Category: Features
Chicago Organization Promotes Women’s Business Ownership
By Audrey Leon, Lauren B. Howard and Ambar Gilmore
Maribel Lopez Velazquez starts every day at 6 a.m. enthusiastically greeting busy parents and sleepy children from the top of her front porch at her Cicero home day care center.
Lopez Velazquez, 37, a single mother of four teenage children, lights up with joy whenever she talks about her students that range from infants to 12-years-old.
“Loving children is not the ingredient you need to open up your child care,” Lopez Velazquez said. “The ingredient you need is dedication, perseverance, you want to do something for yourself.”
Lopez Velazquez founded Bundle of Joy Group Child Care, 1626 S. 57th Ave., after attending the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) child care expo in 1998.
The center, at 8 S. Michigan Ave., provides assistance to those women who want to start a new business or those who already have.
Lopez Velazquez is one of 55,000 women that the center has helped in its 25 years in business. It has established 14 women’s assistance centers in six states including Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
In 1986, Hedy Ratner and Carol Dougal created the Women’s Business Development Center, a non-profit organization, to empower women by encouraging them to go into business for themselves.
“[The center] was really a critically interesting new way to economically empower women through business ownership,” said Ratner, co-president and founder of the center. “Because we felt that women needed to find their own way and their own power so they wouldn’t be dependent on others. Like white males.”
The Women’s Business Development Center holds an annual child care expo with workshops for Spanish- and English-speaking entrepreneurs looking to start their own day care business.
“I saw all these conferences coming up and all these workshops and I enrolled,” Lopez Velazquez said of the development center. “I took an active role to get more information.”
Ratner sees the expo as an important resource for those wanting to go into the child care field.
“The childcare expo was a way for us to bring together those who were thinking about going into the childcare business who were family providers of childcare or those who were establishing childcare centers or had childcare centers,” she said. “(We) provide them with information on trends; new resources they could use to be more successful.”
Maria Lopez, director of the Latina Business Program at the center for the last three years, points out that opening a daycare center is often overlooked.
“[The child care expo] is for the women who are already running a business and never really looked at it that way,” Maria Lopez said. “This was an opportunity for them to learn about the business aspect of taking care of children, teaching children, educating them.
“It came up because there was a need in the community, across communities,” she said.
With urging from her mother to start her own business, Lopez Velazquez began marketing her business idea to her community to drum up support.
“I started promoting in the neighborhood,” Lopez Velazquez said. “I started a child care waiting list. By the time I started my day care I had 25 kids enlist.”
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Contemporary Art Pops Up in Loop Storefronts
Originally published by the DePaulia student newspaper on March 8, 2010.
(Con)Temporary Art Space, 208 S. Wabash, is the latest project by Pop-Up Art Loop. The temporary gallery opened on Feb. 18 in the former South Loop home of Ritz Camera. (Photo by Audrey Leon)
By Audrey Leon
The economy may be rough for Chicago businesses but a new initiative by the Chicago Loop Alliance aims to transform empty storefronts into temporary art galleries one vacant property at a time.
Pop-Up Art Loop launched in 2009 opening three galleries around the Loop in late November. The organization uses donated properties, which would otherwise sit vacant until renters could be found, and places artists inside for free.
Ty Tabing, executive director of the Chicago Loop Alliance, said the group was inspired by similar programs in other cities called “phantom galleries.”
Pop-Up Art Loop’s (Con)Temporary Art Space , 208 S. Wabash, officially debuted on Feb. 18 in what once housed a Ritz Camera store. Blue camera-shaped neon signs, left from the previous renter, still adorn the walls in the gallery.
Photo by Audrey Leon
(Con)Temporary Art Space is the brainchild of Ed Marszewski and his cohort from Co-prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St., which includes artists Emily Clayton, Serena Himmelfarb, Chris Roberson and Marszewski’s wife, Rachael. Marszewski also runs “Lumpen” and “Proximity” magazines from his home base in Bridgeport.
