Church Plant Incubator at the Aspen Group

Lynn Noe, Customer Relations Coordinator at the Aspen Group in Carmel.

As Carmel sees rapid growth in population we are seeing parallel growth in the number of churches moving into the area. Interestingly, most of these new churches will not build a new building but will meet in a school or other rented spaces. These types of churches are called “church plants.”

Several months ago, we profiled a church plant called itown church which meets in a local elementary school. Itown is just one example of several new church plants in Carmel.

One of the inherent issues of church plants is the lack of meeting space for church staff to hold meetings during the week. Many church plants are making use of local coffee shops and eateries to hold meetings, but what about when they need to hold confidential meetings or counseling sessions?

A local organization sought to fix those issues. The Aspen Group, an innovative church design and construction group with an office here in Carmel, recognized the need and sought to do something about it.

Lynn Noe, customer relations coordinator for the Aspen Group, has been the leader in this project and is starting to see her idea and hard work come to fruition.

Noe’s idea was to take unused space in their office and turn it into a modern “church plant incubator.” Her idea included turning the excess space into different meeting rooms so church plants could hold meetings or private counseling sessions with congregants in an environment that suits their needs.

President of the Aspen Group, Ed Bahler.

The church plant incubator includes several different spaces. The Fireside Room includes relaxed seating for four, a phone and a fireplace. The Scenic View Conference Room includes a conference table with seating for six, a phone and a whiteboard. The Collaboration Room includes a conference table with seating for twenty, a phone and a projector.

The Aspen Group provides these spaces at no cost and even includes Wifi and coffee! Noe and the Aspen Group ultimately want these spaces to be available for church planters who need a space on weekdays for meetings, counseling or just a quiet place to reflect.

The Aspen Group is located at 90 Executive Drive in Carmel. They can be found online at www.aspengroup.com and on Twitter @Aspen_Group. If you are a church or nonprofit interested in more information or wanting to reserve a space, please contact Lynn Noe at 317-582-5100 ext. 129 or email her at lnoe@aspengroup.com.

Second Story Playhouse – Building Sweet Success Through the Creative Arts

Jill Zaniker and Bernie Szuhaj operate the Second Story Playhouse upstairs, the Simply Sweet Shoppe downstairs.

You could say that Carmel’s Second Story Playhouse has a sweet location. It’s conveniently located at 30 North Rangeline Road in the bustling Carmel Arts & Design District on the second floor of a converted house dating from 1872, right above the Simply Sweet Shoppe, a sugar lover’s dream complete with a wide assortment of candy and a coffee bar. But sweeter still is what goes on at Second Story.

“Everything is designed to be hands-on upstairs,” said Bernie Szuhaj, co-owner of the two businesses. “Because we strongly believe that art is doing, it’s a place where kids can constantly flex their muscles in acting, doing improv, painting, sculpting and fiction writing … they even have workshops for lesser known arts such as puppetry.”

Jill Zaniker, the other owner of the Simply Sweet Shoppe and Second Story Playhouse, added, “I grew up in Carmel, and it has always been sports centered. But not every kid is an athlete.”

They both agreed that the Second Story Playhouse was born out of the need for it in the community. “This is a community building,” said Zaniker.

The Second Story Playhouse and Simply Sweet Shoppe at 30 North Rangeline Road.

The main area at the top of the stairs opens into a small theater. Seats wait invitingly for students or audience members to file in, and the stage is a traditional black box theater (a stage created with thick black curtains on three sides) with one notable exception: The curtains are a deep, rich brown instead of black … fitting for the place which is lovingly dubbed “the chocolate box.”

In addition, the upstairs boasts two art studios, one with a ceiling that looks like a blue sky punctuated with fluffy clouds, a reminder to all who enter that at Second Story, the sky is the limit on creativity.

Classes are taught in eight-week sessions conveniently timed for a great after-school activity, and summer programs are also popular. “You’re getting licensed teachers and trained professionals teaching the classes,” Szuhaj said.

They get to teach it the way it’s meant to be taught,” Zaniker said. That means classes are capped at about 10 students so everyone gets plenty of personal attention.

“They’re going to build skills in these classes and workshops that will stay with them for life,” said Szuhaj, whose background is in theater. “Twenty-first century skills.”

