#d:hive

Our pop-up retail program, Pilot, completes it’s one year run this month. We’ve had some amazing business ideas come through our white-box space next door, a few even moving on to full-fledged spaces in the city. From children’s toys to community art classes, our Pilot participants have brought fresh and innovative ideas to life and we couldn’t be more excited to see their journeys continue in Detroit and beyond. 

  We chatted with some of our Pilot participants to hear what they learned from the program and find out what’s new. See what they had to say below! And don’t forget to stop by Trish’s Garage, our fifth and final pop-up, which will be open through the summer at 1249 Woodward.

  (Left Photo: Crain's Detroit, Right Photo: Curbed Detroit)

Lisa Waud of pot&box

  “I was completely not expecting to learn what I did! After the program I made the choice to still expand in Detroit, but using a work studio structure rather than a traditional retail structure. It’s not as glamorous, but I’m so thankful that I made the decision and have more flexibility in my business model. Right now I have a temporary studio space in a trailer in Corktown, but I’m looking for the perfect permanent studio space. Ultimately I had to make sure the business was sustainable for me going forward, and lot of these decisions came from doing Pilot.”

  Brandon Colvin of Canvas X Detroit

  “Pilot gave me the freedom to focus on things like serving my customers best and fine tuning my business model. I learned a lot about my customer base, and was able to make new connections and build relationships, which is just as important as doing business, in fact, it is doing business. I generated a lot of exposure from Pilot, and people still associate me with my Woodward location. Now I’m in a brick and mortar space just around the corner from the Pilot space, and in addition to running the art studio, I opened a coworking space called WorkBuild.”

  (Left Photo: UIX)

Kurt Spieles of Spielhaus Toys

  “The fact that we were there during the holiday season was perfect for the concept we had. Pilot helped a lot with design and marketing, and it felt like someone had my back the entire time, which was huge. Because I never had experience doing retail before, I learned almost every aspect of retailing on the fly. Even within our first week we were rearranging our shop and making adjustments to our inventory. I think we proved this concept could work and my plans are to reopen in a permanent space either downtown or midtown, in time for the holiday season this Winter.”

  Thanh Tran of Kidpreneur

  “During our time with Pilot we launched our Community Outreach Program to give kids who couldn’t afford our program scholarships to attend our classes. We learned there’s definitely a market for us to be in Detroit and we built new partnerships and are continuing our efforts to provide classes at some of those locations. The marketing and media coverage from the program helped bring Kidpreneur into the limelight and we were able to keep that energy and momentum going after leaving Pilot. Currently we have a new location in Wixom, MI, and are still making plans for a permanent space in Detroit.”

  Ebony Rutherford of Trish’s Garage

  “The biggest challenge was understanding my customer base and making sure my merchandise fit the needs of the customer, not what I wanted. Initially, I wasn’t sure how to devote enough time to both making my own clothing line and curating the boutique. Pilot helped me realize I can’t do both and I decided to offer my t-shirts on a limited edition basis so I could spend more time on the shop. That was a pivotal moment for me and I’m so thankful for the chance to chat with customers constantly to get the feedback I need.  It feels good to collaborate with other small business vendors and help them follow their passion too!”

  By popping up for two months in a rent free environment, our Pilot participants had an opportunity to test the market, interface with customers, make new partnerships, and gain the hands-on experience to decide what direction was ultimately best for their business. We look forward to supporting them in their future endeavors, and we want to thank you all for making our Pilot pop-ups a success, and to Opportunity Detroit for their sponsorship of the program. 

Mark your calendars for some exciting events coming up in August! What are you most looking forward to? For more fun ways to engage in the city, follow us on Twitter. 

August 2: Sidewalk Festival of the Performing Arts

An outdoor celebration of performance and installation art, in the heart of Detroit’s Old Redford/Brightmoor Neighborhoods.

August 7th: Soiree on the Greenway

Featuring food trucks, live entertainment, and a community art project on the Dequindre Cut.

August 15th - 17th: African World Festival

Annual free celebration of African culture and entertainment at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History. 

August 29th - Sept. 1st: Detroit Jazz Festival

One of the world's premier jazz festivals with over 100 live acts over four days. August 30th- Sept. 1st: Hamtown Labor Day Fest

Ofelia Saenz has a passion for paletas. Her business, Alegria Pops, pays homage to these traditional Mexican ice pops found on every street corner in Latin America.  Her focus is on simple recipes, unexpected flavor combinations, and locally sourced ingredients.

“I’ve always loved cooking, but learning to make paletas was like learning to cook all over again, from scratch,” says Ofelia. Two years ago, Ofelia began researching recipes and testing ingredients after a trip to the state of Michoacan in Mexico, where paletas first originated. In early 2013 she took the Build class in Hamtramck to develop her financial plan and work out the logistics of production.

She credits Build with giving her the networking opportunities to help get her business off the ground. She is partnering with Godwin Ihentuge of Yum Village, also a Build graduate, for her first season of pop-ups. “He’s filling a gap for food entrepreneurs who don’t have the capital to afford higher priced venues. It becomes an almost risk-free endeavor for the entrepreneur,” she says of Yum Village’s services. 

