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Story by Ingrid Sjostrand | Photos by Bernie Laframboise

Piping hot coffee, an eclectic collection of cozy couches and soothing jazz in the background — this reads like your everyday cafe. But you’ll notice something different about Ferndale’s newest coffee house. Those couches are covered in fur and the jazz might be drowned out by the sound of meows at the appropriately named Catfe, where live- in felines are available to cuddle and adopt.

The Catfe is a project of the Ferndale Cat Shelter, which offers visitors the opportunity to spend time with the cats for a suggested donation of $10 per hour. While in the first stages of operations, coffee and food will be self-serve, with hopes of turning it into a true coffee house if the next few months prove successful.

“The idea is that people come in, they can use the wifi, they can help themselves to a snack,” Deanne Lovan, Director of the Catfe, tells me at their grand opening on November 4th. “Little Bandit will sit on your lap, she will roll over like a baby, make you rub her belly.” As if on cue, Bandit, a grey and white domestic shorthair kitten, jumps right onto Lovan’s lap and starts batting at her necklace.

The idea for cat cafes have gained popularity in Europe, and are now popping up all across the U.S.A. Catfe is the first feline-friendly cafe in Michigan, but there are others right on their tail in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids.

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 6.10.16 PMBen Long, president and founder of the Ferndale Cat Shelter, has been pleasantly surprised with how quickly the Catfe and shelter have developed. Founded on May 20th, 2014, the shelter did not have a physical location — just a website and foster homes — until now.

“Honestly, I thought this would be ‘year four’ or ‘year five,’ and we aren’t even a year- and-a- half old,” Long tells me. “Deanne really took the ball and ran with it.”

The Catfe is open seven days a week from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., and has around ten felines living inside. The Catfe isn’t just for those looking to adopt. Anyone wanting to spend time with the cats is welcome.
“Some people can’t have pets for many reasons, some people can’t have a cat because someone’s allergic or they can’t afford it,” Lovan says. “Socializing these cats is really important, and visitors can help with that.”
Volunteers are on site to greet people, care for the cats, and help with adoption paperwork if a home is found.

“The idea is that they really are here on a rotating basis, cats won’t stay for very long,” Lovan says. “The right person is going to walk in the door and connect with them.”

The Catfe has plans to be more than just a coffee house too. Visitors can participate in cat yoga, euchre tournaments and even host a private birthday party with certain donation amounts.

Silke Rosenbaum-Pouliot is a Royal Oak resident who attended the grand opening with her husband, a Ferndale Cat Shelter volunteer. She was impressed with the creativeness of the idea and the opportunities the Catfe offers.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea; it’s so unique and something a lot of people haven’t heard of.” she says. “I love that all the cats are adoption-ready and you can really form a connection and keep coming back.”

To raise funding and gauge interest in the Catfe, the Ferndale Cat Shelter started a campaign on fundraising site IndieGoGo. Their initial goal was $2,500 which they quickly surpassed, raising $7,650 by the time of the grand opening.

Many local businesses have already contributed funds, building materials and space for fundraising, including Rust Belt Market, SoHo, the Ferndale Library, Durst Lumber and Pinwheel Bakery to name a few. Lovan hopes to get some more long term sponsors, who would get a tax deductible name plaque on the “Wall of Gratitude” inside the Catfe, among other perks.

“I think there are a lot of cat lovers and I think it would be a good thing to be associated with, positive advertising for a company,” Lovan tells me. Donations to the Catfe are tax- deductible.

For those visiting, donations can be brought in all forms; cash, check, website payments and even cat food and litter are accepted. Those interested in volunteering are encouraged, too, with a simple application and the commitment of a minimum of one four hour shift each week.

“I really love doing this because it’s as much a job about helping cats as it is about helping people,” Lovan says. “I love staying in touch with the people that have adopted. They’re like an extended family.”

The Catfe is located at 821 Livernois Street in Ferndale.

If something happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states united to erectile malfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What people talk about “viagra stories“? The most essential aspect you should look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual malfunction switch on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this curing passes into breast milk.