While artists are now encouraged to submit proposals to the Pop-Up Art Loop Web site, Marszewski said he was approached by the Chicago Loop Alliance to formulate a project.
The (Con)Temporary Art Space also includes a reading room, featuring local publications, a gift shop, and gallery space on walls and in the room’s many display cases.
The space also features a unique interactive mapping project. “The mapping project allows people to come in and pin a location of something that they find culturally important about Chicago whether it’s a restaurant or public art display,” Rachael Marszewski said.
Photo by Audrey Leon
The benefits of having temporary art galleries in vacant storefronts are numerous. For Tabing and the Chicago Loop Alliance, the benefit is making empty buildings more attractive to new businesses. For the artists at (Con)Temporary Art Space, the benefit is simply exposure. “A downtown location gives us the change to reach people who wouldn’t experience this type of art,” Ed Marszewski said. “It’s more difficult for people to show their work in Chicago and [the Pop-Up Art Loop initiative] helps.”
Rachael Marszewski agrees. “Most of us are a group of artists that are used to working on the periphery of the city,” Rachael Marszewski said. “It’s a good opportunity for us and the artists we’re involved with to have a central location, which we could never really afford to be in or have would it not be for free.”
The local business community has been mostly receptive, Tabing said. “Some have and some have not,” Tabing said. “We’re finding that property owners in Chicago give a damn and those in other cities, like New York, don’t.”
Photo by Audrey Leon
DePaul University, which has an enormous presence in the South Loop, supports the initiative. “DePaul has been a big part of the cultural and economic revitalization of the South Loop and we welcome creative initiatives that further revitalize the Loop,” said John Holden, DePaul University spokesman, via email.
While the number of visitors has been sparse, this does not discourage the artists at (Con)Temporary Art Space. “[The gallery] is a great interactive project,” Ed Marszewski said. “I love seeing people who don’t know what’s going on.”
The (Con)Temporary Art Space will host a new exhibition on Thursday, Feb. 24, from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., featuring the paintings of Polish artist Anja Jamrozik as well as a diorama of lead Dungeons and Dragons figures made by the Marszewskis.
Pop-Up Art Loop currently features four galleries, including the (Con)Temporary Art Space. Tabing suggests checking the Web site (popupartloop.com) for news on the latest gallery openings.
Bailiwick Repertory Chicago Reopened and Reinvented
Originally published by the DePaulia on Feb. 1, 2010.
By Audrey Leon
After 25 years, Members of the now defunct Bailiwick Repertory Theater have reunited under a new brand for a new season of shows.
Dubbed Bailiwick Chicago, the new theater company’s first show of the 2010 season is the musical revue “Show Us Your Love,” which features songs from famed musicals such as “Hair,” “Pippin,” “Aida,” and “Closer than Ever.”
“Show Us Your Love” is one of three smaller revues that will serve as fundraisers for future Bailiwick shows including a stripped-down version of Elton John’s “Aida.” Bailiwick Chicago hosted an open mic night on Jan. 31, at Joey’s Brickhouse on 1258 W. Belmont Ave.
“Bailiwick Repertory had a reputation for bold works and we want to keep challenging ourselves,” said Julie Burt Nichols, Bailiwick grants and development officer.
Bailiwick Repertory was renowned for its quality productions of “Animal Farm,” “Jerry Springer: The Opera,” its yearly rendition of “The Christmas Schooner” and its premiere of Dennis DeYoung’s “The Hunchback of Norte Dame.” Bailiwick was one of the first Chicago theaters to embrace the gay and lesbian community by staging its summer Pride Series.
The view that Bailiwick Repertory was known for its exemplary work is not one-sided. “Bailiwick was extremely well regarded for its daring, exciting work,” said Alan Salzenstein, League of Chicago Theatres board member.
