Back in the saddle again

First things first... we are open, the shop looks awesome, and we are ready to rock! We've done plenty of late nights, running around with the voice of Tim Gunn at the door shouting "Make it work!"

We did get it done finally and we are really happy with the results. Ella has a larger and more secure play area. Baci has more room to stretch out and nap. Amy has the space to organize the office and dig out of our mess of paperwork that was 2009.

We got the chandelier hanging dividers up to help section the shop better and we also set up some moveable dividers for artwork. We hope to hear from more artists that are interested in renting space so we can continue encouraging the local artist community in our neighborhood.

We also learned that one of our favorite locals - Ana of "Nested Yellow" was selected as an emerging artist in the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts! Congratulations to her and to all of the people that got her jewelry for Christmas this year! She does amazing and beautiful work in natural themes with a good mix of metal and salvaged materials like antique buttons or stones.

We are working to get a booth at the Sunday Morning Market in Seminole Heights that is coming up in two weeks. If you are interested, let us know as we are putting together a group of artists to band together and show how creative this community is.

Thanks for your patience with our closing this month. Come by the shop and see all of the new stuff - you will be amazed!

-Charles

"We could all use some magic..."Rebekah Pulley in Sem Heights Last Night

Photo courtesy of our awesome Sem Heights Photographer Nicole "Elawgrrl" Kibert

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elawgrrl/3973884584/

Last night I cut through the alley behind our house and headed over to the Front Porch to listen to one of Tampa's best local singer/songwriters Rebekah Pulley. When I saw the sign on the Front Porch announcing she would be there a few days before, I couldn't believe it at first. I've seen her a few times, and Amy knows I have a bit of a celebrity crush on her, but I never expected her to play within view of my house. I won't talk about those daydreams of her playing the guitar at one of our cookouts on our porch, but for now this was close enough.

When I got to the Front Porch, she was tucked into the bar area against a far wall. She was strumming away on John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" apparently via request although she did a great job of it. She followed that with an original and one of her best "I Should Have Left You A Long Time Ago." I settled in and decided on a Guinness - the only beer that's never let me down - and marvelled at the number of open seats in the place. It was actually pretty darn empty although I don't think it was advertised more than the sign out front. As she moved through some of her new material which she would perform unapologetically with a cheat sheet on her knee, she definitely made fans of the dozen or so of us there.

During one of her breaks, I didn't have to work hard to get a chance to talk with her. She was chatting with one of the regulars and joking about the pitiful condition of her performance costume which consisted of a well worn plaid skirt, a black tee, and some brown converse that had seen a lot miles. We started talking about the little known fact that she is originally from Alaska and how she even lived in my old stomping ground of East Texas. I was trying to remember that song about Anchorage when she chimed in that it was one of her favorites (Anchored in Anchorage - Michelle Shocked) and she started off the next set with it.

I felt really lucky to get a chance to see her in such close quarters. As the the dozen or so in the bar became four lucky holdouts, the show became much more like a group of friends talking back and forth and requesting cover songs she knew such as"I Shall Be Released" and favorites of hers that I wanted to hear like "New Mexico". She even gave her best effort at Joni Mitchell's "River" which the guy next to me, Don offered up. I felt a little disappointed in our neighborhood for the small turnout, but selfishly, it couldn't have been a better evening for a reformed concert junkie like me. Seeing a band or singer that you love in an intimate venue can spoil you from ever paying $75 to crowd into an arena. If you haven't seen her or heard Rebekah play, what are you waiting for? She might even be playing in your neighborhood this week. With all of the fluff and inflated pop stars taking the spotlight these days, it is encouraging to meet a singer who is as real and genuine in person as she sounds behind the microphone.

-Charles H

Here's a video of her and links to her website and a spot to listen to more of her music...



http://www.rebekahpulley.com/

http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=132981

The work continues at the shop...

We've got the big stuff moved and most of the painting done. If you drive by, you'll even see the windows looking a lot more inviting. Here's a teaser of the window display from inside. We should be open starting the first week of February - That's next week!

-Charles

Design Revolution Author Emily Pilloton on Colbert

Here's one of our favorite designers on the Colbert Report talking about design for humanitarian causes. She is championing designs like the Hippo Roller for water transport in rural areas that she demonstrates on the video. She is currently touring the US in a super-modified Airstream that is doubling as a design gallery for ground-breaking product design.

Enjoy a fun talk here with Colbert...

