Not long after midnight, the Kerrytown neighborhood was treated to several tunes played by a group of folks Joe O'Neal had gathered up. Among the songs was "Danny Boy," performed by Chronicle editor Dave Askins. Joe's daughter, Heather O'Neal, guided performers by pointing to the notes as they played.

The Chronicle spent part of its New Year’s Eve – the midnight part – at a small gathering in Kerrytown Market & Shops. Owner Joe O’Neal credits Mary Cambruzzi, proprietor of FOUND Gallery, with the idea: Open up the building for a few people to toast the new year with champagne or sparkling juice, and give people a chance to ring in 2012 by playing the carillon.

We were able to join the small event, because earlier in the day on New Year’s Eve, I happened to run into Joe at the Ann Arbor farmers market.

As Joe and I chatted, he showed me a new alcove outside the building – with benches and a plaque – honoring Ginny Johansen, a former Ann Arbor city councilmember and farmers market supporter who died last year. We also talked about the success of this year’s KindleFest, which on one night in early December drew several thousand people to Kerrytown. The regular stores stayed open late, and the farmers market was filled with vendors – selling everything from holiday greenery to glühwein. The energy of the crowds was exhilarating, and made me wish for more events like that.

In that context, Joe mentioned the New Year’s Eve gathering later that night, and invited us to drop by and play the carillon. Though it’s been a small affair for the past couple of years, he sees the possibility for more. His vision 10 years from now is to draw 10,000 people to Kerrytown on New Year’s Eve. Maybe someone could build a sort of reverse Times Square ball, he said, that would shoot up instead of dropping down. There could be fireworks. And carillon-playing, of course.

His vision made me think of how some of the most special things in this town start small, with one or two people thinking just a little bit bigger. So in this month’s Chronicle milestone column, I’d like to share a few thoughts on that as we head into the new year.

Making Connections

Since launching The Chronicle in 2008, I’ve been struck by how our publication’s narrow focus – covering local government and civic affairs – actually cuts across a relatively large cross-section of this community. At some point, even people who have no ongoing interest in local government have some reason to brush up against it.

That interaction with government might stem from dissatisfaction about some action the city council or staff has taken – like eliminating the service of Christmas tree pickup. Or it might be prompted by someone’s desire to encourage the city council to take future action – like maintain funding for public art.

People who might otherwise never contemplate attending a public meeting might be drawn to attend a forum to find out what changes the city staff have planned for their neighborhood park. Folks who would ordinarily never show up to listen to city council deliberations might find themselves at a meeting being recognized with a proclamation honoring their achievements.

As we arrived at Kerrytown near midnight on New Year’s Eve, I thought about the cross-section of the community we typically chronicle. Joe is not exactly a usual suspect at public meetings, but we’ve encountered him for at least two reasons over the last three years. In his role as owner of O’Neal Construction, he was drawn to the community discussion of the future of the Argo dam – he was vocal about the fact that the concrete and steel dam his company reconstructed back in the early 1970s was still in good condition. Joe is also a driving force behind the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy, and serves on its board.

The conservancy board’s president, Jonathan Bulkley, also attended the New Year’s Eve gathering at Kerrytown, along with his wife Trudy. Bulkley had been honored at a Sept. 6, 2011 city council meeting – the mayor read a proclamation honoring Bulkley’s contributions to the University of Michigan, the state of Michigan, the Great Lakes region and the nation. And Sept. 9, 2011 was proclaimed Jonathan Bulkley Day in Ann Arbor. Trudy has made her own mark in town – as “Mother Goose,” she regularly holds children’s storytelling events at Kerrytown Market & Shops.

Also participating in the Kerrytown gathering was Amy Kuras, an accomplished cellist who also rocked the carillon on New Year’s Eve with Auld Lang Syne. But regular Chronicle readers will probably recognize Amy’s name from our coverage of the park advisory commission – as a city park planner, she often gives reports to the commission at its monthly meetings. She also frequently leads public forums for special parks project in the city, like one held last year in preparation for work at Riverside Park.

The Next Big Thing?