“We don’t turn anybody away,” he added. “We help them find their muse and then grow it.”
The classes are a huge plus for parents too. While their children are broadening their creative horizons and honing their communication skills, moms and dads can get errands run.

“Mothers who are in play groups bring their kids for classes and they have a coffee hour downstairs,” Zaniker said.

And the classes are a great way for both kids and parents to make new friends. “If they didn’t know each other before, they will have made new friends by the end of day,” said Szuhaj.

In the spirit of community, the Second Story Playhouse is used often by other groups. Area scout troops sometimes use the space for patch earning activities and ceremonies. Every third Saturday members of Indy Improv come to put on a family friendly performance. Some Second Story loyalists make a point of coming to every show.

To be sure, this is a place where community and creativity flourish. “Give us a try,” said Zaniker. Then you can discover for yourself the truth to their motto, because inside this cheerful house is indeed “where life is sweet and everyone deserves a second story!”

Reid Duffy Reviews Pizzology – The Place for Pizza

Reid Duffy dives into a homemade sausage pizza at Pizzology. (Photos by Jennifer Alderman)

It would seem our preference for pizza styles, like chili and barbecue, depends on what style we grew up on and became enamored with in the first place. As a cherished child of Chicagoland, that entailed a thin crust cheese pizza lavishly accessorized with thick chunks of Italian sausage. Later, out of fear I wasn’t getting enough salt in my diet and drama in my pizza, I allowed pepperoni to partner with the sausage for the most satisfying of Chicago pizza wallows. Chicago is also the birthplace of the deep dish pizza, as concocted by Ike Sewell over a half century ago in his still thriving Pizzeria Uno’s and Duo’s pizza palaces near downtown Chicago. Italian sausage is still a favored ingredient of the Chicago deep dish, but jackknifing through about a foot-and-a-half of mozzarella to get at the hefty chunks always struck me as too much of a good thing.

Pizzology chef Alan Henry stretches the dough before topping the pizza and sliding it into an 800 degree wood burning oven.

Thus, I and other members of my Windy City pizza posse were quick to look askance at the emergence of the so-called “gourmet pizza,” supposedly harking from distant lands and cultures. Plopping down a Dole’s pineapple ring from the can reflects the “Hawaiian pizza”; or liberally sprinkling feta cheese and olives unveils the “Greek pizza”; or blasphemously substituting sausage for shredded chicken and barbecue sauce for tomato cringingly creates the “barbecue chicken” pizza. Even so, we found ourselves occasionally concluding, “Hey, this stuff ain’t half bad.”

For many diners long wondering whether there is more to pizza than sausage, pepperoni and mozzarella, “gourmet pizza,” with its many cheese options and endless topping ensembles has been enthusiastically embraced. Notable Indy market pioneer providers include Bazbeaux, Some Guys and Puccini’s and acclaimed independent newcomers such as Jockamo’s in Irvington (on the far eastside of Indianapolis), and Napolese from Martha Hoover’s Café Patachou dining kingdom on the near northside.

Steamed in their own homemade broth, Pizzology's mussels are beautiful and delicious.

Thus, practicing foodies from the pizza maven division were intrigued to learn in mid-November, 2009 that local celebrity chef Neal Brown was bringing the abundant think-outside-the-oven creativity, showcased in his acclaimed and aptly-named L’Explorateur Restaurant in Broad Ripple, to a very crowded, well-chained comfort food market. With the recession taking its toll on upscale eateries, Brown and his wife, Lindy, decided to apply his culinary inspirations to the pizza, opening their pizzeria in one of a cluster of shopping strip centers adorning the northwest corner of Hazel Dell Parkway and 131st Street. They dubbed it Pizzology, which members of my Chicago pizza posse of yore, intellectuals all, would have surmised was the “Study of Post Meal Burpage and Belchism.” Pizzology shares the center with businesses of instant convenience to the free-wheeling pizza chomper, namely, a dry cleaner and a dentist’s office presumably offering professional flossing.

Pizzology offers a comfortable, cozy atmosphere, fully inviting chatty informality, but with a touch of sleekness in the 75-seat dining room that sports a wood floor and metal tables covered in disposable brown paper. Five of those seats directly face a glassed-in section of the kitchen to watch a Pizzology pizza maker up close. Also glassed in is a 50-seat patio area for munching under the sun and stars after the spring thaw.

