the heights life

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Heights Happenings: April 14- Apr 20, 2010

Thursday, April 14, 6 PM-9 PM: The Bayou Village School in the Heights potluck dinner and open house
Housed in two adorable cottages at 747 E. 18th Street, Bayou VIllage School is a Waldorf inspired school offering Pre-K and Kindergarten program for children ages 3-6, a part-time 3^rd/4^th grade class for homeschooling children, a Homeschooling enrichment program and an After School Arts Enrichment Program.
The school will host a potluck dinner and special guest presentation by Kathryn King, a visiting Waldorf educator from Austin. Discussion will follow. This event is open to the public. Anyone working/living with children and/or with an interest in learning more about Waldorf education is welcome to join us.
Free childcare will be available. Reservations can be made by contacting the school at bayouvillageschool@yahoo.com or 713-499-0598. Suggested donation is $10/ individual or $15/couple.

Saturday,

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Heights Happenings: April 6 - April 13, 2011

Wednesday, April 6, 7 PM- 10 PM: Sons of Perdition (view trailer here) at 14 Pews

Sons of Perdition is an award-winning documentary which takes viewers inside the lives of three teenage boys after they escape from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints compound on the Utah/Arizona border, the oldest polygamist community in the United States.
The film is directed by Tyler Measom and Jennilyn Merten and produced by Julie Goldman, Tyler Measom and Jennilyn Merten.
Talk-Back after film with award-winning director Jennilyn Merten
$8, 800 Aurora St

Friday, April 8, 4 PM: Hand rolled cigars and Cuban music at Heights Cigar Lounge

Manny Lopez and crew from El Cubano will be at the shop hand rolling cigars
Live Cuban beats created by KonClave
240 W 19th

Saturday, April 9, 8 AM - 2 PM: Heights Odd Fellows Garage sale

Odd Fellows Lodge, 115 E 14th St
Clothing, household items, costumes, furniture, Audubon art prints, books and other media, lamps, appliances, electronics
These are art car types, so there is bound to be some interesting stuff!

PLAN AHEAD:

Saturday, May 21, 5:30 PM- 10 PM: Great Taste of the Heights

One of my FAVORITE Heights events, GTotH features good food, live music, drinks and fun. Great family event, too!
On line sales coming soon, so check the website. Presale passes will be $20, or $25 at the event

OUTSIDE THE HEIGHTS:

Thursday, April 7, 5 PM- 7:30 PM: Soccer Festival with the Houston Dynamo

The Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) invites you to join the Houston Dynamo and Texas Children's Health Plan for a free community soccer festival!
Meet Dynamo Diesel, Dynamo Players and Dynamo Girls and enjoy inflatables, prizes, face painting and giveaways! Come support your hometown major league soccer team!
First 100 children will receive a Dynamo game ticket
For additional information: http://www.houstondynamo.com/upcomingappearances

Saturday, April 9, 10 AM- 6 PM: 5th Annual Midtown Art in the Park

A boutique style fine art festival that features live music, fun food, artists demonstrations and more all under the old oaks of Baldwin Park. This year's festival features 75 fine artists, local bands Days Drive and The Selfless Season, The Ensemble Theatre’s Tribute to Michael Jackson, the sweet sounds of Clory, Life Painting on stage by Nubia Seibert
Visitors can register for one of 3 Painting Parties with Happy Hour Studios sponsored by Central Bank
The famous Midtown Graffiti Art Wall will be reinstalled
Elizabeth Baldwin Park - Midtown Houston, 1700 Elgin @ Chenevert

Saturday, April 9, Noon - 5 PM: PRETTY LITTLE THINGS - Vintage pop-up shop

LadyLux Vintage has assembled an eclectic group of vendors of vintage and repurposed items. Shoppers will find great deals on fabulous vintage clothing, home decor, accessories, and jewelry.
DJ Mark will be spinning some fun tunes, making this the afternoon party you won't want to miss!
Heights Beatniks will be one of more than a dozen vendors
Hosted by Griff's Irish Pub, 3416 Roseland (Montrose area)

IN OTHER NEWS:

A Letter from Love Elementary's PTO President

As you probably know by now, we within the Love Elementary community have been deeply involved in a campaign to save our school from closure due to massive cuts to the budget of HISD. Closure of our exemplary community school will not only affect the hundreds of families, teachers and staff from our school, but all of the schools in the Heights.

The information that has been shared with us, indicates that EVERY school in the Heights will be affected by this. If this proposal moves forward, the 428 students at our school will divided between the 3 schools in relatively close proximity.Though nothing seems to be decided yet, the schools as of now are: Harvard, Field and Sinclair. And again, this will not only affect Love, Field, Harvard and Sinclair, but ALL Heights area schools. Many who attend these 3 schools will be rezoned to others. Many who choose these schools, but who are not zoned to these schools will have to return to their zoned schools and all of schools will be rezoned
If this proposal is allowed, approximately 143 Love students will be coming to these 3 schools next year. What does that mean for YOUR school?