Ofelia has also partnered with Sarah Pappas, a Woodbridge neighbor and Build grad, to sell her popsicles at Sarah’s Fresh Cut flower stand. And she’s popped up at Common Table Café – an organic bakery founded by Erica Kippe that doubles as art gallery in Woodbridge. Most recently, Ofelia joined Detroit Cooks, a collective made up of five women-owned food businesses that share a commercial kitchen in midtown. Almost all of the businesses are operated by Build grads. 

  Alegria Pops at Fresh Cut Flower Stand, founded by Build grad Sarah Pappas

Collaboration among alumni is one of the Build program’s highlights. In a recent survey conducted by D:hive, 52% of Build participants responded that they have collaborated with other classmates. Not only does Build provide a strong foundation for starting a business, but there is ongoing support and networking events after classes end.

D:hive’s ambassadors are the first faces you see when walking into the welcome center. Whether it’s fielding questions about where to live, work, and play, or providing residents and visitors alike with insider tips and connections, our ambassadors definitely know a thing or two about Detroit. We chatted with Shawn to get a glimpse into the daily hustle and bustle of the welcome center.

What’s a typical day at the front desk like?

  While every day is different, the one common denominator in all of them is that I get to spend the day talking about Detroit, which is one of my favorite things to do. Be it talking to a suburbanite who has come downtown to rediscover the city or to an out-of-towner who is curious to know what to explore, I have the pleasure of showcasing a side of Detroit that most people don't expect. 

  What kinds of visitors stop by?

  Visitors to the Welcome Center usually fall into three general categories. The first are visitors who come in from elsewhere in the world, wondering what to check out while they are in town.  The second include people who are from the area and want to learn more about the cool things going on in the city.  This includes people who are looking to move here or start a business in the city. The third is people who live in the area, but very seldom come downtown. These people have wandered back downtown to try to reconnect with their core city.  Maybe they’ve read about the changes going on down here, and want to give their city another try.  

  What common questions do you get asked?

  The most common question I've gotten since I've started working as an ambassador is "What is this place?" When I tell them that we're Detroit’s welcome center, they look at me curiously, as if surprised such a thing could exist.  I tell them that we're here to engage ANYONE who is interested in living in the city, working in the city, starting a business in the city or just learning about what's going on in the city. We're happy to help tourists, but more often, we're here to engage the people who are already in the area.

  What’s a memorable front desk encounter you’ve had?

  One day, a middle-aged couple from New Zealand came into the Welcome Center. They were taking an extended tour of the US, and they were going to be staying in Detroit for a few days.  We sat for nearly a half hour talking about the city, and by the time we were done, we had worked out a rough agenda for their entire stay, including adding an extra day to the end to be able to see a Saturday at Eastern Market.  When they were done, they thanked me profusely for spending so much time with them. Then the next day, they came into the welcome center to tell me that they took my Coney challenge--trying one from American and one from Lafayette--and that they had chosen American.  Pfff! Wrong choice :)

  What are your hobbies or other projects?

  In addition to being an ambassador and a tour guide, I am an improvisor and performer.  I also write plays and screenplays with my specialty being comedies. I am the Artistic Director of Planet Ant Theatre in Hamtramck.  

  Someone is only in Detroit for one day. What do you tell them to do?

Detroit is a city of neighborhoods, which Naomi Beasley knows better than almost anyone.  A Detroit native, Naomi grew up in the Jefferson/Mack area, and attended U of D Mercy for her masters degree in architecture. After graduating, Naomi took some time off to explore her interests before working as project manager for Jefferson East Inc., where she oversaw the design and build out of the pop-ups at Jefferson and Chalmers. She was introduced to D:hive from our pop-up welcome center in the Jeff Chalmers neighborhood during the summer of 2013. 

As our Live Resident, Naomi responds to housing inquiries and posts curated listings for rentals on D:hive’s Living Connections page. “I try to do thorough research by making sure the neighborhood is safe and that the listings are up to date,” she says. Sometimes, she also finds listings the old-fashioned way – by driving around and taking note of ‘for rent’ signs and then calling landlords directly. Naomi’s current project is collecting data for the annual Downtown Detroit Occupancy Survey, which provides an overall snapshot of occupancy rates downtown. 

Naomi also meets with individuals on a one-on-one basis during her weekly office hours, where she regularly comes across common misconceptions about the housing market in Detroit. “There’s usually a disconnect between people’s expectations and what’s actually available on the market,” she explains. “People only want to know about downtown and midtown, but they are often surprised at what they can find elsewhere – like West Village or Palmer Park.” Part of her job includes informing people about the many great neighborhoods outside of Greater Downtown, which may not have as much media buzz but are equally vibrant places to live.

  Aside from her work at D:hive, Naomi continues to collaborate with Jefferson East Inc. and most recently helped plan June on Jefferson, a month-long series of events in the neighborhood. She also had a hand in organizing the very first Jefferson East SOUP, which will take place June 26th at Coffee and ___. As if that wasn’t enough, she recently collaborated with NextDoor to launch her neighborhood page on their online portal, a resource she explains as a “Facebook for neighborhoods.”