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Story by Rebecca Hammond | Photos by Bernie Laframboise

George Tysh spent his early years in New Jersey, but he’s now firmly rooted in Ferndale and metro Detroit. And he’s recently received quite an honor: a 2015 Kresge Artist Fellowship.

When Tysh arrived in this area and eventually enrolled at Cass Technical High School, he found his classmates to be nice, and they found his Jersey accent amusing. His fields of study at Cass were theater arts and radio speech, and those helped turn his speaking voice “midwestern.” The development of his writing voice began at age 17, when he arrived home from school to find the house empty. He perused his dad’s library and found Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and an anthology edited by Langston Hughes called Poetry of the Negro. After reading some of each, he was inspired and wrote his first poems that afternoon. Though he wryly describes some of them as “horrible,” he knew they were the beginning of a new path.

Tysh, like most Cass Tech graduates, loved the school, and its focus on learning. “It was an awesome place,” he told me. “It was a place where you could try out things. One semester in one class we read 30 plays. It was a place where I could study literature and different forms of narrative.” It also let him experience directing, set design, stage management, even working with a puppet theater at the DIA. After Cass, Tysh attended Wayne State, and was invited to join an experimental college within WSU called Monteith, which existed from the 50s to the 70s. “It was a liberal arts college within Wayne State. It was a new approach to liberal arts.”

Ending up in Europe after the draft board gave him permission to study French in Paris, Tysh spent some time exploring. He met his wife Chris, a Paris native, in Poland, and they lived in Paris until 1973, then returned to Detroit. Since then, he’s taught English and film studies at Wayne, and at the Roeper School. He also began publishing his poetry.

“The main reason I retired from teaching is I wanted more time to write. I found myself wondering when the last time was that I had had a book out. I checked. It was 12 years. The next book came out in five.”

Tysh has collaborated with Ferndale visual artist Janet Hamrick, whose work graces two of his book covers and appears along poems inside one as well. He’s now turned out nine volumes of poetry.

The Kresge Artist Fellowship comes with $25,000 that allows him to “do anything I want for a year.” Kresge chooses artists from the tri-county area, alternating disciplines every two years. “If you have a record of your work, you can apply,” Tysh told me. “They emphasize emerging artists, often kids in their 20s. My stuff is experimental, but they have kids doing hip hop poetry and performance poetry.” They also offer seminars in things like organizing an artistic career.

Tysh describes writing as “making music with words” and enjoys classical music, and jazz and rock.

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Tysh and Janet Hamrick will present an exhibit of collaborations at the College for Creative Studies Center Galleries at the corner of Brush and Fredrick Douglass, opening at 6:00 P.M. on January 22 and running until February 27.

If something happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a cure. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states coupled to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What people talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you should look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as soul trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual malfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this curing passes into breast milk.

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Story by Sherrad Glosson | Photos by Bernie Laframboise

When you ask Lori, a Ferndale resident, the reasons why she wants to help others deal with medical issues, one of them is because she’s been there… and is still fighting the fight.

Fibromyalgia came first. “It came out of nowhere,” says Lori. Not even accepted by the medical community until recently, it causes the brain to create pain signals by itself. It’s been compared to trying to move with broken bones. She tried different medications to subdue the pain in her hands, her hips, and her knees, but didn’t want to become addicted to any of them and they didn’t help, anyway.

Lori was prescribed many dangerous and addictive pain killers to subdue the pain in her hands, hips, and knees. “Medications aren’t really safe. They come with complications and side effects. Many of the medications I have been prescribed the side effect is: ‘Can cause death’.”

She began to research and seek other alternatives. One doctor had her try something different. He put her on Prozac, which treats the source of the pain signals. It helped. He also suggested she try medical marijuana.
Worse was to come. This past summer, Lori had a MRI and found out she had lesions on the brain and also was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis,) a disease that affects the entire nervous system. It affects everyone differently, and Lori stood up to show me some of the effects it’s had on her. As she began to stand, she looked pretty stable, but when she stood on both feet she began to wobble, and immediately sat back down.