So the cross-sectional slice of the community that Chronicle readers encounter isn’t as narrow as you might think, given the narrowness of our focus to local government and civic affairs. But events that include a wider swath of the community are invigorating, when people come together who might not ordinarily cross paths. That’s the appeal to me of events like KindleFest. It’s also the appeal of Joe’s vision – that a fairly intimate gathering to play the Kerrytown carillon could grow to a public New Year’s Eve celebration at Kerrytown.

Last year’s Water Hill Music Fest is an example of something that started with a small concept, and turned into an absolutely inspiring phenomenon. Paul and Claire Tinkerhess had a vision for a joyful neighborhood celebration, but their efforts crescendoed into a major community event. The day-long festival drew hundreds of people to that area to hear musicians who lived there perform on their front porches. It became an “instant classic” – it earned Paul and Claire one of The Chronicle’s inaugural Bezonki Awards. It also gave their neighborhood a name that both reflects and shapes its unique identity. And you couldn’t walk down the streets at Water Hill Music Fest without running into someone you knew – even if you didn’t live there.

I’m not a believer that big is inherently better. That’s one reason why I like the concept of Small Giants, Bo Burlington’s movement that encourages companies to be great instead of gigantic.

But a sense of connectedness – important for a strong, healthy sense of community – requires shared experiences. And I’m guessing that, for the most part, I won’t be able to get everyone in Ann Arbor to share the experience of sitting on a hard bench through an entire city council or county board of commissioners meeting.

So instead, I hope Joe follows up on his vision for a public New Year’s Eve bash. I’ll try to find a way to help make that happen.

About the writer: Mary Morgan is publisher and co-founder of The Ann Arbor Chronicle. The Chronicle could not survive to count each milestone without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of local government and civic affairs. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

Scott Robertello of Kapnick Orchards spoke during public commentary, criticizing proposed changes to the vendor application and inspection forms, among other things. (Photo by the writer.)

She noted that one of the market commissioners, Shannon Brines, was absent because he also had spent the day at the summit, as one of its organizers, and was wrapping up loose ends there. Though both the commission meeting and the summit have similar themes – both focused on locally grown food – The Chronicle will report on the summit in a separate article.

Tuesday’s commission meeting touched on several topics, including a proposed transfer of seniority between two market vendors, and an upcoming annual meeting with vendors on March 8. At that meeting, the commission will be getting feedback on proposed changes to the city’s vendor application and inspection forms.

The annual meeting and revisions to the forms were the focus of two speakers during public commentary. Market vendors Scott Robertello of Kapnick Orchards and Bruce Upston of Wasem Fruit Farm criticized aspects of the proposed changes, saying that too much information was being required.

Annual Vendor Meeting

Commissioners reviewed the agenda for their March 8 annual vendor meeting, to be held from 6-8 p.m. at Cobblestone Farm, 2781 Packard Road. Items on the agenda include a discussion of 2010 events at the market; an update on changes to the market facilities, the Fifth Avenue streetscape and Kerrytown area; an update from the commission’s outreach subcommittee; and a time for questions from vendors.

In addition, part of the meeting will focus on proposed changes to vendor application and inspection forms, and on getting feedback from vendors. At their February meeting, commissioners had spent considerable time discussing those changes. [See Chronicle coverage: "Market Commission Preps Vendor Meeting"] The agenda and drafts of those forms will be posted on the commission’s website.

Public Commentary

Two vendors from the Farmers Market spoke during public commentary, both of them critical about proposed changes to the vendor application and inspection forms, among other issues.

Scott Robertello of Kapnick Orchards started out by saying he was very disappointed that the city wouldn’t reimburse vendors more quickly for Project Fresh coupons – he reported that one once occasions he had to wait almost 120 days before he got reimbursed. [Project Fresh provides coupons for fresh fruit and vegetables to those enrolled in the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.] Robertello said he also is a vendor at the Garden City farmers market, a much smaller venue. There, he said, they collect coupons and reimburse vendors once a month.

Robertello also criticized communication about the upcoming meeting with vendors on March 8. He had just received the mailed notice about the meeting on March 1, even though he knew the commission had set the date more than a month ago. The new vendor application hadn’t been available on the commission’s website, he said – they needed to be more clear and upfront about what they are doing.