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Emily Pilloton
http://www.colbertnation.com/
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

Check out the latest info on the design road show here - including things like the rocket stove I talked about earlier this month.

http://designrevolutionroadshow.com/

-Charles

Making a difference with outdoor solar lights

A Florida company that manufactures solar lights, such as large parking lot and outdoor street lights is working to help in Haiti. They are donating lights to help with the relief effort that can be used in hospital areas and to help increase hours for aid.

It seems like such an obvious idea - why do outdoor lights not get power from solar? In practice it's not as easy as it sounds. You need lights you can count on and they need to be really bright to help. Consistency is not the strong suit of mother nature. The other outdoor lighting issues include rain, high winds, and sun damage. I even had ants move into the battery pack on my solar flood light experiment last year.

Sol is an innovative company in Palm City, FL that has been working on commercial solar lighting since 1990 and seems to have a good handle on what it takes. They use the location of where the lights will be used as a determining factor in the type of light. Strong winds and rain require the Tropical Storm Light model and that is what they are shipping to Haiti. You can read more about these at Treehugger and in the NY Times.

PS - Thanks to everyone that gave to WMNF for Haiti - the last tally I heard was right at $100,000 in one day!

-Charles

7000 Buried in Mass Grave...

That's the statement that woke me this morning when my alarm clock came on. 7000. This is just the start of many tallies I'm sure, but the snooze button didn't have any effect after that. As I got in the car to head to work I could hear that WMNF 88.5 was already up early and raising money for Haiti. Instead of letting the helpless feelings overtake us, I am so proud to see our community radio station making it possible to give to important aid efforts. They've gone to great lengths to find four organizations that are currently operating in Haiti with low overhead and big impacts. If you have some time today please give them a call to donate whatever you can. You can pledge online which is extremely easy at http://www.wmnf.org/. They are running this relief effort today from 6am to 4 pm.

All donations made during this fund drive will be split between:
Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti
Doctors Without Borders
Partners in Health
Mercy Corps


WMNF Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 14, 2010
WMNF Community Radio to Hold Emergency Fundraiser for Haiti Relief Organizations
(Tampa) WMNF Community Radio 88.5fm is going on the air from 6am until 4pm Friday, January 15th to raise funds for organizations providing relief to survivors of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti this week.
WMNF is trying to raise as much money as possible, and will split the funds evenly between four organizations: Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti, Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health and Mercy Corps. WMNF will receive no proceeds as a result of the funds raised. 100% of the contributions will go to these relief groups.
WMNF News Director Rob Lorei says 88.5fm listeners are very generous and have helped out in other such efforts.
“WMNF listeners are very community-minded and they’ve been telling us about their deep concern for the people of Haiti. In the past, when we raised funds for the victims of Katrina, we raised a lot of money for relief. There’s no telling how this will turn out- given our economic problems here at home- but my guess is that they will come through in a big way,” said Lorei.
In 2005, WMNF held a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina victims. As it is doing this time, the FCC lifted a ban on fundraising for other non-profit organizations so that public and community radio stations could hold special on-air pledge drives.
In one day, WMNF raised $132,000 that was split evenly among four non-profits. Our members thanked us time after time that day for putting their money toward trust-worthy non-profits to rebuild the areas and lives ravaged by Katrina.
Now, WMNF is trying to do the same for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Many are wondering how to help and to which organization to give. WMNF is here as a conduit for the community.
For more information, please contact Station Manager Jim Bennett at (813)238-8001 or jimb@wmnf.org.

If you need something...

The other thing that big box stores won't do for their neighborhood is to answer the phone after hours. If you need something while we are closed this month, please let us know! We are doing a lot of shopping and also are happy to unload any of the old stock in the shop if you want to meet us there. Drop us an email and we'll set up a time to meet. You might just need a birthday card or hostess gift at the last minute...

Tampa Street Market Rumors

If you drive up Florida Ave on your way home from work, you might have seen the paper covering the windows on our shop this week. We have got the rumor mill churning in our little neighborhood.

#1 Tampa Street Market is housing homeless refugees during the cold spell.

#2 TSM is going out of businees due to intense competition in the neighborhood.

#3 TSM is under repair due to fire-bombing during the contentious OSHNA elections.

#4 TSM is being renovated to house Conan O'Brian's new Tonight Show in Tampa.

#5 The shop doesn't have a heater and burning trash barrels might scare off customers.

#1 No, but it wouldn't be a bad idea if only we had a heater - driving by that big tent at Metropolitan Ministries I wonder how many people go there to get out of the cold.

