upstatecreative

Fashion Upstate Visits MA+CH Textile Studio in Schenectady

August 14, 2017 By upstatecreative

[rev_slider alias=”marikacharles”] Fashion Upstate visited MA+CH Textile Studio in Schenectady on July 27 for a fantastic studio tour, where founders Charles and Marika Contompasis gave in-depth, hands-on explanation of the patented processes they use to create the high-end textiles and garments they ship to boutiques throughout the country. MA+CH was founded in 2002, and employs 15 in their Schenectady factory.

“MA+CH is a family company created by Schenectady natives, therefore it was a pleasure to host an event which brought other creative minds in the area together,” said MA+CH Marketing Director Sarah Contompasis, who recently relocated to this region from the West coast, after building a Marketing career in New York City and San Francisco. “My aunt and uncle, designers Marika and Charles, both graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and value Upstate New York’s close proximity to the New York City Marketplace. We appreciate being based in Schenectady as it supports inventiveness and is a business-friendly, art-aware, and naturally beautiful place to live and work.”

A sample sale, pastries by Crisan Bakery, and live modeling rounded out a high-energy evening.

Freelancers Photo Gallery: Troy Public Art Event, August 2, 2017

August 14, 2017 By upstatecreative

[rev_slider alias=”troypublicart”][/rev_slider]On Wednesday, August 2, over 100 Creative Freelancers gathered on a beautiful evening in Monument Square in Troy to meet, mingle and network. Ed Murphy of Workforce Development Institute handed out copies of his book “Creative Lives,” Rare Form Brewing Company offered $1 drafts, and our discussion topic of “Give Yourself a Break: Budgeting and Scheduling for Vacations” shed light on many ingenious ways to take time off while you’re freelancing. Troy Summer Square and Arts Center of the Capital Region were our partners on this great event.

Thank you to photographer Adrian Fernandez and Ken Kozak for sharing these shots.

Four Restauranteurs Give Capital Region Its Sizzle

July 7, 2017 By upstatecreative

[rev_slider alias=”Restaurant”][/rev_slider]The house was jam-packed at Albany Center Gallery on Thursday, July 6, for a discussion with four of the region’s most innovative restauranteurs — Vic Christopher (Peck’s Arcade, Lucas Confectionary), Claudia Crisan (Crisan Bakery and Edible Art Gallery), Corey Nelson (Troy Kitchen), and Ric Orlando (New World Bistro Bar) — who gathered in support of photographer Richard Lovrich‘s “Makers 365” exhibit.

These four restaurant owners were able to inspire multiple people who dream of opening their own food business in the near future. Starting your own restaurant is no easy task, even with this great inventory on restaurant supplies to help you. Although there are already many restaurants about, these business owners were able to tell people about other ways they can achieve their own food brand. One of them suggested that people should consider looking at franchising opportunities, from companies like mattsbigbreakfastfranchising.com, instead of opening a brand new restaurant which might never take off. These days, it’s about differentiating yourself from the competition and it’s much easier to do that when your restaurant already has an established brand. However, the restauranteurs were also able to discuss how their food businesses were able to flourish and grow.

Quite interestingly, all the restaurateurs involved in the debate stated that traditional marketing methods such as custom yard signs still proved to be popular with regards to promoting their establishments. In the digital age, it can be easy to forget just how much impact a physical advertisement can have on passers-by. Other marketing incentives discussed by the restaurateurs included printed discount cards, promotions, and loyalty schemes. In addition to marketing signs, it’s also important for businesses to have safety signs too, especially in restaurants. As so many of the public are entering these establishments, they need to have fire exit signs and other signs to help people stay safe during their time inside. Other restaurant owners can always click here to see some of the other signs that they might need to keep their guests safe.

The 90-minute discussion offered many thoughts on the advantages of living and working in the Capital Region. “The reasonable cost of living draws creative people to an area,” said Orlando, who paid just $390 a month to live in Soho in his youth. “Nobody’s getting rich when you’re starting out in a kitchen.” Crison added, “Albany has meant opportunity for a lot of people and you can own your own property,” she said, while also being open about the challenges of doing business on Lark Street, including lack of foot traffic and parking. Christopher had a different take on parking in Troy. “Young people don’t drive — they don’t want a car, they think it’s a pain,” and all agreed that Uber and Lyft will be great for their communities and businesses.

The ever-optimistic Nelson have shout-outs to all of his creative friends and collaborators in the audience, and spoke about the joy of offering food to friends and neighbors. “When you sit everyone down at the same time, you realize things ain’t so bad,” said Nelson.

Many thanks to Tony Iadicicco and Anna Wettergreen of Albany Center Gallery, and interviewers Michelle Hines Abram of Albany Chefs’ Wine and Food Fest, and David Alan King of The Alt.

Photos by Jamel Mosely | Mel eMedia

Click here for more on Makers 365.

SPAC and New York City Ballet Unveil Dance Videos Created in Saratoga and Troy

July 5, 2017 By upstatecreative

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_video_embed no_container=”true” type=”16:9″][/x_video_embed][cs_text]When the New York City Ballet was scouting locations for a series of gorgeous new videos to promote their upcoming summer season, SPAC CEO Elizabeth Sobol found seven amazing Saratoga locations — and then reached out to Susan Herlands Holland, Executive Director of Historic Albany Foundation for her thoughts about a great location somewhere else in the Capital Region.

Holland, who was raised in the region and has an encyclopedic knowledge of locations thanks to her historic preservation work, immediately came up with a dozen great options. In the end, the Gasholder Building in Troy was chosen.

“The New York City Ballet has been one of my personal favorite experiences since I was a little kid and so I was able to envision how those ballet movements might look in wide open, ‘cool spaces,'” said Holland. “The Gasholder Building is one of the most unique historic buildings in the Capital Region. I thought it a perfect match.”

Click here to buy tickets for the New York City Ballet at SPAC, July 5-15.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

ACE SPOTLIGHT: “Untitled” Event Showcases Millennial Brands and Talent at Troy Kitchen

June 27, 2017 By upstatecreative

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][rev_slider June2017BlogPostSlider][cs_text]Kat Richards and Malaika Iyok recently graduated from Mission Accomplished‘s “Fashion Edition” program and decided it was time to launch their multi-platform brand, known as Untitled, in earnest, so on Sunday, June 25, from noon-4pm at Troy Kitchen, they gathered a dozen artists and creators for an event that showcased talent and energy of Capital Region millennials. T-shirt and fashion brands, a make-up artist, poets, a photographer, and several painters had their work on display and all were happy to talk about their vision for themselves and their businesses.

Untitled’s website describes their mission:

Untitled is a collective of influential millennials dedicated to making a creative movement. We’ve built a new type of social networking service targeting creative young adults, while forming a positive social community for artists in various fields. We use our many different events to provide a platform for our creators and celebrate our creative minds.

Kat has joined ACE’s Freelancer Event production team, and Malaika is a stylist with a rapidly growing list of clients. Keep your eye out for their next event in September, and write them at UntitledOfficial.Info@gmail.com to join their mailing list.[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]