There were several concerns that Robertello had with the proposed vendor inspection forms. He objected to the amount of personal information that was being asked for, such as cell phone numbers. Certain people, he said, make Freedom of Information Act requests to get that kind of information to harass him. He also noted that there seemed to be a major emphasis on getting ingredients for baked goods, while other types of products didn’t require the same level of detail. He said he knew that some people had come to the commission and complained about him. [At previous meetings, Luis Vazquez has spoken during public commentary to criticize Kapnick Orchards for not following market rules on baked goods.]

Bruce Upston of Wasem Fruit Farm said he was in “total agreement” with Robertello. The proposed inspection form could take days to complete. “It’s more like an IRS audit rather than a market inspection,” he said. Upston also said he received a notice in the mail on March 1 about the March 8 meeting. Though he had known about the meeting previously, he said many vendors didn’t. The market commission could do a better job of getting the word out, he concluded, because there are significant changes in the works.

Seniority Transfer

The commission discussed a request to transfer market seniority from Ken Prielipp to Karlene Goetz. Prielipp – of HillTop Greenhouse & Farms – is retiring and has applied to transfer his seniority to Goetz, a relative who also sells at the market.

A public hearing on the transfer is set for the commission’s April 6 meeting. This is part of a standard process whenever a transfer is requested, said Molly Notarianni, market manager. The commission will then make a recommendation, which will be sent to the city’s community services administrator for a final decision.

Responding to a question from commissioner Diane Black, Notarianni said there are limited conditions under which seniority can be transferred: When someone dies, retires or the business is purchased.

After the meeting, Notarianni clarified why the status of a vendor’s seniority is valued. There is a seniority list that records how long each vendor has been selling at the market – some vendors go back several decades, she said. At 6 a.m. every Saturday, the market manager gathers with the vendors to assign stalls for the day. A vendor’s seniority determines the order in which those stall assignments are made – the most senior vendor gets first pick, and so on.

Peter Pollack told commissioners that they should plan to vote on the transfer at the April 6 meeting.

Updates from the Market Manager

Molly Notarianni reported that three potential vendors had applied to the market. One wants to sell handmade organic skin care products. Another would sell vegan baked goods, including cookies, brownies and banana bread. A third applicant proposes selling a variety of products, including chickens, eggs and basil. In addition, she said that two vendors who’ve been previously turned down – offering to sell South American baked goods and stained glass items, respectively – have made queries about applying again.

Commissioners reported that they’d received an email from someone who wanted to sell worms for use in gardening. In the email, the person inquired whether this type of item was something that the market would even consider – was it worth going through the process of applying? “I would say yes,” said commissioner Genia Service.

Other items from Notarianni’s report:

• Starting on May 22 through August, every Saturday the nonprofit Peace, Love & Planet will be collecting plastic garden pots and trays to recycle from shoppers and vendors.
• The farmers market and adjacent Kerrytown Market & Shops are planning an event that will include a tour of both venues, highlighting products in the market and possibly ending with a meal in the shopping complex. The shops are also interested in partnering with the market for some kind of an open house for students in the fall.
• The Homegrown Local Food Summit focused on a “10% for Washtenaw” campaign, Notarianni reported. The goal is to get residents to spend 10% of their food budget on locally produced food. “That can only bode well for the market,” she said.

In a follow-up question from commissioner Peter Pollack, Notarianni said that replacements for the large signs in the market are still being produced. Shannon Brines had requested a change in the design, adding information to indicate that the market is open Saturdays year-round. Those changes are being made, she said.

Present: Commissioners Dave Barkman, Diane Black, Peter Pollack, and Genia Service. Also: Molly Notarianni, market manager.

Absent: Shannon Brines.

Next meeting: The commission’s next regular meeting is on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. in the fourth floor of the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown building, 343 S. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor. [confirm date]

The Sunday Artisan Market banner, made by artist Cheri Reiman, who sells tie-dye clothing at the market.

Maybe it was pre-FestiFools roaming, or maybe it was spillover from the NCAA tournament in Detroit – whatever the reason, crowds were bigger than on any previous opening day at Ann Arbor’s Sunday Artisan Market, according to the group’s vice president, Joan Hutchinson. It wasn’t clear whether those people were actually buying, though – vendors we talked to had mixed experiences.