She says that this disease affects her balance as well as her train of thought. She can be in a conversation and completely draw a blank. From this personal experience, she did much research into alternative methods of dealing with pain.

Lori met Bill in December 2014 through a neighbor. Bill was an organic Tilapia farmer from Florida who moved to Michigan to grow medical marijuana. His goal was to grow clean, high-quality
medical marijuana for those suffering from autoimmune diseases. As it happens, he’s been growing his own marijuana to self-medicate since 1979. Bill’s undergraduate studies combined aquaculture with hydroponics, and he has been an organic farmer for most of his life. He is also a licensed fish farmer, composting specialist, and certified educator.

Together, Lori and Bill set out on a mission. Trident Apothecary (a fictitious entity, not a business) has goals of serving those with autoimmune diseases, protecting the environment by not using toxic pesticides, and mitigating their own waste production through worm farming. “We’re caregivers.” Lori says. “We welcome anyone with a valid MMMP (Michigan Medical Marijuana Program) card. We want to help, as organically as possible.”

Trident Apothecary has established a passive solar greenhouse to raise worms and fish to break down their waste and create organic soil for their plants. This process has been put in place to grow and produce the highest-quality products. The primary focus for Trident Apothecary is on the mind, body and spirit aspect, all integral parts of the healing or coping process.

Their new working project is to create a candy that will reduce the need for autoimmune patients to inhale medical marijuana via smoking. You can imagine that smoking is definitely not an ideal method for a child to receive her medicine, even if it is the only one to help them deal with their symptoms. Even learning how to do it at a young age could be baffling. Then you have adults who don’t have the desire to inhale smoke at all.

Since using Bill’s method over the last year, Lori reports her symptoms have improved. They are looking for other autoimmune patients to work with, to make the disease easier to deal with.

If you suffer from autoimmune disease and would like more information on Trident Apothecary and how they may be able to help, Lori and Bill encourage you to contact them at their Facebook page.

Lori also talks about the need to stay active and keep doing what you love. “To keep my hands working, I make suncatchers, jewelry, and other crafts using beach glass, beads, and driftwood. Multiple sclerosis has weakened my strength and dexterity. This is part of how I fight back naturally.”

—-

You can contact Lori and Bill through
www.facebook.com/TridentApothecary.

Lori’s arts and crafts are at www.facebook.com/Willowhawk-Glass.

If something happened with our heartiness, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states connected to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What people talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you should look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as core trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction turn on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a state called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this medication passes into breast milk.

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Story by Ingrid Sjostrand | Photos by Bernie LaFramboise

Every December, Royal Oak is flooded with Santas, Mrs. Claus, elves, and many more holiday-costumed individuals. While this may not seem out of place on December 25, you’ll witness this weeks before Christmas. The reason for the early holiday spirit? SantaCon, a holiday- themed pub crawl sponsored by Ultimate Fun Productions and The Social Connection.

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 5.54.12 PMIf you’ve attended an event or bar crawl in metro Detroit, chances are high that it was produced or sponsored by either The Social Connection or Ultimate Fun Productions. These Ferndale-based groups host everything from tailgate parties, galas, monthly dinners and bar crawls.

Ultimate Fun Productions, run by Matt Flynn, holds most of its events in Royal Oak, Ferndale and Detroit. The Social Connection, founded and run by Regina Stocco, also produces social events and festivals within the same area. Ticket sales and event proceeds from both groups benefit a variety of charities, including AIDS Walk Detroit, Help Cerebral Palsy Kids Corp, Royal Oak Historical Society and Healthy Detroit. Most events through Social Connection and Ultimate Fun Productions have tickets available from $10 to $65 and offer discounted tickets for purchasing early.

On December 12, these groups offer two opportunities to show holiday spirit. Starting with the Santa Hat Hustle at 8:30 A.M. Racers have the choice of a 10K, 5K run/walk or a one-mile Santa Stroll. Prices range from $10 to $55. Participants are encouraged to bring at least one unwrapped toy for a drive benefiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland and Macomb counties.