Flanked by the dining room and patio is a small horseshoe-shaped bar, with a carousel of flat screen televisions hovering above. On the afternoon I graced the premises, I noticed one of the flat screens was tuned to a cable sports station showing a full replay of the disconcerting Colts-New York Jets opening round playoff game. The heart-stomping, waning moments of that contest had the potential of adversely affecting my appetite and digestion, with no remote within reach to change to a movie channel offering something more cheerful and uplifting like “Nightmare on Elm Street VIII.” Fortunately, a good pizza has the ability to temporarily divert the memory bank from a whole season’s worth of distressing memories.

The menu board on the wall at Pizzology.

Toward that end, Neal Brown and his executive chef Erin Smith focus on the Neopolitan craft pizza baked in a wood and gas powered oven at 800 degrees. The emphasis is on thin crust, a deceptively simple approach to toppings and an obsessive attention to freshness, where scant is the ingredient liberated from a can or box.

Brown is a long time devotee and crusader of the Slow Food movement, celebrating fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices; and locally raised and processed meats, poultry, and fish, free of artificial additives and injections. The Slow Food philosophy urges diners to take time to savor and immerse themselves in the dining experience, be it at the restaurant or the home table, as opposed to our contemporary habits of dining and scarfing on the fly between twitters and tweets.

Thus, the Neal Brown pizza kitchen makes its own mozzarella, crafts its own fennel-seasoned dry sausage from pork provided by Moody Meats, and makes its own dough using wild yeast, spring water, and imported Italian flour. In keeping with the Neopolitan pizza tradition, Brown keeps it deceptively simple for his dozen featured pizzas, all of which are 13 inches with two to four toppings for $13. Seven-inch personal pizzas are offered for lunch between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and 11-inch concoct-your-own mozzarella pizzas are available for $11, with each vegetable topping $2 and each meat topping $3.

The featured pizzas are divided between “Pizza Rossa,” with tomato sauce, and “Pizza Bianca”, without tomato sauce, replaced by judicious applications of extra virgin olive oil. The Pizzology pizza sauce is not your sainted Italian grandmother’s tomato sauce lovingly cooked in the pot for half a day, but pureed Roma-like San Marzano tomatoes, lightly applied to the fresh, melted mozzarella on the “rossa” pizzas. Among the “Pizza Rossa” offerings are the Margherita pizza with mozzarella and basil; the Napoli rendition of mozzarella and oregano; the “Four Cheese” ensemble of mozzarella, taleggio, caciocavallo, and pecorino romano; Sicilian Egglant, augmented with capers; the Olive and Onion sweet duet, with garlic, olives and olive oil.

Homemade sausage pizza!

Naturally, I had to sample the “Homemade Sausage” pizza, featuring the fennel sausage, and festooned with raw onion strips and roasted sweet peppers. The first thing that struck me about Pizzola’s pizza creation was the flavor effectiveness of the very fresh dough. The wood ambiance came through and rendered it cracker crispy on the edges, becoming soft and chewy toward the center, where the toppings started commanding the proceedings. The finely ground sausage was pleasantly tasty, not in the muscular, artery-clogging chunks that adorn the Chicago pizzas of my ever-distant youth, but in plentiful supply. The peppers gave the pizza a welcome, subtle zest.

The “Pizza Blanca” pizzas offer more flavor potency and manliness from their toppings thru the showcasing of such Italian deli meats as prosciutto, well-spiced capicola, and mortadella, augmented by sharp-flavored spices. That cherished salt lick of the sea – anchovies, capers and tomatoes highlight the pie dubbed “The Purist,” while the “Lombardy” (named after the Italian region, not the fabled Green Bay Packers coach), features prosciutto, the salad green arugula, parmesan reggiano cheese, and smoked mozzarella.

Making the biggest impression from the Pizzology’s “Bianca” division is the pizza with the lyrical moniker of “Old Kentucky Rome,” featuring large thin strips of prosciutto, cured by a Kentucky food artisan who crafts her prosciutto ham in very limited, highly prized amounts. Arugula and roasted, carmelized figs are also prominently showcased on this arrangement, with the figs effectively providing a mild, pleasantly sweet contrast to the natural saltiness of the proceedings. The flavor balance is solidified with soft taleggio Italian cheese, in tandem with the excellent crust, thin enough to not make me feel so sheepishly and routinely stuffed and lethargic as I have upon completion of just about every pizza I have ever attacked.