Kate Kehoe, whose notebooks made from old video box covers are the reporter notebooks of choice for The Chronicle, said she was having a pretty good day. Some of the people who’d passed through included a group decked out in Tar Heels regalia, she said. (The University of North Carolina team beat Villanova on Saturday and faces Michigan State University in Monday’s championship game.)

Mike Grady, who makes wood-turned objects, said he’d sold exactly one corkscrew all day. The cold weather, the economy – who knows what makes people spend their money, or not? He hopes next Sunday will be better.

The three Js, from left: Jane Kent, Jane Holt and Joan Hutchinson, at Kent's pottery booth. All three are officers on the artisan market board.

Hutchinson said more than 60 vendors have signed up to have a weekly spot at the market, which runs from Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., April through December.

They pay $200 annually for their booth. In addition, the market includes “dailies” – artisans who show up on an ad hoc basis week-to-week. They pay $15 a week to get a space on a first come, first served basis.

With more than 200 spots in the covered area – which is also home to the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on Saturdays – there’s room to grow, Hutchinson says.

In terms of raising awareness about the market, she says, “I think of it as a destination market, and we haven’t made it there yet.”

Shoppers at the Sunday Artisan market in Kerrytown.

Mary Baker makes these kaleidoscopes out of Pringles cans.

Barn paintings by M. Royal Schroll.

Joan Hutchinson sells smudge – bundles of dried herbs that are used as incense and in healing rituals.

Marjorie Johns sells handmade herbal soaps. Her business is named Stone Cloud Gardens. Her husband sells the same soaps under the name Bob's Wife's Soaps.

Across North Fourth Avenue in Braun Court, folks were setting up Sunday for the FestiFeast, a barbeque and evening of entertainment following the FestiFools parade and hosted by the aut bar.

The distinctive carillon tower at Kerrytown Market & Shops.

This month, The Chronicle is highlighting Ann Arbor area businesses where you might find just what you need for people on your holiday gift-giving list. Our reports are a sampling – we welcome readers and business owners to add their own suggestions in the comments section. We’ve previously looked at local shops selling used/rare books, and made some suggestions for the political junkies in your life. Today, we’ll look at a few of the shops in Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown district.

For the kids: On the second floor of Kerrytown Market & Shops, two adjacent stores cater to kids. Elephant Ears sells clothing for children up to 12 years old, plus items like umbrellas and bedding. Next door, Mudpuddles Toys carries games, books, puppets, Thomas the Train and all manner of kits for wintry-day projects.

Kids can also meet Santa at Kerrytown on Saturdays this month from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The shops will have carolers singing holiday songs as well, similar to the festivities reported in a recent Stopped. Watched. item.

Eclectic gifts: The Chronicle was nosing around Found Gallery earlier this week and talked with owner Mary Cambruzzi, who told us that the silver spoon angels they sell, made by local artist John Marchello, are among their most popular items.

Angels made from silver spoons by local artist John Marchello, sold at Found Gallery. Marchello engraves "Ann Arbor" on the bottom of each piece.

As its name implies, the shop (also on the second floor of Kerrytown Market) carries a mix of vintage items – antique ornaments, for example, or a copy of your favorite Bobbsey Twins novel – as well as re-purposed objects like the silver spoon angels or jewelry fashioned from old typewriter keys, by local artist Amy Lagler.

Going down to the first floor, Hollander’s is best known for its amazing variety of specialty papers, but Tom and Cindy Hollander also sell notecards and other stationary, bookmarks, work by local artists, and supplies to make your own books. They’re also known for their workshops – is anyone on your list a potential bookbinder?

Though one advantage of Kerrytown Market is the fact that it houses several stores under one roof, if you go on the weekends you can also browse local vendors outside at the Farmers Market on Saturday or the Sunday Artisan Market. These folks deserve a visit for toughing out the sometimes brutal December weather, and you’ll find a wide range of wares for sale, including clothing, food, jewelry, artwork, birdhouses, cards and more.

Clothing: In Kerrytown Market & Shops, Vintage to Vogue and Mathilde’s Imports both sell lovely frockery for women. And if you venture outside to the opposite end of the Farmers Market, you’ll find Collected Works, another women’s clothing store that sells jewelry and other accessories, too.

Mike Monahan, owner of Monahan's Seafood Market, talks to a customer.

