Metro Detroit's Hookah Scene
By: Terry Parris Jr., 12/18/2008
Smoky bars are nothing new in SE Michigan but ones that smell like apple and peach?
Hookah culture is becoming more and more popular with young Metro Detroiters, and Dearborn, with its large Middle Eastern population, is ground zero.
Let The Sun Shine In
By: Kelli B. Kavanaugh, 12/11/2008
The race is on! States around the Union are looking into alternative energy strategies big and small. And Michigan is no exception. With all the talk of wind power and alternative fuels, discussions of solar have been pretty absent. Is it our notoriously grey winters? Kelli Kavanaugh checks out who's looking to let the sun shine in in Metro Detroit.
Metro Detroit's CineMagic
By: Lucy Ament, 12/11/2008
While there's no shortage of big box multiplexes in Metro Detroit, the region also boasts a handful of vintage and offbeat movie houses that make a trip to the theater all the more magical. Not only do these venues offer a wider range of cinema, we at
Metromode swear the popcorn tastes better.
Reinventing The Mundane: Detroit Design Center
By: Lucy Ament, 11/13/2008
Most designers want to make bold statements, to put their signature on high profile projects. Brothers Erik and Israel Nordin of Detroit Design Center have more modest goals. They want to make their mark in the mundane, reinventing the functional design of components in residential and commercial spaces while bringing a new aesthetic to Metro Detroit.
Metro Detroit's Real Radio
By: Dennis Archambault, 11/13/2008
As corporate radio blands out the airwaves with lowest common denominator programming, local college radio remains the last bastion for original and ecclectic soundscapes. And with the Internet, these student-run shows are finding listeners all over the globe.
Chicks With Sticks
By: Amy Whitesall, 11/6/2008
At hockey rinks around Ann Arbor, "You shoot like my mom," is not necessarily an insult. Scores of local women are tossing their figure skates aside, shredding ice and aiming to put their own 'bisquit in the basket.' Alaska's got nothing on SE Michigan when it comes to hockey moms.
Metromode Radio: Making Electricity Underwater
By: Chris McCarus, 10/2/2008
In the race to produce cheaper renewable energy, one U-M professor is looking to harness electricity from the Detroit River using experimental cylinders. Chris McCarus has the story on Metromode Radio's latest podcast.
Got DDA?
By: Lucy Ament, 9/18/2008
Grosse Pointe really wants a Downtown Development Authority. Three quarters of Metro Detroit's cities already have one. So, what do these governmental organizations do and why does it matter?
Metromode takes a look at how Ann Arbor and Royal Oak leverage their DDA's to create a vibrant, healthy urban core.
A New Way To Work
By: Ryan Allen, 9/11/2008
Everyone is talking about how Michigan's economy needs to evolve, but what about our local businesses? The old model of assigned cubicles and sanctioned coffee breaks is being rejected by the next generation of talent and some high tech companies in Ann Arbor are getting the clue.
To W2 or 1099? That Is The Question
By: Jon Zemke, 9/10/2008
Forbes says SE Michigan is among the 5 worst places in the US to find a job. W2 jobs, that is. Not only do 60% of businesses employ 1099 workers, their ranks are quickly growing --particularly in communities like Ann Arbor and Royal Oak. So, how does the state accommodate this new class of highly educated, independent employee?
Tech Transfer: Banking On SE Michigan's Universities
By: Scott Paul Dunham, 8/28/2008
There's a lot of talk about Tech Transfer but not everyone understands what it is, and what it could mean to Michigan's new economy. Metromode gives you the lowdown along with a snapshot of how U-M, WSU and Lawrence Tech intend to leverage their innovations into marketplace successes.
Metro Detroit Rocks YouTube
By: Ryan Allen, 8/14/2008
It wasn't what Gil Scott Heron envisioned, but the revolution just may yet be televised. As YouTube becomes the place to be seen, Metro Detroit's savvier rock bands are using Internet video to create their own scene.
Metro Detroit Spins
By: Chris Handyside, 7/31/2008
Despite the all-encompassing digital age, vinyl has gotten its groove back, filling a high-end niche that CDs and MP3s just can't seem to scratch.
Metromode crunches the numbers, charts the trends and points you toward Metro Detroit's best (and still thriving) LP peddlers.
Ann Arbor's On The List
By: Constance Crump, 7/31/2008
Ann Arbor's one of the brainiest, greenest and most walkable cities in the country. Not to mention a great place for sandwiches, bicycling and getting pregnant. Too bad it's also one of the worst places to find a job. This SE Michigan community sure ends up on a lot of lists. Best of, Worst of, what does it all mean?
Could Life Sciences Become Michigan's Core Industry?
By: Dennis Archambault, 7/24/2008
The handwriting is on the wall: SE Michigan's economy needs to develop new industries in order to thrive. Given the power and prestige of our local research universities and the fact that biotech startups are popping up like dandelions, some see the life sciences industry as our next best hope.
Ready, Set, Print
By: Shannon McCarthy, 6/5/2008
Jokingly referred to as the 'Michigan Mafia', book printers like Edward Brothers, McNaughton And Gunn, and a veritable bookshelf of other binding, printing and publishing companies bring millions of dollars and well over a thousand jobs to Washtenaw County. Whether it's Harry Potter, college text books, or U-M's partnership with Google's book digitization project, it's clear that the last chapter in Ann Arbor's publishing history has yet to be written.
Tech Banking In SE Michigan
By: Leia Menlove, 5/29/2008
New economy start-ups need banks that offer new economy know-how. Enter Bank of Ann Arbor's Technology Industry Group, the only program of its kind in Michigan. Modeled after the ground-breaking Silicon Valley Bank, it supports local emerging technologies and entrepreneurs in ways corporate banking giants can't.
