have traveled "all over Ohio, buying farm picks, industry picks. Wherever we can find it, we will go. We have a good eye for finding good stuff.”
 
Five years ago, Beckler decided to share her finds. Calling on 30 years of teaching experience and a background in customer service and design, she opened City Salvage & Design in Amherst. The shop was so successful that Beckler opened a second location in Ohio City last month. 

Find out more about this dedicated DIY-er here. 

A 262,000-square-foot, 11-story luxury apartment building is not only the newest addition to the skyline, but the first of its kind in downtown Cleveland—meeting demand for both high-end off-campus student housing and affordable urban apartments for the young professional crowd.
 
Enter the Edge on Euclid (1750 Euclid Ave.), which sits just adjacent to Cleveland State University and Playhouse Square. Along with close proximity to campus and culture, the building also offers a quick commute to schools like Case Western Reserve in University Circle and a central location for recent graduates just launching their careers in Cleveland.

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Water Cleveland's “who’s hiring” series, where we feature growing companies with open positions, what they’re looking for and how to apply. See all of the listings here.

Cleveland Chain Reaction has reached the next step in the economic development project that will bring five new businesses to Slavic Village. A group of 10 local businesses have been named finalists, whittled down from the initial 24 companies chosen in June to compete.
 
The 10 finalists represent a variety of industries serving both current and emerging markets with products and services that range from food to hard goods manufacturing and distribution.  Each were selected for their potential growth and impact on jobs and investment in Greater Cleveland.

Find out who the 10 finalists are here.

The newest half-mile section of the complex path offers up history, industry and unique views of the city that will be new to most locals.

Two new benches adorn Hildana Park on Chagrin Boulevard in Shaker Heights’ Moreland District. But aside from providing a place to sit, these benches offer much more to park visitors.

The colorful, solar-powered Soofa Benches, which launched out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab in 2014, offer both a place to sit and a place to recharge phones and other devices and connect to the Internet. 

Learn more about what these smart benches offer here.

While the Port of Cleveland is well known as the fastest route between the Midwest and Northern Europe — bringing 13 million tons of cargo anually through the Cleveland Harbor, which translates into $3.5 billion in annual economic activity and more than 20,000 jobs — last week marked the arrival of a large cruise ship to Cleveland.
 
Victory Cruise Lines’ Victory 1 docked at the Port last Tuesday, June 20 as part of its Great Lakes Grand Discovery tour. The stop was the first of at least eight visits this cruising season, says Jade Davis, vice president of external affairs for the Port of Cleveland.

Find out more about the impact Victory 1 has on the city here.

Via the school's Engaged Practice programming, students interact with the real world through their arts — from protecting the fragile Cuyahoga to advocating for the homeless.
 

Ed “Chef Ed” Michalski has opened more than 40 restaurants in his career, but when he opens the doors to The City Diner in the next few weeks, it will be the first time the food service veteran does so as the owner.

“I just want to make sure everything is perfect,” Michalski says. “When guests walk in for the first time, I want to knock their socks off. You never get a second chance.”
 
Michalski cites his roles as executive chef at places like Horseshoe Casino and Progressive Field as “very proud moments,” but when he saw the former Expressway Diner building at 5109 Memphis Ave. in Old Brooklyn, he says he knew he had to buy the building and go into business for himself.

Read more about what Chef Ed has planned for the City Diner here. (Hint: bananas foster stuffed French toast.)

MedWish International, a nonprofit organization that repurposes discarded medical supplies and equipment and donates them to 109 developing countries in need, is moving its headquarters from Collinwood to a 50,000-square-foot facility at E. 31^st Street and Payne Avenue in AsiaTown, in the heart of the Health-Tech Corridor.
 
After nearly 25 years in Collinwood MedWish, which works with 116 health care institutions to repurpose more than 500,000 pounds of medical equipment and supplies each year — saving them from going into landfills — has been looking for a new space in a more centralized location.

Find out why MedWish decided to make the move here.

Welcome to the latest edition of Fresh Water Cleveland's “who’s hiring” series, where we feature growing companies and organizations with open positions, what they’re looking for and how to apply. 

Get the whole list here.

For the past 15 years Jeff Heinen and his brother Tom, co-owners of the popular Heinen’s grocery store chain, have focused heavily on carrying locally-grown produce in their 19 Ohio stores.
 
“As a company, for the last 15 years we’ve really worked with increasing fervor at purchasing locally, and now 70 percent of our produce is local in the summer,” Jeff Heinen explains.
 
Then, about seven years ago, Heinen started noticing an increase in local packaged food producers. So the chain began focusing on supporting those food entrepreneurs by carrying their products. Now the Heinen's team is welcoming new purveyors with its upcoming third annual Shark Bank competition.