Lindy Brown, in her capacity as a certified sommelier, provides an impressive wine list, with an emphasis on vino Italiano. The beer trust sports a nice array of domestic microbrews, including those from Hoosier-blessed Upland and Sun King, that reliably complement the pizzas.

Executive chef Erin Smith lays on a half-dozen well crafted pasta dishes ($15 full order/$7 half order), highlighted by penne pasta with prosciutto, artichokes and olives; and fettucini in a sauce of parmesan, garlic and butter. A standout from the appetizer roster is the Italian mussels ($8) in their winsome parted black shells, displaying tender garlic-seasoned mussels, sweetly flavored in a broth of white wine, olive oil and cured salumi pork. Tiramisu ($6) from Circle City Sweets, and gelatos courtesy of the Palazzolo’s Artisan Gelato & Sorbetto lay in wait for those in pursuit of the sweet send-off, or simply dispensing with the dietary nuances of their 2011 New Year’s resolutions.

Pizzology has found a very comfortable niche in the commendable colony of gourmet pizzerias, bringing a contemporary flair in honoring cherished Old World pizza traditions. And while immersing yourself in a Pizzology pie, you may keep an eye on the Browns’ latest intriguing culinary adventure – Neal Brown’s take on the taco experience, with a taqueria concept called Tiger & Taco, time and place to be announced.

PIZZOLOGY
13190 Hazel Dell Parkway
844-2550
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Entrée price range: $7-$15
Website: www.pizzologyindy.com

Invest in Your Nest: A Kitchen, Hearth Makeover

Decorative painter Lisa Yoder applies Venetian plaster to the Mellow family's fireplace.

Home is where the hearth is … and that is exactly why the Mellow family set out to warm up their hearth room and kitchen in their Geist home.

The hearth room was beautiful with wood floors, earth tone walls and a large bank of windows where natural light poured into the room. The floor to ceiling white fireplace was the focal point of the room and the family wanted to warm it up a little more.

“I was planning on replacing the neutral marble around the opening of the fireplace with a darker, richer looking marble,” says Ellen Mellow. “But then I learned it could be painted, and that became another option.”

Decorative painter Lisa Yoder, who was coordinating the kitchen/hearth makeover, pitched the idea to the Mellow family. “I explained to Ellen that we could use a product called Venetian plaster around the hearth,” says Lisa. “It is a thick product that is applied with a trowel and will end up looking like real marble at a fraction of the cost!”

They agreed on the Venetian plaster finish and work was started in the kitchen. The hood over the cooktop stove was painted distressed black along with the kitchen island. During the drying time, Lisa primed the original marble tiles, then applied the first layer of Venetian plaster around the hearth.

The cabinets in the kitchen were in good shape, with just a few worn areas. Furniture Fix, LLC, which specializes in restoring wood cabinetry and furniture, erased the scratches and dents and restained some worn spots and trim pieces. A finishing spray was applied at the end for a protective coating with a low sheen.

A tile backsplash was added behind the cooktop and under the newly painted black hood. The work breathed new life into the kitchen for an updated, fresh look.

Back in the hearth room another layer of Venetian plaster was applied and the marble look was starting to appear. The color, which can be tinted to match the room perfectly, was added the next day. The final step was a finishing spray for a protective, durable finish.

Faux finishes have come a long way since the do it yourself sponge painting kits you could buy in a store. Today, you can get the look of real stone, real brick and even marble with decorative finishes.

“You can achieve the look and feel of what you want with much less down time,” says Lisa. “And in the end, it costs less than replacing with the real thing.”

For a few hundred dollars instead of thousands, the marble hearth was transformed, along with the hood and island in the kitchen. The cabinets were enhanced for under $500.

The result is a little added sizzle to the kitchen and a spark added to the hearth room to keep things warm and cozy on those cold snowy winter nights!

Before (click to enlarge)

After (click to enlarge)

Kitchen makeover, before.

Kitchen makeover: after.

Photographer Turned Parent Coach

Parent Coach Maggie Denari.

