Stories indexed with the term ‘local business’

We are extremely grateful to the people who advertise with The Chronicle – they are the reason we’re able to do what we do. We hope our readers take note of them, too, especially if you’re a subscriber to our RSS feeds and don’t get to see their ads on our site. You can find our complete list of advertisers here.

Some of them – the Washtenaw Drain Commission, for example, or the Ann Arbor Public Schools – aren’t in the business of selling gifts in the traditional sense. But many are, and we’d encourage you to consider spending some of your holiday dollars in their shops. To that end, here’s a quick roundup of some of the things you’ll find at these local businesses. [Full Story]

Economic development doesn’t always hinge on bureaucracies or government funding. It also happens organically, when small businesses find ways to help each other blossom.

You can see that phenomenon in person at Everyday Wines, a Kerrytown shop owned by Mary Campbell. She’s now providing space for two other businesses – Pot & Box and A Knife’s Work – to sell flowers and food there, giving the store the feel of a small European market. [Full Story]

Kim Cameron projected an image on the screen and asked people what they saw. “Mars,” someone guessed.   Someone else thought it was an aerial satellite photo, presumably of planet Earth.

It was a cow, Cameron revealed, at which point the group murmured a collective “Aaah!”

The cow’s head was defined by the lighter shadings in the image. “When you look at the light,” Cameron said, “everything changes.” It’s not the image that changes, it’s your perspective on it.

The exercise was an effective illustration of Cameron’s message: Being positive can yield enormous results, both physiologically and in your business. [Full Story]

Seven years ago, Eileen Bristol was about to move to California when the property at Huron and First came up for sale.

“I said, ‘Oh, man, I love that building – what could I do there?” she recalls, laughing.

The building was a former gas station built in the 1930s, and what she decided to do was start RelaxStation, a small walk-in massage business that crammed a lot of personality into the tight 280-square-foot space. Business has been good – so good that “we pretty well maxed out the space,” she says.

It was time to expand, and her project to more than double the space – a $900,000 $90,000 investment – is nearing completion. [Full Story]

How well-connected are you to people in Ann Arbor? You can test your social network’s strength by seeing how many people you know of the 220 local customers featured in new Bank of Ann Arbor TV and radio ads.

It’s amazing how many people you can cram into a 30-second spot when all they say is “Me.” It’s also amazing how funny that simple concept is, and how effective in conveying the bank’s point: We’re local, and we help folks.

The campaign reflects the quirky sensibility of Ann Arbor-based Perich Advertising + Design, the agency which put the ads together. (Oh, and Ernie Perich is on BOAA’s board of directors.) Check out the two radio spots and three TV … [Full Story]