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 5.54.16 PMFollowing the race at 1:00 P.M., runners can join the festivities of Santa Con. Tickets cost $15 and include specials on holiday spirits and drinks at eleven of Royal Oak’s best bars, including BlackFinn, Gusoline Alley, Hamlin Corner and Ale Mary’s. A portion of ticket sales will also go toward the Boys and Girls Clubs. Costumes are not required (but are encouraged) and attendees can enter to win Uber gift cards, as well as tickets to the Resolution Ball and Motor City Gala, two New Year’s Eve events also sponsored by Ultimate Fun Productions and Social Connection.

The Motor City Gala takes place in the 11,000 square foot main ballroom at the Atheneum Hotel. This formal event hosts a VIP dinner with live jazz, performances by two comedians, followed by some of Detroit’s most popular DJs to bring in the New Year. The other event, Motor City New Year’s Eve THE DROP is a free event that draws 20,000+ at Campus Martius and Cadillac Square in the heart of Downtown Detroit.

Meanwhile, The Social Connection will be hosting the 12th Annual Resolution Ball at the Fillmore Detroit for New Years Eve. This ticket is one of the hottest in town, as the event sells out every year before Christmas. Offering discounted hotel rooms and free shuttles to and from the event, you can do downtown Detroit in style on New Year’s Eve courtesy of The Social Connection.

Both Social Connection and Ultimate Fun Productions host an event at least once per month, with varying themes and locations, making it easy to find something to please everyone. To find info and photos from past events or a calendar of upcoming events, visit the groups’ Facebook pages or join their mailing lists.

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Social Connection on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thesocialconnection Social Connection websitte: www.thesocialconnection.com
Phone: 248-543-1000
Ultimate Fun Productions on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UltimateFunProductions Ultimate Fun Productions website: www.ultimatefunproductions.com

If slightly happened with our heartiness, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states connected to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What folk talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as soul trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a state called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

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By David Stone

JILL SCHOENHALS AND HER HUSBAND, Bob Warren (Pastor of First United Methodist in Ferndale) have always been very conscientious consumers. Whether they are avoiding products sprayed with dangerous chemicals or goods manufactured by poorly paid workers, the couple takes their purchases seriously. That, and the fact that she has extensive experience in working with nonprofit organizations, made it seem natural to convert one of the church’s unused rooms into a fair trade store.

Fair Trade is a movement with the goal of helping the oft-exploited workers in foreign countries achieve better life conditions, as well as encouraging sustainable farming and processing practices. The people at the base of the supply chain (the farmers and producers) are paid better prices for their products, and the middlemen are held to higher social and environmental standards. The end result is ideally an affordable product for the consumer and a better living standard for the people who produce it.

Jill calls her creation “A fair trade pop-up shop.” But don’t think it’s going anywhere. She refers to it that way because her business is still in the planning and research stages. She wants to see if our community can support a permanent, full- time fair trade store before she commits herself to the project.

Jill gets very excited when talking about Ferndale. She calls our city “A model for how a community does social justice; volunteering, and also with policy and government leadership.” She loves how Ferndale “Takes the lead on social justice issues as a municipality.” She also likes the “community-mindedness” of our citizens, and how we are quick to volunteer for a good cause. Jill also refers to Ferndale as an “authentic” community, with a “good ethos” and a “heart for justice.”

She also feels that Ferndale is a good place to start a small business. She describes Ferndale’s consumers as “educated, intellectually curious” individuals who create a community that “allows for creativity.” She also feels that our Chamber of Commerce and the DDA are very helpful.

Now, you, dear friend, want to know what items Jill carries? Easy enough. In the words of her own fliers, she carries “jewelry, chocolate, textiles, Christmas.”

What? She sells Christmas? I always knew, you’ll say, that Christmas was becoming commercialized.
Never worry, gentle reader, that is not what she means. Jill likes to collect Nativity scenes and creches, and her store carries an extensive collection of them. She also carries tea, coffee, and spices. I can personally vouch for the deliciousness of her coffee and chocolate, as Jill served both during the interview.

Whether you are looking for an unusual gift, love good chocolate and good coffee, or are looking for that special piece of jewelry, go to the Ferndale First United Methodist Church.