We all know that the Heights is experiencing a baby boom, and with the help of city officials, and Heights community leaders, we are gathering the demographic data that reflects the fact that ALL elementary schools in the Heights need to stay open.
We already have the support of many heights community members rallied behind us, but now we need YOUR help. We need the administration to know that all of the schools in the Heights area are united in this campaign to keep our schools open.

Members of the HISD board and administration will be coming to our school for a community meeting next Thursday, April 7. We urge you to attend this meeting and share with your school's community. If you would like to say a few words or write a letter, please let us know. We will be putting together a packet for the HISD representatives with Demographic and other data, petitions, and letters of support.

Here is our online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savelove/
We also have a special facebook page for this campaign: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Love-Elementary/183201738391323

Thank you! Please let us know if you have any questions,

Bronwyn Lauder, President, Love Elementary PTO
w.g.lovelementary@gmail.com

*Views expressed in this letter are the personal views of Mrs Lauder and not the views of Love Elementary

Houston Arts and Media Fundraising to complete Comedy Documentary

Houston Arts and Media has launched a drive to finish Stand Up Story, a documentary history of the stand up comedy boom in Houston. The story is centered around the nationally famous Comedy Workshop Annex that flourished here from 1978 to 1990, producing scores of internationally known comedians such as Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, Janeane Garafalo, Brett Butler and many others.
The return to full production status is led by the launch today of a project on Kickstarter, a website designed as "a new way to fund & follow creativity". That recipe will hopefully prove to be a perfect vehicle for Houston Arts and Media. The project features a short fundraising film that includes portions of interviews with Janeane Garafalo, Comedy Workshop owner, Paul Menzel, and others. Donors to a project receive awards at various funding levels. The top level for Stand Up Story receives a private show by two of the comedians featured in the movie.
The Kickstarter project can be accessed at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1835462509/stand-up-story-a-comedy-documentary
Over a dozen interviews with comedy alumni from the club have already been shot including some done by Dos Dogs Productions, Wildcatter Productions and other local media professionals prior to the project being taken over by HAM. A website dedicated to the movie is also up and running at www.standupstory.com
Houston Arts and Media continues to work on several other projects such as an eight-part feature length documentary series called the Birth of Texas that covers the diverse history of the state from 1820 to 1845. The one completed title in that series, Houston: A Nation's Capitol, is an award winner at WorldFest 2011. Other HAM endeavors include partnering in the city website, HoustonPreservation.org and the current exhibit, Bayou City Noir: The Photography of Marvin Zindler, at the Museum of Printing History. They also continue with Neighborhood to Neighbor, an ongoing oral history gathering project that has already placed the stories of scores of Houstonians in the Houston Public Library’s Houston Metropolitan Research Center and Rice University’s Woodson Research Center. Material from these interviews will also enhance the first of HAM’s books, the two-volume Historic Schools of Harris County.
Parties interested in supporting these efforts through donations or volunteerism should contact Houston Arts and Media via e-mail at info@houstonartsandmedia.org. Contact: mike@houstonartsandmedia.org. Phone: 713.686.9244

Monday, April 4, 2011

A New Thread

Kari and Rebecca, owners of 19th St's newest shop, Thread, call their joint venture "Two moms on a quest to find a solution for items their kids outgrew before they were ever really used." Boy, do I know that feeling. When they're itty bitty, lots of people are coming over to visit and you want to have them all cute and presentable. You're overwhelmed with being a new mom, especially the 1st time, and so you buy every.single.thing you think is cute. If it's a 1st grandchild, expect every.single.thing Grandma thinks is cute. The reality of it ends up being onsies covered in spit up and a lot of stuff they do grow out of before they ever wear it.

I know it's impractical to buy too much cute stuff for my kids, especially since they are boys and pretty much trash everything. I like to, though. They're just so adorable, I can't help myself. However, I have ended up in much the same position as Kari and Rebecca- with nice clothes in excellent condition that were hardly worn. I have found a couple different ways to deal with this, including eBay and Craig's List, the Just Between Friends sale, plus the Heights Kids' Group classifieds forum. I can sell lightly worn clothes to other moms and make a little money back to reduce the guilt of buying the boys new clothes that I like (while the choice is still mine!).

Clothes and shoes that no longer fit my boys can have a second life at Thread. These are items I brought in as a 1st time consigner. Can't wait to get that 1st check!

There is a huge market for lightly used clothes. Everybody loves a bargain and if you can get clothes for your kids that look great at a price that means no guilt, why wouldn't you, right? And if you splurged and bought some great things that remained in good condition, why not get a little of that back?

Heights moms Kari and Rebecca understand this cycle of children's clothing. Kari, as a mom of twin boys, had a store's worth cluttering up her Norhill bungalow. She started to think that she could resale them herself and maybe even start a business out of it. In January of 2010, she sent out an email to about 50 friends, exploring the concept of a resale shop. She was met with a lot of enthusiasm, but with two 18 month olds at home, she kind of stalled there. She didn't stay stalled long, though.