“Just tilt your chin up a little bit. Perfect.” Click. As Maggie Denari snaps photographs of their children, parents have often asked her about her own children. “Mothers are always eager to talk about the challenges and successes of raising their children,” Denari said. “Those conversations with the parents are the part of my photography business that I love the most.”

Before her work as a photographer, Denari graduated from Butler University and Indiana University with degrees in elementary education. After graduation, she taught for seven years.

After thirteen years as a freelance photographer, Denari realized that she wanted to be able to help parents find solutions to the challenges they face when they are raising children. Combining her knowledge of education and her desire to help people, Denari decided to become a parent coach.

Parent coaching is a relatively new occupation in the Midwest. Denari is only the third person certified in the state of Indiana, but coaching has been popular on the East and West coasts.

In order to become a parent coach, an applicant must take part in a year-long training program offered by The Parent Coaching Institute program through Seattle Pacific University. Once certified, a parent coach can work with parents on any issue concerning child rearing.

“I’ve worked with parents adjusting to a new baby, parents sending their child off to college for the first time and parents with special needs children,” Denari said. “I’m qualified to work with parents with children of all ages, but I focus my work primarily on parents of young children since I have my degree in elementary education.”

Most parent coaches work with their clients for at least eight sessions. However, if a parent feels they need to work with a coach longer, they can set up a personal plan. Parent coaching sessions last about an hour, which can take place in person or over the phone.

After each session takes place, the coach sends a summary to the client outlining the session with reminders, things to consider and helpful resources. Group coaching is also offered. The groups are usually small, made up of parents with children of the same ages.

Parent coaching is becoming a more common practice and it is important for parents to know not to be embarrassed to ask for help. “The most common issue parents are coached on is having enough time and energy to give their children the best of themselves,” Denari said. “Parents need a balance in their lives, and taking a few hours a week to take care of themselves is so important because when parents take care of themselves, they have more to give to their children.”

For more information, or if you are in need of a parent coach, visit www.maggiedenari.com or www.thepci.com.

Nature’s Karma Gives Back In More Ways Than One

Melissa Evans and Chris Evanson, Owners of Nature's Karma.

The holidays are here and we all know it’s better to give than to receive, so stop in at Nature’s Karma at Clay Terrace Mall and browse until your heart’s content. Locally owned by Melissa Evans and Chris Evanson, Nature’s Karma brings an array of gifts and goods to the community. The merchandise sold at Nature’s Karma is not only fun and different, but it is also earth friendly, organic, fair trade or recycled. “Over fifty percent of the items in my store are fair trade,” said Melissa. “And about fifty percent of the items are recycled.”

There is everything from recycled flip flops and telephone cords, to magazine pages and pop tabs, to seat belts and newspapers … shaped and formed into beautiful hand bags, bowls, bracelets and much more. “There are a lot of places that carry fair trade products,” Melissa added. “But no one carries both fair trade and recycled goods as unique as ours. It is a perfect place to get unique and different gifts.” Fair trade is an internationally recognized approach to trading, which aims to ensure that producers in poor countries get a fair deal, including a fair price for goods and services, decent working conditions, and a commitment from buyers so that there is reasonable security for the producers.

Melissa and Chris both live an environmentally friendly lifestyle as well, going green whenever and wherever they can, and they purposely continue that journey in their store. Their message is simple – “It is only fair that this store be a representation of “good karma” and provide unique, useful, environmentally gentle goods to our community. Nature’s Karma is also devoted to providing quality fair trade items as well.”

Melissa said she has always dabbled in essential oils and organic products, and carries her own organic skin care line, of which she is the most proud. “My favorite product is ’Melissa’s Virgin Grapefruit Sugar Scrub,’” she explained. “I blend it right in my home combining organic virgin coconut oil, avocado oil, grapefruit essential oil and sugar, wonderful for the replenishing dry winter skin.” She also carries organic soaps and creams to complement the scrubs.

Nature’s Karma carries every type of gift imaginable. Some of the items include stationery made from recycled paper, 100% soy candles made specifically for Nature’s Karma, frames made from colored pencils and toiletry kits made from recycled tire inner tubes. Melissa also has a wide variety of purses and clutches made from cement bags, phone books, chopsticks, circuit boards, candy wrappers, and juice boxes to name a few. “People are most surprised to see the keyboard purses and clutches,” said Melissa. “That is one of our most unique items.” Nature’s Karma also has a very nice selection of children’s gifts including clothing, hats and slippers.