There, while buying quality items that provide a living wage to craftspeople and farmers, you will help another unique, grown-in- Ferndale enterprise to stay in business.

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The Fair Trade Ferndale Pop-Up is located in the Ferndale First United Methodist Church at 22331 Woodward (enter from Leroy Street.) It’s open from October 30 to December 19. Hours are Fridays 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., Saturdays Noon to 5:00 P.M., and Sundays before and after the 10:30 A.M. worship service. Call (248) 545-4467 or visit on the web at www.ferndalefirstumc.org or ferndalefirstumc@ ameritech.net

If something happened with our soundness, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states connected to erectile malfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What men talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction switch on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this curing passes into breast milk.

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Story by Rebecca Hammond

Oakland County Commissioner and Huntington Woods resident Helaine Zack spent three weeks at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government this past July for what she called “very intense study.” Attending a program aimed at officials of state and local governments, Zack arrived at Harvard, having been awarded an A. Alfred Taubman scholarship. The renowned local philanthropist set up two scholarships per year for local attendees of the Harvard program. Zack said she was “shocked and honored” to receive the scholarship, and flattered to have been awarded it on her first attempt.

Recipients must serve on the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments board. SEMCOG is a partnership among seven counties, a “regional collaboration on issues like the environment, parks, and roads,” Zack said.

As part of the application process, Zack wrote two essays, one being on “How to get things done as a minority member” of elected government. Harvard screened applicants to create a sort of ecosystem, Zack said. She was selected along with 20 elected and 51 unelected officials from all over the world. It was a diverse group, Zack said, including an Alabama conservative and a police chief from California. She found herself part of a network that continues to this day, keeping up with each other in what Zack referred to as a “consultant group” on Facebook. The diversity of the group helped Zack address her goals for the program. What makes good leadership? How does one challenge assumptions, deal with differing opinions?

Attendees spent six hours a day in lectures. They began each day with an hour of discussion on topics from the previous day, or related to that day’s lecture. They were also assigned hours of reading.

Zack has a long track record of public service. Back in 2002, one of then-candidate Jennifer Granholm’s five platform issues was mental health. Zack’s social work background made this approach to government attractive. “I remember thinking, I know about that.” She ran for County Commissioner that year, won her race, and took office in 2003. She was elected to a seventh two-year term in 2014 and continues to serve the 18th District, which includes Huntington Woods, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Royal Oak Township, and Oak Park.

Zack’s social work career began in employee assistance programs, something she still works at even though she retired from Beaumont a year and a half ago. The morning of our interview, she assisted employees who had just experienced the death of a coworker. She realized years ago that taking care of oneself in such professions must be a priority, telling me “You have to put the oxygen mask on yourself before you can help others.” So to relax and recharge, she walks and bikes, often bicycling to Ferndale. She’s a longtime gardener, having been part of a vegetable co-op as a student at the University of Michigan, and has raised beds in her front-yard garden to this day. She enjoys historical fiction and travel. And keeping Sabbath is important to Zack. She attends synagogue and unplugs from media and technology for the day, finding that unplugging “very healing.”

“Life happens to all of us,” Zack told me. “We have physical and emotional responses.” Part of her work for years was helping others deal with those responses. Zack describes herself as a person who “truly wants to help and make a difference.” With her dual careers of social work and public service, Zack continues to live what she preaches.

If something happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a preparation. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states connected to erectile dysfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What men talk about “viagra stories“? The most vital aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile malfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a status called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual dysfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

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Story by Ingrid Sjostrand | Photos by Ed Abeska & Joyce Hill

Experiencing a runner’s high as you cross the finish line of a 5k, feeling the adrenaline rush when you score a goal, or the overwhelming joy and camaraderie from a team win are just a few of the many beneficial experiences of sports and fitness.

The gains are more than just physical; they are proven to increase mental health, making it incredibly important that these activities are available to everyone.

This is the mission of GUTSTM, located at 1008 Orchard St in Ferndale, started by brothers Todd and Paul Turner. GUTS stands for “Ground Up Training,” following the idea that the simplest forms of exercise are often the most effective and workouts should be tailored to the client.