#2 No, and unfortunately a lot of our competition comes from big boxes like Target and Crate and Barrel that happily price out local stores through outsourcing labor to places that pay their workers pennies a day to turn out disposable junk. (yeah I said it)

#3 No, but if I am definitely over our ridiculous association infighting. This is an awesome neighborhood! It is ruining our reputation and pushing people away from a great neighborhood.

#4 I wish, that poor guy is getting squeezed out by Leno's big chin and tired jokes. I can barely make it to 11:30 so forget it if your show gets pushed after midnight.

#5 This is the truth. Our landlord even said "Nobody ever complained about the heat before." and encouraged us to shell out our last dimes for the ten or so space heaters it would take to warm our place up. Sorry, we'll just have to close down and the place could use some sprucing up anyway. We are looking for new stuff and building pieces so that the shop will be fresh when the cold finally thaws. Christmas takes its toll on the store and we feel it is important to bring our best work out for customers.

We will re-open in a few weeks and maybe even have a little post New Year bash to celebrate it. Keep an eye out for it. Also, we are trying to entice some of our city's interesting folk artists and crafters to help us get through the year by renting space and/or working days for us. If you are interested in being a part of the best shop in Seminole Heights then drop us an email - amy@tampastreetmarket.com

-Charles

New Year, New Perspective

Photo courtesy of Envirofit

Last year was a difficult year in business and we often thought about just giving up. However, when we visited Ethiopia last year, we gained a little perspective on what a difficult year really could be. When our economy tanks, we do things like cut out the cable and gym memberships. When the economy goes bad in Ethiopia, people go without food or fuel for cooking the food. We saw what a lot of people see there - women whose backs were bent with the weight of carrying firewood. Firewood is used for cooking and every night, we could look out on the city of Addis Ababa and see dozens of fires burning. These fires boil water and cook injera bread which consumes the majority of a woman's day. If you could give some of that time back and some of the money spent on firewood to those women, would you? What I read about today is the competition for building a clean burning and efficient open fire stove for developing countries. There are some interesting videos on the web about companies like Stove Tec and Envirofit.

Photo courtesy of Stove Tec

They are building stoves that are made out of steel and clay that are inexpensive and clean. These can reduce cook times by 30-50% and emissions as much as 50-75%. The emissions from cooking with an open fired stove far exceed the emissions from a car and are especially harmful to humans because of the black soot produced. These companies are working to not only help provide for a need in the developing world, but also to help them save our world's environment as well. Most have little idea of the damage that these fires do their families' health much less to our planet.

This year we are going to try and keep focused on the big picture and what we can really do to help. If buying a $40 stove to help a family in need in a developing country can save more emissions than buying a $20K hybrid then it's definitely time to start looking at this year's opportunities in a new way.

So Insane - The Musical Year in Review 2009

"Swing High" Photo from Charles Haynie - personal collection

Welcome to my 2009 playlist. It starts with my favorite concert of the year - The Avett Brothers at the Cuban Club. If you didn't make it, well I'm so so sorry. Look up their dates and do yourself a favor when they're close. I've heard all the discussion, they sold out, they moved on from their roots, they got families and babies. Well, life is about change. If the Beatles kept playing like they did on Help! then where the heck would Revolver or Sgt. Pepper's be? I say, let them grow for better or worse and in this fan's estimation, this record gets better every time it spins in my player. Listen to "And It Spread" and try to fight it, I dare you.

My friend Nicole, elawgrrl is an amazing photographer of music acts and a seriously dedicated fan of Lucero. She honestly won't stop talking about them so eventually I had to give in and give these guys a chance. I caught up with them on this album when they are catching a lot of flack for the same things that the Avetts heard about this year, namely losing their hard edge and adding things like horns to their music. So what!? This album is great and the song I chose "Hey Darlin, Do You Gamble?" is everything that whiskey marinated growling alt-country rock should be. This song will make you want to pack up your black t-shirt, your boots, and your cooler and follow these guys from dive bar to rock bar for weeks on end.

Grizzly Bear has been in the top 5 of Hype Machine for most of the year and the song "Two Weeks" is unavoidable in blog circles. I swear I heard it in Lowe's this weekend. Rather than get bored with a band so obviously blowing up, I can't help but fall for the layers in this thing. It's really beautiful and addicting. This is indie pop at it's best.