Every item in the store has been carefully selected, researched and individually purchased. Nature’s Karma also carries several items made by local Carmel residents. Leah Dooley, from Carmel, showcases a number of handmade gifts. “Our most popular selling item is Leah’s pop tab bracelets,” said Melissa. “They are extremely well liked by the kids.” The Binding Bee, also local, creates journals made with recycled leather and hand-bound with recycled paper and a full line of Ambre blends products.

“We are devoted to our community, and 100% of the proceeds from our reusable bags go directly to the Carmel Green Initiative,” explains Melissa. “Carmel Green Initiative is a coalition of citizens and community groups who promote and support the City of Carmel’s commitment to reducing our impact on the environment and meeting the climate challenge.” Nature’s Karma also donates gift baskets to silent auctions and has recently participated as the sponsor of the Broadripple Magnet School for the Arts and Humanities ‘Static Shock’ event. “We want to promote awareness and give back to the community,” adds Melissa.

For more information about Nature’s Karma visit their website at www.natureskarma.org. Nature’s Karma is conveniently located on the northeast side of Clay Terrace Mall.

Black Friday Preparations

Director of Marketing and Business Development, Tiffany Cring of Hamilton Town Center.

Black Friday is recognized as one of the busiest and biggest shopping days of the year, next to Christmas Eve and the Saturday before Christmas. Retailers usually have major discounts and ‘doorbusters’ all lined up and consumers have coupons in hand and are looking for the deal of the century. The term Black Friday means going from the red (indicating a loss) to black (profit). It signifies the hectic start of the holiday shopping season. And for some of us, it is a great time of year!

Most consumers who brave Black Friday are experienced shoppers with an action plan in place before they hit the streets. “I get up at 4 a.m. and head straight to Best Buy and Radio Shack,” said Lisa Sims, a Carmel resident. “Then we brave ToysRUs and other stores based on the advertisements and our needs.” Lisa went on to say she maps out her shopping route the night before and gets all her coupons cut. “I’ve been doing this for the last 17 years. The most fun is having coffee and watching the sun come up!”

Preparation for Black Friday doesn’t just include the consumers and the retailers; it usually includes the people behind the scenes as well, like the marketing and advertising departments of certain stores or malls. Outdoor malls such as Simon Properties Clay Terrace and Hamilton Town Center are a few area businesses that go to great lengths to get organized for one of the major shopping days of the year. Last year, many Simon malls served warm chocolate chip cookies, had holiday entertainment, kids events and rejuvenation stations for the shoppers.

I recently spoke with the Directors of Marketing and Business Development, Tiffany Cring of Hamilton Town Center (HTC) and Catherine Fisher of Clay Terrace, to get the inside scoop on this year’s activities and preparations. “We start our holiday preparations the beginning of October,” said Tiffany. “Figuring out Santa’s grand arrival is the biggest challenge. We strive to come up with something unique and different.” Santa will make his big (secret) entrance on November 26 at both locations, and shouldn’t be missed! “We are really fortunate because we pride ourselves on Santa’s arrival on Black Friday, which is different from the indoor malls,” said Catherine. “We also work closely with our retailers to communicate with our shoppers.”

This year, HTC is trying something new to make the visit with Santa special. “We are having our elf helpers wear microphones directly connected to an earpiece in Santa’s ear so information such as the child’s name and wish list items are relayed to Santa,” explained Tiffany. “It should be a lot of fun for both the kids and parents.”

Director of Marketing and Business Development at Clay Terrace, Catherine Fisher.

One unique activity Clay Terrace is organizing this year is a Reindeer Run, coordinated with Survival Fitness, which will be held on Saturday, December 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. “There will be a mini-obstacle course for the kids to navigate,” says Catherine. She also said they will have live reindeer, Santa’s elves, arcade games, hot chocolate and cookies for the kids to enjoy. The event will take place on the grassy knoll by the children’s play area behind Kona Grill.

Everything from advertising and promotions to décor and entertainment are planned in advance. “All of our buildings and landscape trees are lined with lights and can all be turned on at once,” says Tiffany. “We want to create an experience for the shoppers and want our streetscape to have a home-like feeling.” To aid this goal, HTC as well as Clay Terrace in Carmel will offer a few rejuvenation stations throughout the mall. The rejuvenation stations will include complimentary refreshments, entertainment, a place to sit and relax and complimentary gift wrapping. “It is a great place to take a break.”