“Regardless a person’s age, ability or activity level, or whether a person has special needs or not, our goal is to build you up physically and mentally and we start ‘from the ground up’ to make that happen,” Paul tells me. “We can all build on what we have.”

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 4.09.40 PMWhat makes GUTS stand out from all other gyms around is their focus on the special needs community, an initiative they call “Team GUTS.” Using research from Dr. Dale Ulrich, head of the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology, showing how early involvement in fitness can improve the health and functioning in pediatric disabilities, the Turner brothers have worked to create an environment and program tailored to special needs clients.

Fitness has always been important to the Turners. The lack of athletic options for special needs individuals hit close to home when Todd started looking for options for his youngest daughter Amarissa, who has a dual diagnosis of autism and Down syndrome.

“After searching for programs, it was evident to Todd that individuals in the special needs community had little or no options when it came to physical fitness and athletics.” Paul says.

GUTS was established in August of 2015, has a 501(c)3 charity status and currently has about 20 clients. While they are working to build a clientele of special needs individuals they also offer personal training and classes to anyone. Their facility has a studio room for group classes, including yoga, Zumba and karate, there is a weight room, and the large turf area can handle baseball, soccer, football and other sports training.

“If you are interested, come try it, if your son or daughter, or your loved one that’s 25 or 26 has special needs we want them to check us out,” Paul says. Neither brother wants anything to be a deterrent to bringing a loved one to try Team GUTS, especially a financial situation.

“For families that can’t afford it, there’s an appli- cation for sponsor- ship. The goal is to not say no to any- body,”Paul encourages. Using money from charitable contributions and payment from other clients allows the Turners to offer these sponsorships.

“The neurotypical kids that come in here pay and so that’s how we are keeping everything afloat,” Paul says. “If this group can help this other group you have all kinds of clients that are crossing paths and it’s a healthy thing.”

Deciding to call Ferndale home has been beneficial to GUTS mission too. Having recently joined the Chamber of Commerce, Paul says everyone from the building inspectors to residents have been more than welcoming. “Ferndale is happening, the community has been very great, they’ve really embraced it,” he says.
Mindy Domke, a Ferndale resident of eight years, took her seven-year old son, who has autism spectrum disorder, to Team GUTS.

“It’s a great facility; Paul took my kids for a personal tour the first time we were there. He’s done a fantastic job creating a safe and encouraging space for kids to be active,” Mindy says. “My oldest son loves sports but can get frustrated with normal organized classes for kids his age. We went to TEAM GUTS karate class and my son loved it. It’s amazing to have a business in my city like this.”

GUTS currently has eight trainers and coaches, as well as Todd. They are all qualified and enthusiastic about helping others and teaching sports and fitness.

“These year round fitness classes are for this audience, and we would love for people to come and check it out for free,” Paul urges. “No obligations, meet us, meet the instructors, and see if your loved one engages. The goal is to get something for everyone.”

—-

Learn more at www.grounduptraining.com/teamguts/

If something happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotency and other states coupled to erectile disfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What men talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction turn on injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a state called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual malfunction. Even though this medicine is not for use in women, it is not known whether this medication passes into breast milk.

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Story by Jeff Lilly | Portrait of Kerri, Paul, and Miranda by Jeff Lilly | Other photos courtesy of BNektar

Drive along Wanda Street, on Ferndale’s East side, to Jarvis Street. There, among the aging industrial buildings, a beehive of activity has taken root. BNektar has been brewing exquisite alcoholic potables since 2006; mead (an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey,) wines, and recently, small batches of beer. A spacious and comfortable tap room is open five nights a week, serving the company’s products and offering bottles for sale.

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 3.54.34 PMBNektar’s beginnings were humble enough: Ferndalian friends experimenting, brewing mead in their basement. Brad and Kerri Dahlhofer and Paul Zimmerman, however, had no idea what they were uncorking at first.

“I was home-brewing with Brad in his basement.” Paul (now director of product development) recalls. “But (selling it) was Kerri’s idea.”