Amanda Blank's "Something Bigger, Something Better" has this sound effect that makes it sound a little too much like a knock off Paper Planes. That being said, I f$%^*(ng love Paper Planes still. So I don't really care, and this song is a classic floorfiller as far as I'm concerned. I found it in an uncharacteristically upbeat review from Nine Bullets - one of the best blogs going especially for fans like my buddy Nicole of hard-edged alt-country like Lucero and Jason Isbell.

N.A.S.A. was a massive album undertaking of rap superstars that mixed North American and South American styles and sounds. I made up my mind that I would find some rap I like this year as I am such an old school rap fan that I sound like I am 90 years old when I talk about today's rap music. This song Spacious Thoughts", is bada$$ and explodes at the chorus, Tom Waits anyone?! This is the year of Tom Waits if nobody told you yet. He's been all over and released an amazing live album called Glitter and Doom right before Christmas. I know what our boy Ernie from Nervous Turkey got in his stocking! (if you want to see how the harmonica was meant to be played - take that link to see Ernie at work)

A band that includes members of other bands including Vampire Weekend, Discovery blew me away with this little indie number called "So Insane". I don't need to say much about it because I just really love this sound. Indie and electronic and pop with some really nice beat and mood changes that echo that feeling of really not being able to control how you feel about somebody. This is definitely at the very top of the list this year.

There are two tracks from the XX on the cd. The first "Intro" is a really awesome moody instrumental in a world that doesn't make instrumental tracks anymore and that's all it took. By the time I made it to "Islands" I was hooked. This whole album is awesome. This is a young Brit band and I heard it described as makeout music for cool kids. I can't verify that, but maybe I'll have to try it out in the near future. Put it on and let me know how that goes...

"In My Dreams" from the Eels is a great track from an underrated songwriter E. Again, a great album, but I really liked this gentle and spacey sort of music when they get it right. This is what is affectionately called Nerd Rock like Weezer and many other bands I love. It's just a little introspective quiet tune but it gets stuck in my head a lot.

MGMT technically released this album last year, but I really didn't get into it until this year so I'm going to use a little flexibility and include it. Both "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" are great tracks, but I just had this one on repeat a little too much this year. I couldn't get away from it in all it's fuzzy electronic glory.

The next song from Metric is "Sick Muse" which falls into the classic unrequited love chick rock category and although classifying often takes away some of the fun of this, I love these kind of bands. I donated some of my hearing to an Elastica show in Dublin and don't regret it a bit. I hope you fall in love with her voice as quickly as I did.

The Low Anthem have managed to make a song in "Charlie Darwin" with all of the beauty and sadness of life and make it amazingly attractive. We realize that it all ends and yet songs like this make life worth the pain and heartache. It is the most beautiful song I have heard all year and it gets me choked up every time I listen. That's all I have to say about that.

To rescue us from the water that surrounded us in the last track I included "Pursuit of Happiness" from newcomer rap star Kid Cudi. This is a really awesome track with all of the attitude of a streetwise rapper and yet the intelligence of a good songwriter. This is the type of rap that I knew still existed yet it took my college-age nephew Kyle to educate me on it. It doesn't hurt that this remix includes MGMT and Ratatat.

Elvis Perkins brings out a track that is everything I love about great alt-country. This is what has me listening to the ND hour on wmnf on Mondays. The instrumentation of bluegrass and country with rock style and attitude. Angst and grit with excellent musicianship.

I finish up with one of my favorite bands, Wilco, who enjoy the notoriety of the "Saving Private Ryan Award 2009" which I give out to a great album that came out so early in the year that it gets ignored on most "Best Of" lists much like SPR that lost to "Shakespeare in Love" that came out later in the year. (My theory is that after that year, no "Oscar" movies are released before the fall according to Hollywood superstitions). Wilco makes great music and keeps adding new layers without changing too much. They might be a little stuck in a rut at times, but songs like "You Never Know" just get stuck in my Ipod and refuse to leave.

Thanks for indulging me!
-Charles

The cd of the year as it stands right now

1. and it spreads - avett brothers
2. hey darlin do you gamble? - lucero
3. two weeks - grizzly bear
4. something bigger, something better - amanda blank
5. spacious thoughts (feat. Tom Waits) - n.a.s.a.
6. so insane - discovery
7. intro - the xx
8. islands - the xx
9. in my dreams - eels
10. time to pretend - mgmt
11. sick muse - metric
12. charlie darwin - the low anthem
13. pursuit of happiness - kid cudi with mgmt
14. shampoo - elvis perkins
15. you never know - wilco