Food & drink: Everyday Wines on the first floor of Kerrytown Market carries a wide selection of wine and champagne, as well as wine glasses, coolers, wine openers and other items. Owner Mary Campbell is often in the store and willing to help you make a selection. On the day we dropped by, she introduced us to “cork pops,” a novel kind of bottle opener. She also sells gift cards – for values of $50 or higher, she donates 5% to Food Gatherers.

Monahan’s Seafood Market and Sparrow Markets (a butcher shop and grocery) are both on the main floor of Kerrytown Market & Shops, and owners Mike Monahan and Bob Sparrow are usually behind their respective counters. And that’s really part of the beauty of shopping at locally owned stores – you can get to know the people behind the counter.

A selection of spices and dried mushrooms at Spice Merchants, on the second floor of Kerrytown Market & Shops.

Sparrow Markets sells kitchen supplies, T-shirts and other non-food items.

A window display at Everyday Wines.

The entrance to Collected Works, a women's clothing store in Kerrytown next to the Farmers Market.

Keith Orr's tables don't wobble thanks to shims with the brand name Shove-it. It means patrons don't have to get creative with sugar packets to level out their eating and drinking surface.

People keep throwing snowballs at Keith Orr. But not in real life. They only do it on Facebook, which is a social networking website. Or at least The Chronicle witnessed no snowballs thrown in his direction at the aut BAR on Tuesday morning for the hour before it opened for lunch at 11 a.m. The Chronicle spent that hour talking to Orr about his recent appointment to the board of the Downtown Development Authority. His first board meeting was Dec. 3.

By way of background, the DDA board needs to meet certain objective criteria as a group: 1 seat for the mayor or city administrator; 1 seat for a resident of the DDA District; 7 seats for downtown property owners, downtown employees or individuals with an interest in downtown real estate, 3 seats for citizens-at-large.

Orr is a downtown property owner. With Martin Contreras, he owns the aut BAR and the Common Language Bookstore, both located in Braun Court. As we chatted at a table in the front window of the aut BAR, Orr talked a bit about the fact that he and Contreras are often mentioned as a pair, in contexts usually reserved for individuals. He gave the example of a profile done a few years ago in The Ann Arbor Observer that included them as a pair. The Chronicle could add an online example in the form of their joint entry in the People page of ArborWiki. In the BASIC computer language this fact of joint mention could be summarized as follows:

10 INPUT B$

20 IF B$ = “Keith Orr” GOTO 40

30 GOTO 50

40 LET B$ = B$ + “and Martin Contreras”

50 PRINT B$

Not that Orr would necessarily summarize it that way. But he probably could if he wanted to. He related to The Chronicle how he used to write BASIC programs back in the ’80s when he worked at Tec-Ed, a usability research and interaction design computer firm that still exists in Ann Arbor. Chronicle readers may be familiar with their ads for research subjects to test websites in the bulletin board section of The Ann Arbor News.

Orr started working at Tec-Ed right out of college as a courier and administrative support staff, then moved to writing programs in BASIC when Larry Rusinsky taught him the language. The skill set still serves Orr well: he does the website work for the aut BAR and Common Language Bookstore.

While he was at Tec-Ed, though, Orr says that wasn’t his career focus. He was a bassist with the Toledo Symphony, having started playing there in 1977 at the age of 19. His take on the Tec-Ed job as a career is reflected partly in his dislike of the Friday morning company meetings – which he generally tried to miss by strategically arranging other appointments. Like at the dentist, for example. On one occasion during the Bush Recession of 1987, Orr says he had successfully dodged the company meeting and returned to the office and noticed that the in-out board looked different. His name wasn’t on it, and neither were the names of one-third of his colleagues, who had been laid off. To be clear, the reason Orr was laid off had nothing to do with the fact that he missed the meeting, and he says there were no ill feelings towards the company. He still keeps in loose touch with Stephanie Rosenbaum, founder and president of Tec-Ed.

Unlike his colleagues who did see their jobs with the company as their careers, Orr had the alternative of his string bass. He showed The Chronicle some of his thumb and finger calluses, but says they’re nothing like they were when he was playing with the symphony. There are some chapters of Orr’s life between then and now, involving how he met Contreras and the the entry into the world of restaurant retail.