When longtime artistic director David Zak left Bailiwick Repertory in September 2009- a year after the company lost its home of 15 years at 1229 W. Belmont Ave. due to financial troubles- Bailiwick’s board of directors dissolved the company, said Kevin Mayes, executive director of Bailiwick Chicago. Members had no choice but to start over.
“I saw it as an opportunity for folks who had worked at the Bailiwick in the past to create something they could really invest in,” Mayes said. “It was an opportunity to transfer brand recognition.”
However, Salzenstein believes there is a lot of baggage attached to the Bailiwick name. “Bailiwick has a founder’s perception,” Salzenstein said. “It was David Zak.”
The new Bailiwick Chicago is still homeless, but loving it.
“We’re happy to be transient,” said general manager Kate Garassino. “This way we can focus on our art and our audiences.”
Finding a permanent home is not out of the question. “Once we’ve searched out and figured out who we are and what kind of space we want to be in, that [finding housing] will definitely happen,” Mayes said.
Salzenstein believes Bailiwick Chicago’s story is just beginning.
“Chicago is very supportive of those who feel the entrepreneurial spirit in the arts,” Salzenstein said. “If they have creative people on every level, the sky’s the limit.”
Theatergoers can catch performances of “Show Us Your Love” at Hamburger Mary’s at 5400 N. Clark St. every Sunday night in February.
Chicago’s Frozen Yogurt Culture
Originally published in the DePaulia on Sept. 28, 2009.
By Audrey Leon
Yogen Fruz, 33 S. State Street
Customers create their own unique treat at Yogen Fruz. Customers choose between non-fat, low-fat and no-sugar – which contains Splenda – pre-packaged frozen mixtures and a flavor such as green tea, chocolate or strawberry, which are combined in a mixer.
Yogen Fruz offers toppings ranging from candy and nuts to fresh fruit and cereal. A small cup of Yogen Fruz’s signature yogurt starts at $2.95 and increases 50 cents for each additional topping.
According to store employee Diego Cruz the most popular way to consume Yogen Fruz is by blended drink. “Tropical Storm (a non-diary smoothie) is very popular,” Cruz said. Yogen Fruz’s creamy vanilla yogurt is quite tart and tends to dominate flavor combinations; the low-fat chocolate option is less extreme.
Berry Chill, 635 S. State Street
Berry Chill caters to busy young professionals with its modern green and white decor, self-service ordering kiosk, late store hours and recycling stations; they call it “Yogurt Culture.”
Customers can choose among original and three monthly flavors; September’s flavors are pina colada, chocolate-covered strawberry and passion fruit. A small Berry Chill original frozen yogurt begins at $2.99 and a flavored frozen yogurt at $3.99. Add up to three toppings, such as candy, nuts and fruit, to your mix for $1 extra.
Berry Chill bears a stamp of approval from the National Yogurt Association on its Web site and it received one from store employee Nicole Goodrich. “I don’t feel guilty about eating [Berry Chill],” she said. “It’s so refreshing and healthy.” In addition to being lactose-free, Berry Chill’s yogurt is sweet and tart but not entirely overpowering.
Starfruit, 2142 N. Halsted Street
Starfruit offers its patrons the most bang for their buck. Starfruit’s frozen yogurt is made with Kefir, a special yogurt loaded with 10 probiotic cultures while most only have three to five; Kefir is also higher in calcium, fiber and protein.
Starfruit’s frozen yogurt contains only a faint tart taste and is not overwhelmingly sweet. The flavor combinations are endless; patrons can swirl two flavors together such as strawberry and peach or original and blueberry. A small bowl, featuring a bigger portion than most stores, starts at $3. Add a topping for a $1 extra and 50 cents for each additional.
It is no coincidence that Starfruit’s Halsted location sits in between small clothing boutiques. General Manager Vince Bozman sees Starfruit as a boutique for frozen yogurt. “People come for the environment and to get something healthy,” Bozman said. Starfruit’s brightly-colored interior makes the shop friendly to all-ages.
// Audrey Leon // 