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Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy

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Creative Economy Spotlight: Bear and Bird Gallery+Boutique

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Bear and Bird specializes in vintage and contemporary illustrative arts of all kinds. It’s a colorful shop, offering an eclectic mix of affordable silkscreen prints, original artwork, useful amusing objects and unique gifts.

Don’t miss getting a photo with the store mascot “Barry” – an awesome 8-foot tall bear that once upon a time lived at Magic Forest in Lake George.

They also have another location in South Florida, which opened back in 2007. Check out their Instagram @bearandbirdgallery and Facebook page for current photos and events!


Creative Economy Spotlight: Create Community Studios

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C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios is dedicated to providing a space where the benefits of art-making impact both the individual and the community as a whole. They offer low-cost art workshops and groups, community wellness activities, and open studios to promote art-making and the creative process as a vehicle for personal growth, communication, and social change. 

They believe that the beneficial experience of art-making should be affordable and accessible to everyone, and their goal is to use expressive arts as an equalizer across cultural and economic barriers, and for participants to learn how to use art as an expressive medium to increase their general well-being.

At C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, the focus is the process of the art-making, not the product. Unlike other art studios, expectations are not rooted in a product or an image. The focus is on the evolution of a piece and encouraging conversation about its meaning.

For more information or to take a class, please check out their Events Calendar. 

Proctors CEO Philip Morris’ Favorite Eats in Schenectady

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ACE asked Proctors CEO Philip Morris for his five favorite places to eat in Schenectady, and he said: “I have twenty!” Philip should know; he’s been living and working in Schenectady for over 20 years, since coming here to take charge of the historic downtown theater.

Since then, Proctors empire — aka Proctors Collaborative — has grown to include Universal Preservation Hall (opening in Saratoga Springs on February 29), CapRep, and the eponymous magazine, The Collaborative. Stay tuned for more Proctors announcements in 2020!

Whistling Kettle

Philip whittled his list down to these favorites: 

Daley’s On Yates
Tara Kitchen
More Perrecas

Noshing Around Schenectady with Proctors’ Jean Leonard

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Proctors’ Chief of Staff Jean Leonard has been at the epicenter of Schenectady’s creative scene and redevelopment efforts for over eight years, so we asked her about her favorite places to grab a bite.

If I were going to eat my way through Schenectady for a day, I would:

Have a breakfast sandwich at Katz’s on Jay Street.  The owner is the friendliest person in Schenectady.  It’s impossible to walk out of his store without a smile, and his sandwiches are delicious.

I’d have morning tea at the Whistling Kettle because I never knew there were so many kinds of tea until I took a look at their tea menu!

For lunch, I’d head to Puzzles Café.  I love their mission.  Their food tastes wonderful and my heart feels good when I leave.  Win-win for midday.

Before I ate again, I’d do a little shopping.  The Mercantile, Bluebird Home & Gift, Open Door Books, and The Silver Shop.  I’m a fan of local, independent stores with friendly, engaging customer service, and these shops are some of my favorites!

For an afternoon sweet treat, I’d head to Apostrophe Café at Proctors.  Sorry, but the best coconut macaroons are right there below my cubicle!  THE reason I need to head to the gym more often…

I think I’d land at Daley’s on Yates for dinner.  There are SO MANY good dinner options here, but since I can only eat one dinner, Daley’s has delicious food and great cocktail/wine options.  In the summer, I love their patio.

Because I am incapable of eating a meal without also eating just a little dessert, I’d finish my time in Schenectady at the Cocobar.  As it says on their website, “If the question is chocolate, the answer is yes.”  Enough said!

Job Alert: Administrative Coordinator Position at Mopco LLC.

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Administrative Coordinator

 

Mopco, LLC is looking for an experienced Administrative Coordinator who will provide support in a multifaceted role. We’re seeking a creative individual with a wide range of skills, able to function within a small but rapidly growing improvisational theatre and consulting firm.

Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Perform all work and make decisions with an appropriate level of autonomy
  • Communicate in a clear, direct, professional, timely and articulate manner
  • Actively manage calendars of manager and staff, schedule and coordinate meetings
  • Work with accounting department, clients and contractors to ensure timely delivery and payment of invoices and expenses
  • Coordinate contractor relationships and communication
  • Prepare all travel arrangements and create detailed itineraries
  • Order and maintain office supplies and equipment
  • Perform miscellaneous filing, organizing, faxing, mailing, duplicating, etc.
  • Provide support for other staff as needed
  • Point of contact and resource manager for internal and third-party consultants
  • Other related duties as assigned

 

Desired Skills & Experience:

  • Exceptional organizational skills, focus on accuracy and attention to detail
  • Enthusiastic, intelligent and curious
  • Ability to problem-solve, negotiate solutions, think strategically, and operate with flexibility and comfort in a fast-paced, sometimes chaotic environment
  • Ability to prioritize under pressure while simultaneously managing multiple tasks of varied complexity
  • Excellent client-facing and internal communication skills
  • Excellent verbal communication and written communication skills including the ability to impeccably edit copy
  • Strong working knowledge of Apple products, Word, Powerpoint, Squarespace web maintenance, Google Drive, WordPress, Quickbooks and scheduling software, generally web-savvy

Salary Range: $24,000 – $30,000 depending on experience and qualifications.

 

Benefits: Standard benefits package.

 

Who We Are: Mopco, LLC is Koppett and The Mopco Improv Theatre. Koppett is a consulting, coaching and training company specializing in the use of improvisation and storytelling techniques to strengthen individual and group performance. The Mopco Improv Theatre is an improvisational theatre that offers performances, classes and special events at our theatre in downtown Schenectady NY.

 

Learn more at www.koppett.com & www.mopco.org. 

 

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