But the connection to the bass and the world of music is the one that first included him in the circle of acquaintances of the mayor of the city of Ann Arbor, John Hieftje, who makes the nominations of members to the DDA board, which then must be approved by city council. Hieftje is married to Kathryn Goodson, a classical pianist. The connection remained one of social acquaintance until policy-type interactions evolved between Orr and the mayor in connection with The Gallery project proposed at the site of the Greek Orthodox church on North Main Street. Orr, working with the Kerrytown District Association, was a party to the community effort to work with the developer to get the kind of project that the association could support.

As far as his nomination by Hieftje, Orr explained that he didn’t in any way lobby for the position. After inquiring if there was any interest a couple of years ago (which there was), Hieftje had essentially indicated to him most recently that if there was still interest, then Hieftje would nominate him to serve on the board.

Table top card featuring animated figures drawn by Orr, based on the two books featured in the Common Language Bookstore logo. The photo links to an version of the image large enough to read the speech bubbles of the characters.

It wasn’t a decision that was particularly easy for Orr. But the difficulty had nothing to do with the fact that the DDA board member that Orr would be replacing, Dave DeVarti, had indicated an interest and willingness to continue his service. (Orr and DeVarti are Facebook friends.) Orr said that the mayor’s decision not to re-appoint DeVarti wasn’t a function of his seeking DeVarti’s seat, and emphasized that the mayor didn’t ask any commitments of him while on the board, and hadn’t in any way indicated that Orr shouldn’t be a “squeaky wheel” – a description that DeVarti used to described himself on the board. In fact, said Orr, “I’m a believer in squeaky wheels!”

Asked if he had a sense of the process employed by Hieftje to arrive at a decision to nominate him or to not reappoint DeVarti, Orr said simply, “I really don’t know. It seems to be very closed.”

So why was it hard for Orr to accept a position on the DDA board? It had to do with the need to carve out some time to actually serve in that capacity. Orr said he was close to saying, “I can’t do it,” but sought out the advice of Sandi Smith, who currently serves on the DDA board and was recently elected to represent Ward 1 on city council. Orr said that Smith convinced him to go for it, and that he could have an effect on what happened in the city.

He then had to figure out what to sacrifice to make time for the board: sleep. He gets less of it. That’s partly what allowed him to meet us at the aut BAR Tuesday morning. Orr and The Chronicle wound up our conversation as the aut BAR staff started prepping the table tops for the 11 a.m. lunch hour.

Pot & Box bouquets for sale at Everyday Wines.

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.

Lisa Waud, owner of Pot & Box, started selling her collection of organic, Fair Trade flowers from Everyday Wines’ space on Tuesday. The bouquets of ranunculus, spider mums, kangaroo paws and roses, plus pots with orchids and amaryllis, sit in a green wooden cart just inside the shop’s door. You might see her flowers elsewhere in the Kerrytown Market & Shops, too. Upon discovering that Mike Monahan of Monahan’s Seafood likes tulips, she made a bouquet of pink tulips for his counter this week.

And in the front coolers of Everyday Wines you’ll find a selection of take-out food, prepared by the chefs of Campbell’s former business, Everyday Cook, which closed this summer following a long and ultimately unsuccessful bid to get a regular liquor license from the city. Jay Haamen and Brendan McCall now run A Knife’s Work, a catering business that in late October also began selling prepared dishes at Everyday Wines.

Their menu changes each week, and they post the week’s dishes on their website as well as on the Everyday Wines site – prices range from $6 for soups and side dishes, to $13 for hearty entrees. Here’s this week’s menu, through Saturday:

• Moroccan Spiced Lamb, Kale and Smokey Tomato Soup
• Roasted Sweet Potato and Stewed White Beans with Sage Mustard Vinaigrette
• Pork and Chicken Liver Country Pate with Cornichons and Asian Mixed Greens
• Garlic, Onion and Bay Braised Fingerling and Amish Purple Potatoes
• Slow Cooked Red Wine Pot Roast with Roasted Carrot, Parsnip, Turnips and Crispy Bacon
• White Wine, Herb and Garlic Braised Chicken with a Fall Vegetable Ragout

A selection from this week's take-out menu of A Knife's Work, sold at Everyday Wines. The containers are biodegradable and compostable.

