Environment & Sustainability

Coverage of green innovations, and climate and environment issues and developments, especially those told by local voices and that offer solutions for community concerns.

Blumz growing Ferndale-based flower biz with new Ann Arbor store

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Arts & Culture

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November 21, 2013

Blumz by JRDesigns is expanding its floral and event planning services to Ann Arbor. The owners, Jerome Raska and Robbin Yelverton, have established the business by becoming known for a knack for locating exotic blooms and for a fun attitude. After cementing sales and a following in downtown Detroit and Ferndale they felt the obvious move was to extend its reach to Ann Arbor. The new store is located at 540 Avis Drive, and if like the other stores, it will connect it to major university and community events as well as become a go-to for weddings, funerals and special occasions. Blumz is a staple on the charity party scene and is connected to major events in Detroit and Ferndale. Its Ferndale space is rentable and the floral design studio in Ann Arbor will also be a place for students to learn from the owners who are certified floral educators. Source: Jerome Raska, co-owner, Blumz by JRDesigns Writer: Kim North Shine

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Mitten Crate helps locals discover Michigan-made foods

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Environment & Sustainability

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November 21, 2013

Andrew Chmielewski is a foodpreneur, running a small toffee company called Dave's Sweet Tooth. Cory Wright is a restaurateur who ran his own restaurant in New York City before recently moving back to Metro Detroit. The two friends came together to start a new venture called Mitten Crate. The Royal Oak-based firm sends a package of Michigan-made food products once a month to people who subscribe to the service. "It is a great way to be introduced to Michigan-made products," Chmielewski says. "They might not be able to pick them up at a store otherwise." Chmielewski and Wright noticed that while Michigan-made food products are quite popular with their local audience, that sphere of influence is often limited to about a 30-mile radius of where the company is based. Mitten Crate helps Michiganders overcome that barrier by introducing them to a handful of new products each month. "There is a wide range of products," Chmielewski says. Some of those products include McClary Bros. Old Timey Drinking Vinegar (Ferndale) and Al Dente Pasta Co (Whitmore Lake). The company got its start in August. It sold 70 boxes in its first month and 144 last month. Chmielewski expects to see those numbers to continue to grow exponentially in the near future. "We hope to have triple-digit growth going into the holidays," Chmielewski says. Source: Andrew Chmielewski, co-founder of Mitten Crate Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Local turkey farmers have full plates of business this Thanksgiving

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Community Development

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November 21, 2013

Detroit-area turkey farms see demand for local, organic as something to be thankful for this year. Excerpt: "Christine Roperti, owner of Roperti's Turkey Farm in Livonia, is gearing up for Thanksgiving. "People are always thanking me for being here," she said. "They say, 'I don't care if it's $5 a pound. You can't beat your turkeys.' I love doing it."... Mike Liabenow, manager of meat and seafood at Joe's Produce in Livonia, said his department began carrying organic turkeys raised in Michigan for the first time this year. "It's something that's been on the rise a couple years in the business," he said. "Everyone wants to keep everything in Michigan." More here.

Metro Detroit home prices jump 42% in October

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Arts & Culture

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November 14, 2013

Buyers are willing to put more money where their mouth is when it comes to purchasing a home this year. Excerpt: "October marked the eighth straight month that the median selling price in Metro Detroit rose by double digits annually. According to Realcomp, the Farmington Hills-based Multiple Listing Service for southeast Michigan, the median selling price for homes in Metro Detroit was up 41.9 percent year-over-year last month to $127,000... Homes sold quicker in October of this year, spending 22 fewer days on the market at 56 days." More here.

Michigan growers use new technology to put apples to sleep

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Community Development

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November 14, 2013

After last year's pittance of an apple crop, Michigan apples are an economic sweet spot again. Excerpt: "This year's Michigan apple crop is expected to be 10 times as plentiful as last year's puny output. While the big bounce-back is welcomed in the nation's third-largest apple-producing state, the bounty presents its own challenges: How do growers, packers and processors maximize storage to avoid flooding stores with the fruit, thus crashing the market and lowering growers' profits?... A fairly recent innovation called 1-methylcyclopropene, or 1-MCP, temporarily stops apples' ability to respond to their own cues for ripening... Known commercially as "SmartFresh," it "has been a game-changer for apple storage and is partly responsible for the up-trending consumption of apples in the U.S. over the last 5 to 10 years," Michigan State University horticulture professor Randy Beaudry said. He is involved in updating a traditional apple refrigeration method known as "controlled-atmosphere storage," or "CA," to double the time Honeycrisp apples can be stored. In a typical year, Michigan's 9.2 million trees produce 20 million to 23 million bushels, pumping up to $900 million into the economy...The state distributes to 26 states and 18 countries." More here.