A Growing Concern
By: Tanya Muzumdar, 5/22/2008
Toss that bag of Funyuns. Instead, grow some real onions! Area agriculture gurus offer up some sage advice on how and why Michigan's second largest industry should get its fair share of attention.
Michigan Growth Capital Symposium
By: Jeff Meyers, 5/15/2008
Once upon a time, Detroit's auto industry was founded on the visions of its leaders and the risks investors made supporting them. So, where do promising new local companies go today to raise the funds they need? For 27 years the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium has helped provide an answer. The annual two-day event starts today in Ypsilanti. Could it provide the missing link to Michigan's economic evolution?
Information Evolution
By: Tanya Muzumdar, 5/8/2008
Computer science + design + social science = Innovation. Concentrate checks out the student projects at the University of Michigan's School of Information and witnesses the next evolutionary stage in information technology.
Nanotechnology: SE Michigan's Industrial Revolution
By: Lucy Ament, 4/24/2008
Got nanotech? Southeast Michigan does. Metromode has seen the future even though it's invisible to the naked eye. The next evolution in technology is occurring at the atomic level and it just may usher in a new industrial revolution.
SE Michigan Wind Power
By: Kelli B. Kavanaugh, 4/17/2008
"The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind..." Kelli B. Kavanaugh takes an in-depth look at how Michigan can leverage its engineering and manufacturing assets to become a world leader in wind power technology.
Boutique Sweets
By: Melinda Clynes, 4/16/2008
No longer content to sup on artisanal wine, bread and cheese, SE Michigan's foodies have extended their quest for the authentic into the realm of desserts. From old world pastries to gourmet chocolates to high-falutin' cupcakes, Metro Detroit's sweet tooth has grown sophisticated. And a few smart cookies are cashing in on their cravings.
SE Michigan Ramps Up
By: Tanya Muzumdar, 4/10/2008
Ollie up, folks! Ride Metromode's skateboard to the bowls, ledges, and rails of Farmington Hills' future Riley Skate Park …and then read about Ann Arbor's roll towards building its own skater sanctuary.
Ghostly International
By: Amy Whitesall, 4/10/2008
From Halo to Hummer, Ann Arbor-based Ghostly International may be musical tastemakers to the world but founder Sam Valenti IV is really just preserving his legacy as the cool neighborhood record-store guy.
SE Michigan Brews Mean Business
By: Melinda Clynes, 3/27/2008
Black Lotus, Dragonmead, Jolly Pumpkin and Grizzly Peak. They're more than just cool names. Michigan's beer industry accounted for $133 million of the state's economy last year and, despite the current market, business is growing. Melinda Clynes
chats with several of the region's microbrewers about what's on tap this season and where things are headed next.
Who's Your City?: Richard Florida And The Geography Of Talent
By: Tracy Certo, 3/27/2008
Are you part of the Creative Class? Richard Florida has become the bell of the new urbanist ball, dividing the world into "spiky" mega regions with psychological personalities all their own. Translation: Where the nation's best talent chooses to live says as much about you as it does about them. So how does southeast Michigan stack up?
Local Alternative Energy Initiatives
By: Jon Zemke, 3/20/2008
Some SE Michigan communities are determined to drop their rustbelt in favor of something a bit more au natural. But it's not trendiness that inspires cities like Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor and Wyandotte to implement the holy trinity of sustainability --wind, solar, conservation-- but rather the greenbacks they'll save by doing so.
Got LEED?
By: Kelli B. Kavanaugh, 2/28/2008
After years of lagging behind the west coast of the state, SE Michigan is turning green in leaps and bounds. Climb aboard for a discussion of what the green building standard LEED actually means, and check out some prime examples of its application here in Metro Detroit.
The Metro Toddler
By: Amy Kuras, 2/14/2008
As Generations X and Y reach their childrearing years, they find few family-time options that reflect their desire to swim against the mainstream. From urban to urbane, there's a growing national trend for play spaces and social groups that cater to hip kids.
Double Lives: Chris Rizik
By: Tanya Muzumdar, 2/14/2008
Wunderkind Chris Rizik gives new meaning to the word, "multitasking." From his simultaneous careers as an entrepreneur and financier to the writer and publisher of the most popular soul music website in the country, this Ann Arborite's life has hit one high note after another.
Two Wheel Revolution
By: Tanya Muzumdar, 2/7/2008
Long intimidated by automotive roadhogs, cyclists are reclaiming their rightful place along the nation's highways and byways. From hilly Seattle to dense beyond dense New York City, bike lanes are becoming the urban standard.
Metromode's Tanya Muzumdar looks at how Metro Detroit stacks up.
MODErn Living
By: Jon Zemke, 2/7/2008
Basho said, "Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home." Some Metro Detroiters are taking those words to heart and making their house the adventure.
Write Where You Know
By: Jon Zemke, 1/17/2008
Southeast Michigan is replete with literary talent, drawing from the corridors of its hallowed halls of higher learning, the working class experiences on the shop floors and the rough edges of its gritty inner city.
The D Brand and You
By: Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey, 1/17/2008
The
'D' brand isn't just about pulling in conventions and tourists. With
the D Brand Summit, branding gurus are showing us how the power of the
'D' can also attract more talent and business to the region.
A Hand Out
By: Tanya Muzumdar, 1/10/2008
Looking for a New Year's resolution? Whether it's teaching kids to write or maintaining park trails, volunteerism is changing Metro Detroit for the better. As anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."