“I don’t think they thought I was serious, at first.” Kerri laughs.

Out of a job at the time, Kerri decided to take the leap. After heavily researching liquor laws and licensing, the search was on for a place to call home.

“We were originally looking to open in Royal Oak,” Kerri says. But a newspaper article mistakenly stated that they were looking in Ferndale. “So the City contacted us and said…’Hey, we’ve heard of you.’”

The City of Ferndale helped them to find a space and assisted with the intricacies of the paperwork, and the facility opened its doors in August of 2008.

Originally housed in one 1100-square-foot building, BNektar now boasts 16,000 square feet of floor space at the main building, plus the beautiful and spacious tap room, plus a second facility under development down the street that, once it comes online, will triple BNektar’s capacity.

So how does a meadery that begins in a basement get their products noticed in what’s become an extremely
competetive microbrew environment?

“We’re in 23 states now, as well as several countries in Europe.” Says Miranda Johnson, BNektar’s marketing director (her business card titles her “Ambassador of Buzz”). “We look at markets that actually want us. We work with our distributors.

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 3.56.09 PMPlus, we offer something that’s unique.” But the biggest weapon seems to be word-of-mouth, and the enthusiasm of the people running the many web sites dedicated to the appreciation and review of potent potables. “We get e-mails from everywhere. The cool thing is…people going to visit their aunt in the Carolinas, and they’re like, ‘They have Zombie Killer (BNektar’s flagship cider) and I live in Iowa. Where do I get this?’ and they call me. It allows us to engage with future customers.”

“There’s also a lot of trading.” Kerri chimes in. “People get unique brews from different areas, and then they trade with people in other areas who have stuff that we can’t get… word spreads.” BNektar had reviews of their products coming in from Belgium, for example, before any of their products were offered for sale there.

BNektar began with six different flavors of mead. Now, at any time, there are at least 20 flavors available in the tap room, and they’re always adding new ones. Paul gets a question about their flavor experiments.

“I don’t usually want to make a mead with just one thing… I want some more depth to it,” He explains. Part of the inspiration comes from a love of cooking in general and knowing what flavors go together.

Necromangocon, for example, is a mead brewed with mango and black pepper, which is “a classic combination.” The naming seems to be half the fun; you can also try “Kill all the Golfers” (a black tea and lemon-juice mead) or “The Dude’s Rug” (a hard cider with chai spices) among many other choices.

Sometimes the experiments backfire, or run into unforeseen straits. Paul recounts the story of a certain mead that ran into trouble when the supply of citrus used to flavor it first fluctuated wildly in quality, then dried up altogether. Though he loved the results, “I have no desire to make (that one) again!”

With BNektar’s expansion, will this whole industrial area east of the train tracks soon become a sort of Alcohol Alley? The three busy Bs laugh a bit, then smile in a way that tells me that the thought has already occurred to them…so let’s raise our glasses high, to the future!

BNektar’s Taproom is located at 1511 Jarvis Street in Ferndale. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own food. Tipping is not allowed; BNektar pays its workers a living wage. The Taproom is open Thursday through Monday.

—-

 

Check their web site for operating hours and for more information: www.bnektar.com

If slightly happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a cure. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states united to erectile malfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What people talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Causes of sexual disfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a state called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual malfunction. Even though this physic is not for use in women, it is not known whether this curing passes into breast milk.

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Story by David Wesley | Photos by Ed Abeska

LAWRENCE STREET GALLERY was established in 1987 by a small group of artists to showcase and sell their work in a gallery setting. Soon the membership expanded their goals to include other Michigan artists’ works by opening up the gallery space for solo, two- person, and group exhibitions; holding juried competitions in several different media such as photography, printmaking, ceramics and drawing/ figure exhibitions, and inviting other admired artists to participate in invitational exhibitions.

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 3.45.23 PMExhibits change monthly. Members are also encouraged to have their own solo shows. A lively, creative group that loves to display other area artist’s work along with their own leads to exhibit- ions that contain interesting and various media. On display at the gallery are unique artistic pieces in a wide range of media including acrylic, oil, and watercolor paintings, drawings, fibers, prints, ceramics, black and white, color, and experimental photography, metal, clay, bronze, and wood sculpture, jewelry and painted furniture.