Atlas Copco expands U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills

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Arts & Culture

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November 14, 2013

Swedish-based Atlas Copco's upward trajectory of sales and growth is benefiting Auburn Hills, which will be home to the company's expanded U.S. headquarters. Demand for the products provided by the U.S. arm of the company, Atlas Copco Tools & Assembly Systems in Auburn Hills, led to a decision to double its facility by building a $15-million, 120,000-square-foot headquarters in the Oakland Technology Park. It's where the company will supply other businesses with handheld electric and pneumatic tools, assembly systems, software and heavy industrial vehicles. Atlas, which is a multi-national with offices around the country and the world, also supplies construction and mining equipment, compressed air and gas and other industrial and manufacturing products. The new Auburn Hills facility will initially employ about 225 people. Ground was broken last month and the construction should be completed summer of 2014. Source: Shawn Keenan, city of Auburn Hills Writer: Kim North Shine

Mystic Kettle becomes FT biz for Huntington Woods couple

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Environment & Sustainability

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November 14, 2013

Randy and Larry Lipman always enjoyed kettle corn while at farmer's markets and other community events. They often noticed the person making it couldn't keep up the demand at those events. Then one of the kettle corn makers went out of business because of a divorce, the CFL over the Huntington Woods couple’s heads went off, and Mystic Kettle was born. "It started as a part-time weekend thing," Randy Lipman says. That was 2010. At the time, Larry Lipman had a home preservation business maintaining foreclosed homes for banks before they were sold. The demand for Mystic Kettle's product prompted Larry Lipman to dissolve his business earlier this year and pursue kettle corn making on a full-time basis. "We became so popular so quick we got a second kettle," Randy Lipman says. "We couldn't keep up with the demand with just one kettle. My husband and I now do this full-time." They also hired two more people to work for them on a part-time basis. Part of what drives that demand is the higher-quality product the Lipmans strive to make with all local ingredients, such as non-GMO corn. All of those ingredients are made by Michigan companies, which is a large point of pride for the Lipmans. Source: Randy Lipman, co-owner & operator of Mystic Kettle Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Tasty health food stirs up interest in Berkley’s new Republica restaurant

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Arts & Culture

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November 14, 2013

The owners of the new Republica in downtown Berkley are calling their endeavor a food and drink revolution. The menu is designed for meat lovers, vegetarians, and gluten-free eaters. The idea people behind the menu are a family with a history in restaurants from metro Detroit to Chicago. The idea is to serve rich, memorable meals that don't leave your stomach feeling rich and fatty afterward and to serve food and drinks grown or made locally, from Michigan farms to nearby bakeries and to focus on healthy, natural food, not processed, not fried. Craft cocktails and Michigan beers are served from a bar that was one of many major, stylish renovations to the restaurant that was formerly the Berkley Bistro & Cafe. It's located at 1999 Coolidge. Comments and reviews on Twitter, Facebook and Yelp are showing locals are loving the fresh food like the urban farm sandwich and fresh fruit cocktail drinks from the bar. Source: City of Berkley Writer: Kim North Shine

Closed metro Detroit Caribou Coffees come back as Peet’s Coffee & Tea

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Arts & Culture

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November 14, 2013

Six closed metro Detroit Caribou coffee shops are re-opening this week and next week as Peet's Coffee & Tea. After months of renovations and employee training, Peet's Coffee & Teas opened Nov. 11 in Royal Oak, Novi, Shelby and Commerce townships and Rochester Hills. A shop in Grosse Pointe's Village business district is opening Nov. 18, as is a store in Ann Arbor. The new Peet's are retaining and retraining many Caribou employees and also hiring new ones as well as investing in upgrades and decor at the new shops. The Emeryville, Calif.-based company began selling the rarity of small-batch, high-quality roasted and brewed coffee from its first store in Berkeley, Calif. in 1966. The company is in the midst of an eastward expansion. It recently opened 18 stores in Ohio and four in the Pittsburgh area. Many of its new stores are just doors away from Starbucks, which opened in 1971, five years after Peet's first shop. Friends of Alfred Peet, the founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea, opened Starbucks after being taught by Peet, a Dutch immigrant who, as the story goes, was appalled by the coffee Americans drank. He wanted to enlighten them and teach them how to find the best beans and make a better cup. Starbucks initially sold only roasted beans, not brewed coffee, but has since far surpassed Peet's in size. Source: Peet's Coffee & Tea Writer: Kim North Shine

Joshua Tree Investments focuses on ethical investing

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Environment & Sustainability

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November 7, 2013

Josh Keagle has had a number of different jobs over the years. He has served in Iraq, been a middle-school teacher and worked for JPMorgan Chase & Co. In that time he noticed a number of investment professionals push products they had little knowledge of and were arguably not in their clients' best interests. He also noticed that a lot of people were supporting things with their investments that wouldn’t fit in with their moral code. Not long after that he started Joshua Tree Investments, an financial investment advisory firm that helps people make ethical investments that maximize return. That could mean funds that specialize in sustainability or other investment vehicles that are socially conscious. "Our purchases shape the world," Keagle says. "It's possible to responsibly prepare for retirement and think about how your decisions impact the planet." The Troy-based company got its start a year ago and is now working with a broad range of individual clients. Keagle describes them as young and old, liberal and conservative and from all walks of life. He believes they all want to make the best decisions for the long-term. Source: Josh Keagle, investment advisor & founder of Joshua Tree Investments Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.