Peter Debelak was a frustrated lawyer with a passion for woodworking when he stumbled on a soon-to-be-available woodshop space in a former meat processing plant on Cleveland's near west side.

"There was a woodworker who had been in there for 30 years, and his space opened up," says Debelak, who fell in love with the medium of wood 12 years ago and has worked with it ever since. "The opportunity was hard to pass up."

Still, starting the woo... Read more >

If you don't know the name Scott Kim, then you likely have been missing out on some of the most thrilling food presently served in Cleveland. Kim's Shaker Square restaurant Sasa encourages exploration through a bevy of Japanese small plates. With Accent, slated to open in just weeks, the chef's culinary borders will expand past those of Japan to include influences from Korea, India, China and beyond.

At the corner of E. 83rd and Carnegie Avenue, a dilapidated building has been transformed into a contemporary, glass-walled resource center. Inside these walls, youth will be mentored, adults will receive financial education and job skill assistance, and seniors will record their history within the community.

This is no ordinary redevelopment project. The PNC Fairfax Connection was designed with maximum community input to address the needs and aspirations of the Fairfax n... Read more >

TWIST Creative had been adverse the word "agency" for many years, as the term represented something the Cleveland-based branding firm was not. That all changed eight months ago when TWIST shifted its strategy to target bigger clients, spurring a period of growth that has led to a flurry of new hires as well as new customers.

That's four new hires and about 20 new clients to be exact, says Michael Ozan, TWIST's president and chief creative officer, who in... Read more >

The Cleveland Museum of Art recently opened its signature new atrium, a breathtaking public space whose traditional and contemporary elements bridge the museum's past and future. It soon will become one of the city's central gathering places, as well as a spot that brands the city to visitors, akin to Grand Central Station in New York.

The museum will host a community celebration on Sunday, October 28th to celebrate the completion of the atrium and the opening of ... Read more >

As city dwellers, we tend to focus on buildings. But it's the spaces in between those structures that matter most, say urban planners. Public spaces bring communities together, improve our physical and mental well-being, and drive social and economic change. The presence and quality of our public spaces is a measure of the desirability of a city.

The City of Cleveland has developed a plan to create bike lanes along Detroit Avenue between West 25th and West 75th streets to cater to the growing number of two-wheeled commuters using the thoroughfare.

The idea was developed as a temporary alternative to the stalled West Shoreway project, but has now taken on a life of its own. City officials say that even if more money is found to complete multi-modal paths along the Shoreway, the Detroit bike lanes are here to stay.<... Read more >

Ingenuity Fest 2012 will take place this weekend, September 14 to 16 at Cleveland Lakefront Docks 30 and 32, in 120,000 square feet of warehouse space. Aside from music and artistic performances, the festival will showcase the work of local inventors working on some fun and interactive projects.
 
“It ranges from DIY aesthetic things to engineers,” says director of programming James Krouse. “We have inventors or people who are beta testing a product ... Read more >

Thanks to crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, entrepreneurs often overlooked by traditional investment sources are securing much-needed capital to launch their startups. In addition to raising cash, these sites are proving invaluable for testing new ideas, developing a customer base, gaining exposure, and launching ideas into a larger marketplace.

Experienced Cleveland developer Mike DeCesare recently started construction on the Waverly Station Townhomes in Detroit Shoreway -- a 22-unit project that is the only new, for-sale housing development to break ground in the City of Cleveland this year.

"Getting the project up and running was no small task, as it proved to be impossible to find conventional bank financing for the project," he says. "We ended up doing private financing. We had investors willi... Read more >

Horseshoe Lake in Shaker Heights is a great place to take a walk and enjoy the bucolic, well-preserved Shaker Lakes. Now this setting has been made even more beautiful by the addition of glowing lanterns that dangle from trees like glimmering fireflies.

As part of the Shaker Heights Centennial celebration, artist Barry Underwood has created a new public art installation in Horseshoe Lake Park. The light display illuminates the wooded path along South Park Drive between Pa... Read more >

Justin Coulter, a sculptor, bartender and rock band frontman, was elated when Beachland Ballroom owner Cindy Barber suggested that he craft an original piece in tribute to Harvey Pekar.

When the offer was made, he was outside smoking a cigarette during a 2010 memorial for Pekar at the Beachland. Barber, who had only just learned that her employee is a talented sculptor whose work can be found all over Cleveland, was suddenly inspired by the idea of hiring Coulter.
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