Maria, one of the contributors to the local food blog Gastronomical Three, picked up on the offerings almost immediately, when she happened to stop by Everyday Wines on Halloween: “One entree hardly qualifies as criteria for a review, but let me call this an excited and favorable mention. In other words, the smoked paprika braised pork shoulder with amontillado sherry and stewed white beans was really good. As in we each took a somewhat harried bite, suddenly slowed down and went mmmmm.”

Campbell gives kudos to Kerrytown Market & Shops for giving her the flexibility to incorporate these other businesses into her store. She sees it as an incubator, providing a storefront venue for these startups as they grow. She also sells handmade cards made by Melanie Boyle of Cleverlotus Design.

All of these enterprises feed her business, too, Campbell says. It brings in more customers who might, for example, buy an entree and pair it with a nice bottle of wine – and she’s happy to provide suggestions on what might complement the meal. Maybe Merlot and some mums?

Lisa Waud, owner of Pot & Box. She's selling organic, Fair Trade flowers at Everyday Wines in the Kerrytown Market & Shops.

One of two banners recently hung on the back of Community High School, facing the Kerrytown district.

For folks passing through Kerrytown – whether to Zingerman’s Deli, Kerrytown Market & Shops or the farmers market – it’s easy to overlook the backside of Community High School. But two new banners that now adorn its outer back walls aim to bring attention to the school and add some public art to the Kerrytown district.

Ansted Moss, a Commie High senior, designed the two 24-foot by 12-foot vinyl pieces, which are stretched like a canvas over metal bars facing South Fifth Avenue. They were hung over the course of two days – using a cherry picker lift – just before school started.

Kris Hermanson, who taught art for 30 years at CHS before retiring two years ago, describes them as “elegant, yet edgy and original.”

Hermanson was brought into the project by Peter Ways, the school’s dean, who had the idea of creating banners but was finding that students weren’t enthused about the project. She looked for images of cool banners all over the world, and posted those on a bulletin board for students to see.

“They don’t like anything with symbolism or anything remotely trite,” she says.

Then, the school’s new art teacher, Elena Flores, told Hermanson and Ways about Ansted Moss, and how talented he was as a designer. At the time, Ansted was dual-enrolled at Community and Pioneer High School. When he agreed to do the project he wanted to learn what parts of the building held significance for students. The distinctive arch over the doorways in the front of the school was central to that, he says, and he wanted to bring that “classical, regal sense” to the more modern, metal planes in back.

Ansted Moss stands next to his signature on one of the banners he designed for Ann Arbor's Community High School. Moss, a Commie High senior, said that signing the banner was "a great way to leave a non-digital mark." (Photo courtesy of Ann Arbor Public Schools.)

As an artist, he’s also interested in the concepts of growth and movement, especially as it relates to the dynamics of a school – whether it’s the interactions between students and faculty, or new information being learned or technology used as tools in the classroom. He tried to capture that sense of movement by incorporating a swirl of words into the banners, “a random yet still directed placement.”

Ansted said he was given almost complete freedom in the project – an independence that’s the school’s trademark. He came up with three designs – all created digitally on his MacBook with a 13-inch monitor, making it a challenge to envision how they’d look at a much larger size. Based on feedback from students, Ansted tweaked his design, then worked with Highlander Graphics in Whitmore Lake to produce the two large pieces.

It’s gratifying to see his work writ large and in public, Ansted says. “It’s very exciting to come outside and see students looking at it and talking about it.”

The project cost $6,000 for both the metal frames and the banners, paid for out of district bond funding approved in 2004, according to Ann Arbor Public Schools spokeswoman Liz Margolis. Because they’re exposed to the elements, the banners will be replaced in a few years with new student artwork.

It’s a bit difficult to see the banners clearly from outside of the school’s fence, which is edged with trees. But you can get a much closer view on Saturday at the HomeGrown Festival, held in Community High’s back field.

As for Ansted, he isn’t sure what he’ll do post-graduation. Artistically, he sees himself as an “architect of growth systems,” a label he feels reflects his focus on exploring ideas rather than execution in a specific medium. You can see more of his work here.

View of both banners at Community High School, which face South Fifth Avenue.

Peer through the trees to see the Commie High banners, in this shot taken from South Fifth Avenue.