Congrats to Amy Hamley, a Pittsburgh artist who runs RedRaven Studios, who was one of 25 artists from around the globe that joined the executives of Etsy.com in Time Square today to ring the opening bell in honor of Etsy’s IPO.
Canyon Series: Bryce Hand Painted Porcelain Espresso Mug with 14K Gold Luster
RedRaven Studio has been making porcelain jewlery and home decor in Pittsburgh since 2006. You can purchase RedRaven’s wares on their website, from Etsy and at the annual Pittsburgh craft marketplace Handmade Arcade. RedRaven was also one of the artists to have their items included in the LOCAL collection at West Elm last fall. Last year, Amy was also the first artist mentioned in the New York Times article about Etsy ‘s expansion into the wholesale market.
Learn more about Amy and see some of the other beautiful RedRaven items in this post by DesignCrush (and I just learned that DesignCrush is also a Pittsbrugher)!
Today, Tuesday, April 14, 2015 is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s locations around the US. That means everyone who walks into the shop (usually after standing in line) get a free ice cream cone of your choice.
I like to use Free Cone Day (I wrote about this last year) to everyone in Pittsburgh about Dave & Andy’s Ice Cream in Oakland. This fine ice cream establishment has been making and serving ice cream to Pittsburghers since 1983. If you want to skip the lines and spend a few dollars at a locally owned business, head over to Dave & Andy’s on Atwood Street in Oakland for an ice cream cone instead.
While we try to support as many local businesses as possible, the local Pittbsurgh Ben & Jerry’s is a pretty cool story too. You can read about the Pittsburgh Ben & Jerry’s partner shop that provides job training to at-risk youth here.
Last week I finally started listening to the uber popular Serial podcast. I know, I know, I am late to the part on this one. I did a bunch of driving around Easter and all of that time in the car finally gave me the chance to listen to most of the episodes of Serial.
It seems like every one I know (or at least most of my Facebook friends) are huge fans of the podcast. Since I have started listening to the podcast, I’ve been asking everyone I meet if they have listened to Serial as well. I was surprised to learn that not everyone has listened to the podcast or even heard of it.
Serial is a podcast that debuted last fall that looks at one story over several episodes. The first season of Serial focused on the 1999 murder of a Baltimore high school student. Her ex-boyfriend was arrested and convicted of the murder, but he maintains his innocence. Serial was a hit and has become one of the most popular podcasts on iTunes. The Serial podcast is co-produced by Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder, who are both producers on This American Life, another popular NPR radio show and podcast.
In the normally low-profile world of podcasting, “Serial” is a certified sensation—a testament to the power of great storytelling. It’s quickly become the most popular podcast in the world, according to Apple, and the fastest to reach 5 million downloads and streams in iTunes history. “Serial” is the top podcast in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, and in the top 10 in Germany, South Africa and India.
The popularity of Serial has led to a whole range of Serial spinoff websites and podcasts:
r/Serial – a Serial reddit board with over 44,000 members
Undisclosed: The State v. Adnan Syed – a new podcast launching on April 13, 2015. Rabia Choudry, the attorney for Adnan Syed and two other laywers will provide updates on the story. You can listen to a teaser for the new Undisclosed podcast here.
The first season of Serial is fascinating. I have not yet listened to the final episode, but even though I already know the conclusion of the show, I have found every episode worth a listen.
Serial does an incredible job of using storytelling to engage listeners in the story. By telling the story through first person interviews and interviews with experts in the field, Serial gives listeners an in depth look at this particular case and some of the challenges on the US legal system.
The other thing that I think is really interesting about the Serial podcast (and this applies to many of the episodes of This American Life as well) is how this very local story has had the ability to engage the listeners in not only a Baltimore story, but issues that are much bigger than Baltimore.
Serial Podcast + Pittsburgh = ???
Since the toy drive back in December, I have been doing alot of thinking about storytelling. Especially storytelling on the local level. So as I was listening to Serial last week, I started thinking about how the format could be applied to Pittsburgh.
What would it look like if there was a Serial-like podcast about something in Pittsburgh? What story would be good to dig in and research, and what would be the impact of having lots of people in Pittsburgh (and outside of Pittsburgh) listen and research this topic?
If there was a Serial-like podcast cast about a Pittsburgh story – what story would you want to see covered? It doesn’t have to be a crime, is their a neighborhood or a place that you want to know more about? What local stories could use a deep dive on research?
I have some ideas for stories, but I am curious to see what stories are suggested and if there are other bloggers and armchair sleuths in Pittsburgh that would be interested in researching a story that is local to Western Pennsylvania.
Please share your story ideas below in the comments or on Twitter with the hashtag #serialpgh.
Serial & Long Form Local Journalism
I am also interested in the idea of local journalism that goes deep into a particular story. There are many times when I have been talking to someone else about a local story and we have wondered why the local media has not done a better job of providing an in-depth look at the issue. Sometimes the Post-Gazette has done a lot of stories on a particular topic, but the PG and most local news sites don’t do much to link those articles together. There have been several blog posts written about if Serial is storytelling or journalism, regardless of what category Serial is or is not, I am interested in seeing how an in-depth story can have a local impact.
If you are interested in the discussion about Serial and journalism check out some of these posts:
It is an honor to support the IndieGoGo campaign for Pittsburgh Art Car 2015. Jason and Nina Sauer are two incredible Pittsburghers who run the art gallery Most Wanted Fine Art in Garfield. They have just launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise $7000 to take a group of Pittsburgh artists on a tour of the US this spring.
Here are 7 reasons why I am happy to support the Pittsburgh Art Car project…
1. USA, Meet Seven Pittsburgh Artists
A Great Project that takes some of the best of Pittsburgh to the rest of the USA. You can watch the video to learn more about the details.