Read about how to get involved and how to taste the competitors' products here.

Construction is underway at the former Crop complex on Old River Road in the Flats East Bank, and three new tenants will occupy the space before summer’s end, according to Flats developer, Scott Wolstein.
 
Dante’s Inferno, Backyard Bocce and Thirsty Dog Brewing Company will move into the three former Crop spaces by mid-August, bringing a cooperative effort into a varied mix of food, drink and entertainment to the Flats. Construction began last week.

Find out what these three establishments have planned for the area here.

After much anticipation, the new 12,000-square-foot Edgewater Beach House opened last Friday. The open air, two-story amenity offers stunning views of Lake Erie and a place to kick back and relax with friends. It also serves as a connection point with walking paths leading to the popular green space from surrounding neighborhoods.

Read more about all the beach house has to offer beach goers this summer.

With a career in retail that spans more than 25 years, Megan Featherston knows the trends and shopping behavior of the furniture and home furnishings market.

“I’m really wired for and passionate about putting the fun back in retail,” Featherston says. “Most people shop to fill a void. But with everything so homogenous, it’s like [the movie] Groundhog’s Day.’”
 
Then last year, Featherston noticed a problem that she knew she could solve. She saw Baby Boomers looking to downsize and get rid of some of the nice furniture they’ve acquired over the years, while Millennials are constantly searching for unique, affordable furnishings,
 
So earlier this month Featherston opened VNTG Home, 1427 E. 36^th St. at Tyler Village. 

Read about how VNTG Home solves both generational problems here.
 

Inspired by what he learned in high school biology class about the dangers of chemicals and fertilizers used to make lawns weed-free and green, Alec McClennan founded Good Nature Organic Lawn Care in 1999 after earning his engineering degree.
 
With just a handful of customers and hid Subaru hatchback, McClennan set out to educate Clevelanders about the health and environmental factors associated with chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and prove there was a better, natural way to grow lush, healthy lawns.

Today, McClennan has 35 employees, 18 trucks and serves thousands of customers in Cleveland, Akron and Columbus neighborhoods.

With success like that, you'll want to listen to his advice on how you can improve your yard organically by reading the rest of the article.

Early last year, a 35-foot by 95-foot plot of land at 1427 Scenic St. in Lakewood sat uncared for with a shaky past.

The Cuyahoga County Land Bank had razed the abandoned house, the adjacent neighbors had no interest in the land and the non-profit community organization LakewoodAlive was desperately searching for someone to plant some love on the property.

Find out what happened to the pint-sized property here.

When Carly Hill attended East Cleveland’s Shaw High School, she was accustomed to being one of the star pupils — earning good grades, participating in mock trials in preparation for her planned law career and she was often chosen for special projects.
 
Hills describes her experience at Shaw being a part of a small group of students intensely interested in learning. In fact, she earned all As, except for her first and only B in 11^th grade.
 
“Imagine being in a class of 20 students,” Hill says. “In most of my classes, there was a small group of students interested in learning among a disruptive group, and as a result, we were always the only ones picked for special projects. Then those five well-behaved students were placed in AP and honors classes. That group of students aren't necessarily there because they know more, it's merely because they are not disruptive.”
 
Carly HillSo when Hill graduated in 2010 as valedictorian and headed off to Howard University on a scholarship, she expected life to be the same at the prestigious college. But things were different from the moment she stepped onto the Washington, D.C. campus.
 
“Shaw High School is 99.9 percent African American and Howard also is an historically black college, and I thought I knew what it was like to be black,” Hill recalls. “But I was around a completely different group of people. It was culture shock.”
 
No longer was Hill among a select group of serious straight A students. She was among the country’s best and brightest. “I expected it to be a little different, but not as different, and I knew it was a good college” she recalls. “It was a real culture shock to realize they don’t know me and I had to prove myself. At Shaw it was not as hard to separate yourself. At Howard, everyone is that kid, everyone is the best.”
 
By the time she got to Howard, Hill had decided to major in biology instead of law. But she was not prepared for the required chemistry minor and received a D in the class. Hill lost both her scholarship and her self-confidence. After her first semester, she briefly dropped out of Howard.
 
“I lost hope,” Hill says.

Read the rest of the story to find out how she regained it.

Courtesy of a Cleveland Restoration Society SNOOP tour, Fresh Water offers up this preview of the breathtaking Standard Building, which Weston, Inc. is renovating and converting into residential units. 

In its heyday, Lion Knitting Mills established a reputation for making wool military goods, and later sweaters for the consumer market.

The 1919 factory at 3256 W. 25^th St. in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood sat vacant after Lion Knitting Mills closed its doors in 1990, until the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) bought the 52,000-square-foot building and began converting it into affordable loft-style apartments in 2016.

Get the whole story here.