“However, the biggest question of both consumers and retailers is what the holiday hours are going to be,” explains Tiffany. “We work with the retailers and anchor stores to find the key hours of operation.” This year HSC will be open at 5:00 a. m. and Clay Terrace will open at 7:00 a.m.

The Santa House will be open at both locations from November 26 through December 24.

Both malls will have special holiday entertainment including professional carolers as well as Girl Scout and Brownie troops carolers. “Last year Simon malls gave away gift cards to random shoppers,” said Catherine. “We’ll do it again this year too!”

For more information on store and mall events, sales and offers, and regular store hours please visit www.simon.com. Happy Holidays!

Convergence Happening at Carmel

Tom Britt, Publisher of the Carmel Community Newsletter and atCarmel.com

When I’m out talking to people about the latest scoop around Carmel, one compliment I hear often is how far we’ve come with the atCarmel.com properties. What started out as a clunky website has turned into a print, Internet and video business that focuses on local news like none other.

What most people don’t know is that during the dot com boom, I was traveling all over the world speaking on the future of media as we knew it back then: Internet, television, and newspapers. I was the CEO of a start up that catalogued all the audio and video being streamed on the web and presented it back as a channel guide of live and recorded content called Channelseek.com. It was the first of its kind and we forged relationships with the biggest and the best in online video: Rolling Stone, CNN, NBC, ABC, Comcast, Sprint, Road Runner, the House of Blues, and many others.

Back then, I talked about how the Internet was going to make everything local, that citizens would become journalists, and that all content would eventually be delivered through the Internet. Sound familiar?

With that in mind, atGeist.com was launched in 2003 as a laboratory in my own backyard. We just launched atCarmel.com last summer. In the spirit of curiosity and entrepreneurship, I carved out a niche in how to integrate print, Internet, and video to create something unique. The experiment continues, but the direction is always the same: Media convergence.

While most print magazines and newspapers are selling ink on paper or column inches, we are bundling our services to provide visibility in a very targeted way. Now with our online video services, companies can have cost effective video produced and played through CarmelTV (www.atcarmel.com/tv), promoted in the Geist and Carmel Community Newsletters, promoted through Facebook and Twitter, and embedded on their own websites. Print ads can carry a similar theme as the video spots, and online ads rotating through our websites can link to the spots as well. And this whole ecosystem works because it is surrounded by local news and people profiles that we are genuinely interested in reading about.

Not all experiments have worked out by the way. We published the Fishers Community Newsletter during the Geist annexation days. Chalk that one up to bad timing. Most recently, we launched the free coupon website, TowneClipper.com. That one bombed, too.

All told, I’m pretty proud of what we’ve built and how it continues to push the envelope as a local news service. If you want to see the future of atCarmel.com, check out CarmelTV. If you really want to get futuristic, watch it on your iPhone (sorry Droid users).

Vermicomposting: A Wiggly Solution to Waste

Keith O'Dell of Castaway Compost

Unless you’re a fisherman, the subject of worms probably doesn’t cross your radar too frequently—except for the times you’re trying to avoid smooshing the little critters on your driveway after a rainstorm. Fishers resident Keith O’Dell sees worms, specifically red worms or red wigglers, in a different light. An engineer by trade and a composter by choice, O’Dell has formed a vermicomposting company called Castaway Compost. Vermicomposting uses red worms and microorganisms to convert organic waste into compost.

Organic Landscaping as seen on “Ask This Old House” from UOS on Vimeo.

O’Dell has been composting for years, but stumbled onto vermicomposting in 2009. At that time O’Dell was researching ways to increase the productivity of farming land in Kenya and Honduras for two missionary friends; vermicomposting seemed perfect. Although implementing the vermicomposting for the missions is still a work in progress, O’Dell is spreading his message to a local audience. “It really is no muss, no fuss” he said. “You just put what you bought back into the soil.”

O’Dell has partnered with Tim Saunders of As the Worm Turns to man a booth at the Fishers Farmers Market. Together they sell worm bins, worms, compost and compost tea. O’Dell sees this as being a process that is doable for everyone, a way to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills, while at the same time producing the rich vermicompost. “You’re adding microbes and substance to your soil versus the synthetic fertilizers, which are giving chemicals to your plants,” said O’Dell.