2. Most Wanted Fine Art Really Saved Christmas
Jason and Nina Sauer are AWESOME, inspiring Pittsburghers who make this city a better place. Remember back in December how we helped with an emergency toy drive? All of that was started by Jason and Nina. As soon as they heard about the toy shortage, they graciously offered up Most Wanted Fine Art as a spot to collect toys. What started as a small toy drive, snowballed into a massive effort that literally took over the gallery for four days before Christmas. Prior to the #PghSavesXmas Toy Drive, I had only stopped into the gallery a few times during the monthly art walk. The day we started the toy drive, I met Nina at the gallery and I was truely inspired by her spirit and willingness to do whatever it took to make sure every kid in Pittsburgh had a toy for Christmas.
3. Mozelle Thompson, Shaft and Most Wanted Fine Art
Flyer for the Mozelle Thompson retrospective held at Most Wanted Fine Art in November 2014
Most Wanted Fine Art is a great gallery. The last art show I saw there was The Album Art of Mozelle Thompson in November 2014. This exhibit was curated by J. Malls who is an icredible Pittsburgh DJ and very knowledgeable about records. Not only was this exhibit visually interesting, but a fascinating lesson in Pittsburgh history. Mozelle Thompson was an illustrator who was born in Pittsburgh and designed over 100 album, magazine and book covers. Including the cover to the first edition of the detective novel Shaft, by Ernest Tidyman. Take a few moments to learn more about Mozelle Thompson here, here, here and here.
4. Help Put More Pittsburgh Stories on the Road
In 2013, thanks to the generosity of the readers of this blog, I was a “passenger” on the Millennial Trains Project. MTP is a 10-day, cross country train trip of young leaders, movers, shakers and innovators. One of my biggest takeaways from the experience is that Pittsburgh MUST do a better job of going out and taking the Pittsburgh story to the people. I am happy to support projects like this that make it possible to take Pittsburgh to people outside of Pittsburgh. Read more about what I brought back from my train trip here.
5. Travel Brings Inspiring Ideas Back to Pittsburgh
There are cities all across this country that are struggling with some of the same issues that Pittsburgh is trying to figure out…
How do we make better neighborhoods?
How do we make streets safer for pedestrians?
What does it take to make great street tacos?
What do protected bike lanes really look like?
Can we really have a great public market?
What makes a great local coffee shop?
From serious community issues, to not-so-serious-unless-you-are-a-foodie issues the more Pittsburghers that go out and see how other cities are tackling these problems, the more ideas for solutions we can bring to Pittsburgh.
Last week, the Atlantic published For a More Creative Brain, Travel. While this article focuses on international travel, I think that many of these same ideas can apply to travel around the US.
6. More than Art, General Contracting & Job Training
Last spring, inspired by my participation in the Millennial Trains Project, I attended the StartingBloc fellowship in Los Angeles, CA. One of the speakers during the 5 day program was Kabira Stokes, founder of Isidore Recycling. Isidore is a business that recycles e-wastes and hires people who were previously incarcerated. After the fellowship program, I went to take a tour of the Isidore Recycling warehouse. Located just around the corned from Isisdore, is Homeboy Industries, another Los Angeles organization that works to help provide job training and opportunities to those who were previously incarcerated. Visiting Isidore Recycling and Homeboy Industries was an eye opening experience for me into just how difficult it is to get a job if you have spent time in jail.
What does my trip to Los Angeles have to do with Most Wanted Fine Art? In addition to running an art gallery, Most Wanted Fine Art runs a contracting business that provides job training to young men who were previously incarcerated. If you are in need of a general contractor, please consider Most Wanted Fine Art Contracting.
7. Art Cars & Demolition Derby
Last, but certainly not least on this list of reasons to support the MWFA IndieGoGo campaign… who doesn’t love a project that involves a demolition derby. I think I first read about “art cars” many years ago in the Pittsburgh City Paper or Pittsburgh’s other alt-weekly at the time Pulp. I believe there was a woman in Pittsburgh who had glued objects all over her car. A few years ago, Pittsburgh Art Car popped up and I have been following online and on the street. Since 1995, Jason Sauer has been painting art on a car, takes the art car to the Great Stonesboro Fair and then creates art out of the demolished car.
Bonus: Super Cool Perks
From beer koozies & t-shirts to souvenirs from the road. The MWFA crew has put together some impressive perks to say thank you for your contribution to their trip.
Pitt-Starter is our occasional series on local Kickstarter and Crowdfunding campaigns that support Pittsburgh organizations and businesses. Check out our past Pitt-Starter posts here. Have a crowdfunding campaign that you would like to share? Tell us about it on Twitter with the #Pittstarter
With the merger of Heinz and Kraft comes a little change to a Pittsburgh favorite. Starting in the fall, all Primanti Brother’s Sandwiches sold at Heinz Field will be topped with Kraft Mac & Cheese instead of the traditional french fries.
Say hello to the Pri-Mac-ti Brothers Sandwich… bread, meat, cheese coleslaw and mac & cheese make up the new sandwich that will be server at all Steelers home games this fall.
Kraft Mac & Cheese will replace french fries on the Primanti Brothers sandwiches at Heinz Field
The new Pri-Mac-ti Sandwich has its own hashtag – #macNat
Heinz field is asking fans to share their thoughts on the new sandwhich with the #macNat.
What do you think about the new Pri-Mac-Ti sandwich?
Pittsburgh sports fans (and food lovers)? How do you feel about the new food merger? Would you try one of these sandwiches? What other ways would you combine Kraft foods with Pittsburgh favorites? How about a mac & cheese pierogi? (We hope that one won’t replace Jalapeño Hannah in the pierogi race at PNC park.)
Last week I finally started listening to the uber popular 