One of the key goals of the gallery is showcasing the vast field of talented artists in local region. Another is to provide visitors with an assortment of fresh, one-of-a-kind original works at buyer-friendly prices. Their optimal membership is 28 artists, and a member artist is always available to serve and advise you as you explore the gallery.

Laura Whitesides Host has been with the Gallery from the beginning and she gave Ferndale Friends a behind- the-scenes take on the the gallery’s history.

Ferndale Friends: What inspired you and the others to start Lawrence Street Gallery?

Laura Whitesides Host: I met Carolyn Fontana, who owned a gallery in downtown Pontiac, at a party at my friend’s home back in 1986. She had bought the old Salvation Army building on Lawrence Street, and it had been the location of the Schweyer Galdo Gallery before she had purchased it. It was a beautiful gallery with large windows and soaring ceilings.and expansive wall space to exhibit a lot of artwork.

She didn’t have a lot of experience in running a gallery, but she had plenty of enthusiasm. She was thinking about changing it to an artist cooperative gallery so she would not have to do all the work. My closets were full of paintings with nowhere to go, so I attended a meeting she held to show area artists the gallery space. I took a friend along and after seeing it, we decided to take a chance. I think there were about 12 artists who ended up in the original group.

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 3.45.31 PMWe decided to incorporate the next year and called it Lawrence Street Gallery. Most of us really enjoyed the whole business of presenting our art and selling our work. We had all entered juried art exhibits, but really never had a chance to have our work presented in a gallery setting month after month.

We started having special themed exhibits and art fashion shows as well as teaching creative writing in the gallery setting to reach more artists. Part of our mission has always been to help area artists exhibit their work and have the public come and see the amazing work being created in this area. We gradually became a larger group and the building was sold, so we moved to Saginaw Street (Pontiac’s main street downtown) and decided to keep the name of the gallery. We were one of the first galleries in (downtown Pontiac) in the late 80’s and atone point there were 13 galleries that had openings on the First Friday of every month.

Alas, we were one of the last to leave the area and relocated to Ferndale on Woodward Avenue in 2003, keeping the Lawrence Street Gallery name. We were able to have enough room to have 30 members exhibit and have room for a featured exhibit in the front of the gallery.

FF: How have you seen Lawrence Street Gallery impact the Detroit art scene over the years?

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 3.45.36 PMLWH: We have exhibited many area artists’ work and many have gone on to exhibit nationally. There aren’t many art co-ops around and we are proud to still be going strong after all these years. Somehow we have found the ideal business model for an art gallery to continue.

FF: What would you and the others like to see for Lawrence Street’s future?

LWH: I would like to see continued excitement from artists to participate in the gallery’s business. I can’t believe it’s been almost 30 years since those first days. I have enjoyed the planning of event and exhibits, helping other artists learn the business of being an artist, and meeting so many creative people. It’s a lot of work, but made easier doing it with a group. All our members have gone through a jury process as well as the solo guest artists. I know I have benefited immensely by being a member of LSG. Remember my friend that came with me that first night in 1986? She’s still a member. We’re the last two original members still working at the gallery!

The Lawrence Street Gallery is located at 22620 Woodward Avenue, Suite A in Ferndale. For information on their upcoming exhibits or for information on entering your work there, visit www.lawrencestreetgallery.com or call 248-544-0394

If something happened with our health, we believe there is a solution to any maladies in a medicament. What medicines do patients purchase online? Viagra which is used to treat impotence and other states coupled to erectile malfunction. Learn more about “sildenafil“. What men talk about “viagra stories“? The most substantial aspect you must look for is “sildenafil citrate“. Such problems commonly signal other problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as soul trouble. Causes of sexual dysfunction include injury to the penis. Chronic disease, several medicaments, and a condition called Peyronie’s disease can also cause sexual disfunction. Even though this physic is not for use in women, it is not known whether this treatment passes into breast milk.

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