University presses have found a unique niche in the publishing world, producing books by local writers with a decidedly local focus. Dennis Archambault looks at how Wayne State and U-M are evolving their imprints in the age of shrinking higher ed funding and digital innovation.

"Game changing technologies". "Thinking outside the box". "Bucking the status quo". Business is big on innovative jargon, but what does it really take to remake the economic landscape? Whether it was the automobile a hundred years ago or last year's iPad, disruptive thinking is more than just risk-taking entrepreneurship, it's the business of course-altering creation. And the financial impacts are staggering.

When New York fashionistas ask designer Katerina Bocci why she's in Michigan, her reply is: "We are able to make beautiful cars... so why aren't we able to make fashion?" How true! Metromode gets the skinny on Metro Detroit's budding fashion industry - what's here, where it's going, and what it needs.

Business has long operated on the Darwinian principle: evolve or die. Though Metro Detroit's manufacturing sector has taken a beating these past few decades some local companies are not only weathering the storm but actually growing. Dennis Archambault talks with a new generation of leadership about their high-tech plans to diversify

Architects look at things a little differently. Where we see empty space or blight, they see the potential for something inspiring, innovative, or grand. It should come as no surprise then that the trio of young architects Metromode spoke to are excited about both their own and Metro Detroit's future.

The poet William Carlos Williams once wrote, "In summer, the song sings itself." This week, Metromode hums along with a list of outside Metro Detroit places and events you must experience this summer.

Metro Detroit's young gun restaurateurs are thriving in an otherwise tough economy. Balancing style, location, and affordability, they've created popular eateries that cater to hip and enthusiastic crowds.

What's in a name? When it comes to Metro Detroit microbrews a whole heckuva lot. From Bam Biere to Ghettoblaster, Luciernaga to Final Absolution, Melinda Clynes gets the skinny on where the names and wonderful beer labels come from for some of our favorite local libations.