We couldn't be happier to share the exciting results from our 2014 Build Alumni Survey. View some highlights in the infographic below. We're grateful for the opportunity to work with such talented and passionate aspiring entrepreneurs, and we look forward to growing our programming to serve you better in the future. What are we most proud of? 100% of survey respondents said they felt more confident about their knowledge of business development after taking Build. That's what we're here for! 

Special thanks to Elena Marenghi, D:hive's Semester in Detroit intern, for putting together this survey, and to Nikki Roach and Alicia Stocker for their wonderful design work. 

D:hive's ambassadors are the first faces you see when walking into the welcome center. Whether it's fielding questions about where to live, work, and play, or providing residents and visitors alike with insider tips and connections, our ambassadors definitely know a thing or two about Detroit. We chatted with Andrey to get a glimpse into the daily hustle and bustle of the welcome center.

What’s a typical day at the front desk like?

You never know what to expect on any given day. There’s always an ebb and flow of people around, whether they’re here doing business, just curious people walking by, or community members stopping in to chat.

  What kinds of visitors stop by?

It’s a pretty wild demographic of people coming in. For the most part, we get people who are not as informed about the city. Whether it’s new residents, or the plethora of tourists coming to the city. A day’s visitors might include a couple visiting from France, a resident who wants to be more engaged in Detroit, and partners of D:hive’s here for a meeting or students coming in and out for the BUILD class.

  What common questions do you get asked?

Whether it’s someone just venturing this way from a Tigers game, or visitors from another country, a lot of people have preconceived notions about the city. About 60% of the time we are debunking myths + perceptions – informing people about what’s happening and showing them another side of Detroit. People have an image in their mind of the city as a post-industrial ruin, which is definitely not the whole picture. This whole strip of Woodward looked completely different five years ago. A lot is changing. 

  What’s a memorable front desk encounter you’ve had?

This is the best part of the job. I’m personally a big soccer fan. One day this guy came into D:hive with a really heavy accent. I could tell it was a Dutch accent. He was here from Amsterdam working on his online startup, and I helped him find a place to sublet for the three months he was here. The next day he came back and brought me a shirt from his soccer team in Amsterdam – it was a really nice gesture. So I gave him a Lions jersey in return. We’ve managed to keep in touch even after he moved back.

  What are your hobbies or other projects?

I’m in the process of opening Paramita Sound, which will be a new vinyl record store and bar, hopefully located in West Village. I’m a finalist in the 1417 Van Dyke contest hosted by PracticeSpace. I have a BS in music business and I’ve been a musician and band manager for the past ten years.

  Someone is only in Detroit for one day. What do you tell them to do?

D:hive Build Grad Greg Kowalski in the Hamtramck Historical Museum

It’s a well-known fact that Hamtramck is one of Michigan’s most internationally diverse and densely populated cities. What’s less well known is how Hamtramck came to be the cultural and ethnic melting pot it is today. For many, the city’s history starts and ends with the established Polish community, but that population has slowly declined as new immigrant communities, including Yemeni and Bangladeshi populations, continue to grow. For history lovers or curious visitors, the Hamtramck Historical Museum is finally open for business!

  Greg Kowalski, a D:hive BUILD grad, started the museum as a project with the Hamtramck Historical Commission, launched by the city in 1998.  “When we first met we had nothing, no archives, no records, no artifacts, nothing,” says Greg. “We started piecing things together by going to city hall, finding records, talking to the community, receiving donations and doing public programs and presentations on the city’s history.”

  They received an overwhelming community response to their work and had dozens of people volunteering their time to help preserve and archive the city’s history. Even though there was definitely interest, it was too expensive to launch the museum at that stage. After fundraising $14,000 and being selected to participate in Michigan’s ‘Cities of Promise’ program seven years ago, the gears were finally set in motion.

  Greg took D:hive BUILD’s satellite Hamtramck class in the Spring of 2013. “It helped us understand how to market ourselves and measure our progress,” he says. Next he embarked on the process of acquiring and renovating the space, which is still a work in progress. “It was established 100 years ago as the first department store in Hamtramck, before it became a barber college and finally a dollar store. The space has been through a lot.” But that didn’t stop Greg from diving into repairs and opening up the museum to the public two days a week.

  The museum, located at 9525 Jos. Campau, offers photographic exhibits, unique artifacts, and historical maps and documents. The upstairs is packed with boxes upon boxes of archives, which they hope to display once renovations are complete.

With a background in journalism and communications, Greg knows marketing is critical to the museum’s success. “We can’t expect people to just wander in – they need to know there’s a reason for them to come. We don’t just want a static space,” he says. His vision is to create an interactive community hub with a robust programming schedule including community classes and speakers, as well as a gift shop and café. “People have to know their community so they can invest in it,” he says. “Museums are not just for putting up exhibits of old artifacts – they are important for a city’s growth and future. We want everyone to understand that this is their museum.”

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