“The good thing about worm castings (worm waste) and worm tea is that it won’t burn the plants,” said O’Dell. “You can basically add it whenever you want, how much you want.” Experts recommend between a 20%-50% mix of castings to soil. You can also use the compost as a top dressing.

Vermiculture How-To

• Keep your worms in a bin. They need a temperature of 50℉ or above to be productive, so a shady location outside is ideal. Many people move their bins indoors for the cold months. A pantry closet, laundry room, basement or heated garage works well.
• If you purchase a bin from Castaway Compost, they come stocked with bedding and worms. Otherwise, you need to line the bottom of your bin with a few paper towel tubes. Add a pound of red worms. (Red worms and earthworms are not the same.) On top of that add moistened bedding. Shred newspapers, junk mail, paper towel and toilet paper tubes, phone books, or pizza boxes, and fill the bin. You can also add old leaves and a handful of sand.
• Tuck a handful of food underneath the bedding (to prevent the bin from smelling) in one corner. Fruit and vegetable scraps, plant matter, coffee grounds and filters and tea bags (remove the staple) make good food. Avoid meat and dairy products and dog, cat and pig manure.
• In a few days, check the food. If it is mostly gone, add another handful of scraps in a different corner. “The rule of thumb is a pound of worms will eat about a half a pound of food and a half a pound of bedding a day,” said O’Dell. As the bin settles, the worms will begin to eat more. Add new bedding about one time a week. Worms will double in about 60 days. You should begin to use the compost in just a few weeks.

For more information and supplies on vermicomposting including a recipe to make compost tea to use in your garden, visit www.castawaycompost.com.

Stacked Pickle Sure Stacks Up

Alfresco dining outside of the new Stacked Pickle restaurant.

Fried pickles, stacked burgers, breaded tenderloins, fish tacos, and loaded pizzas are just a few of the menu items at the Stacked Pickle restaurant and bar in Carmel. Their claim to fame: wings, burgers and of course, beer! The name Stacked Pickle refers to the many elements that make up the menu. According to owner Chris Long, “It describes who we are. It is different and people will remember it.” I know I’ll never forget it!

My experience started with, of course, fried pickles and a cold, refreshing draft beer… resulting in a combination of love and flavor otherwise known as heaven. With eight beers on draft and several bottle options, my choice was a hard one. But I stuck to the basics, a Bud Light. It was perfect. Unlike most fried pickles, Long’s pickles are spears, not chips, and are tempura battered. After eating each pickle, dipped into the creamy ranch, I craved a sip of my cold beer. Ahhhh. And if you choose a seat outside on their outdoor patio, a cold beverage is a must.

My favorite comrade, Jennifer Alderman, samples the wings.

Stacked Pickle clearly states that they have Wings – Burgers – Beer. So I had to go to my second course: wings. “Our wings are big, juicy and taste good,” explains Long. “We have your basic sauces like hot, medium, teriyaki and BBQ.” I’m not much of a hot or medium fan so I can’t comment there; I got a few tasty teriyaki wings to nibble on. However, my comrade Jenny Alderman (and “restaurant reviewer” partner in crime), is a big fan of wings and went straight for the medium. “Wow. These wings are really good,” said Alderman.

So without further ado, it’s burger time. Now by this time, I can’t fit much more into my belly. So I beg Jenny to split a nice, big juicy burger with me. She agrees. Long suggested we try the MOB-STER, which has sautéed mushrooms, onions and bacon topped with Swiss cheese. It was delicious. Did I mention that it was served with beer-battered fries? Hello, yummy. And did I mention that I’m currently doing P-90X and none of this fits into my new nutritional plan and that I haven’t touched large portions of fried food in over a month? Let me tell you, my visit to the Stacked Pickle was worth every calorie! Chris Long: keep up the good work and keep that yummy food coming!

The Stacked Pickle is located on Old Meridian Street across from Meijer. You can call 317-844-4448 if you need to place a carry-out or delivery order. Yes, they most certainly deliver… good food, great prices and great customer service.

Stacked Pickle
12545 Old Meridian Street
Carmel, IN 46032
www.StackedPickle.com
(317) 844-4448