Kari and Rebecca have known each other since 2nd grade, growing up in The Woodlands and eventually studying Retail Merchandising together at UT Austin. After school, they both headed back to Houston and settled down inside the loop. Like many of us before we had kids, Kari and her husband lived in Montrose but they found, more and more, they were spending their weekends toodling around the Heights, looking at homes and going to the local shops and restaurants. Eight years ago, they finally bit that bullet and made the move. In the years Kari has lived in the Heights, she has seen how her own neighborhood (which is also my neighborhood) has changed. Her block was once mostly older home owners and young professionals. Now it is mostly families with young kids. Reflecting on those changes, Kari thought the Heights would really support that idea she had not quite a year before. There are lots of families and the Heights is also a neighborhood that thoroughly supports the ideas of both re-use/recycle and staying local. The resale shop had never left her mind and after 10 months of sitting on it, the urge to follow through won over what ever else she had going on.

In October 2010 the plan came together and things moved forward. The 2 moms set up shop in Kari's garage apartment and waited to see if it would take off. If so, they would keep their ears to the ground and would know when the right time and place for expansion presented itself.

The 1st couple months of "business" were casual- friends, family, neighbors. It was Nov-Dec, the holidays, and they were feeling out the market. As soon as the new year hit, so did Thread. January brought more inventory from post-holiday purging and allowed for regular business hours. Business was good and it looked like their concept was really going to take off.

Just a month later, they did indeed have their ears to the ground, learning Sew Crafty would be vacating their location on 19th Street, in the heart of the Heights shopping district. A space presented itself and the moms jumped on it. They were so excited to be on 19th, Kari says, because "it's a destination, not just for Heights people, for people from all parts of the city." Also, 19th's regular organized events are a big draw. "No other part of the neighborhood does that," she noted.

Sew Crafty's pink and blue store front was an easy fit for the children's clothing store.

Moms naturally know what other moms need, including a safe place for little ones to play so you can bargain hunt!

Sew Crafty closed it's doors on March 1 and Thread opened in its place on March 5. That's right, in four days these busy moms were able to transform one shop in to another. They did it, Kari says, by using as much from Sew Crafty as they could and generally keeping it simple. The bright and cheery colors of Sew Crafty naturally lent themselves to a store for kids. Kari bought pipe and assorted supplies from C&D Hardware on 11th and Lowe's, fashioning a simple but sturdy rolling clothes rack. The husbands followed up on Kari's design and made multiples in the back yard while Kari and Rebecca looked for a couple special pieces to add to what they had from the previous tenant. August Antiques had some of the great pieces they needed. With those little details and no real cosmetic changes to make, they moved in their inventory and had the doors open by March's 1st Saturday!

Kari, hard at work

Sweet girls' shoes- obviously not consigned by me, Rebecca or Kari, all boy moms :)

The store space, while perfect in most regards, was a little too big for the concept of Thread. Kari and Rebecca solved that by co-oping with a couple of other mom owned businesses: Sam & Lucy and Beanie's. Sam & Lucy offers embroidery and monogramming, plus personalized gift items. Beanie's is a children's clothing line designed by a Heights mom. Beanie's hosts trunk shows and has online sales, with samples available in the loft above Thread.

Personalized gifts and monogramming from local mom owned business Sam & Lucy

If you're in to traditional styles for kids, Beanie's is a locally designed and manufactured line of clothes. Started by a mom who was making her own kids clothes, Beanie's has been inbusiness since early 2011.

So far, business has been great for Thread. As they expected, local moms have been thrilled to both buy and consign at their shop. They were even featured (with another Heights area mom who owns a resale shop in the Galleria) in an ABC 13 segment about how resale is hopping in the current economic climate: video link.

Thread accepts consignments of boys' and girls' clothes from size newborn up to 5T.

If you're curious about how consignment works, it's so easy. You bring your clean, good condition items in and Kari/Rebecca sort, look for stains you might have missed and kind of evaluate what will sell. Leave them there, they sell them, you get 40% of the sales price in a check at the end of the month. If your items don't sell, you can take them back (to try another outlet perhaps) or let Thread donate them to a worthy cause. For complete details, read this page.

A very simple contract makes selling easy for consignors.

What are they looking for? Kari and Rebecca really wanted Thread to be an easy shopping experience for parents. They wanted to have more of a boutique feel, which customers think they've achieved. A lot of shoppers comment that they didn't realize it was resale because it's so clean, well organized and the clothes are in such good shape! To give this feeling, the store is looking for higher end brands if you have them (here is a list of preferred brands from their blog site) or bargain brands that are cute and current styles. People love a good bargain and getting a high end brand for more than 1/2 off retail is something most moms love. It is an easy, relaxing shopping experience that doesn't get hard when you get to the register. I wish these moms so much luck in their venture, although I don't think I need to. Knowing what families want and need is easy when you're in that place in your own life as well.

Consigned items ready to be priced and put out for sale. Because it's just the two of them working the store, Kari and Rebecca prefer consignment intake by appointment.

Thread

Stylish Kids' Consignment

321 B W 19th St

281.501.0148

Thread's Facebook Page