Proudly presenting...THE URBAN STUDIO CAFE LOGO!

And voila. Our long-awaited logo! We hope you like it, 'cause we sure do!

Many thanks to Lynda McClure for her brilliant design skills!

Spotlight on... Charlotte Holden!

She began her foray into photography at The Urban Studio's summer photo program in 2007, and now Charlotte Holden is continuing down the creative path to St. Louis Community College to major in Fine Art! As her instructor at the Urban Studio, it was clear to me that Charlotte had an eye for photography and the talent to excel. I am thrilled that Charlotte continued to explore the arts and photography and I can't wait to see what wonderful masterpieces she will create. She's a skilled artist and an all-around stellar gal. Check out Charlotte's art below!  


Charlotte's photograph taken during The Urban Studio summer photography program in 2007. The picture was chosen to be the cover of Picture The Future, the book produced from program participant's works.





The Slide won 3rd place in Digital Art at Lindenwood University's High School exhibit, 2nd place in Photography/Digital at St. Charles County Arts Council's High School show and Honorable Mention at SLCC Florissant Valley's High School art show



The Caterpillar won Honorable Mention in the Photographer's Forum Fall Competition

The Urban Studio Cafe Grows Roots! Check Out Our New Tree!

Welcome, little Redbud! 

Thanks to Bowood Farms for donating lovely new greenery (er, red-ery) to the cafe. This tree moves us towards our goal of creating a street presence that invites, engages, and inspires. Hurrah! 

The Urban Studio Cafe Makes Headlines!

The Urban Studio Cafe makes the headlines! Check out this great article written by Kristen Hare at the St. Louis Beacon!

Change-trepreneurs: Three under 30 work on social entrepreneurship, cafe in the city

If you would like to cover the cafe in your publication or news outlet, please contact:
Claire Wolff
Project Manager
(919) 454-4240
claireawolff@gmail.com

The Urban Studio Cafe Happy Hour!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our happy hour on Thursday to celebrate the cafe's SEIC success! A huge thanks to Kevin Brennan of Brennan's Wine Bar for providing our guests with a lovely spread of potential cafe offerings. 

Cafe Happy Hour & ONSL House Tour

Cafe Happy Hour: May 7th, 4:30pm

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Friends We Haven't Met Yet,

There are two upcoming events that we want you to know about! First, we believe that it's very important to take time to celebrate our successes with our team, our supporters, and our friends. SO, The Urban Studio is hosting a Happy Hour tomorrow, Thursday, May 7th to celebrate winning the Skandalaris Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. No formal presentations, no elevator pitches, no pressure...just friends and supporters mingling and getting to know one another.

Our Advisory Board member Kevin Brennan, of Brennan's and Maryland House in the Central West End, has graciously offered to provide food samples which we'll use as a taste-test to get feedback on potential Cafe food offerings. Thanks to the donated time and materials of Slay Plumbing (Kelton, Kirk, and Dave) we'll have working sinks, AND thanks to Bowood Farms, Mikey Naucas, and Bredon Jones, we'll have a beautiful new redbud street tree. Lastly, this will be the final opportunity to thank our Coro Fellow, Abby Baum, for all her hard work during the last month (and the Lutheran Foundation who supported Abby's placement). So to recap:

Urban Studio Cafe Happy Hour
Thursday, May 7th
4:30pm-6:30pm
2815 North 14th Street
Stop on by!


The second event we want you to know about is:
The Old North St. Louis House and Community Tour
Saturday, May 9th
10am - 4pm
$10 in advance, $12 day of event

The Urban Studio Cafe will be open in the morning for folks interested in checking out our progress and hearing about our vision. There is more info below and full details online.

The Cafe WINS!!

Caption: The Urban Studio Cafe is nearly ready to go. We are within $20,000 of our fundraising goal!

On Thursday, April 23rd, The Urban Studio Cafe was named one of five winners at Washington University Skandalaris Center's Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition (SEIC). The Incarnate Word Foundation awarded the Cafe $30,000 of seed capital, and the Youthbridge Foundation awarded Claire Wolff a $5,000 top student award for her work on the Cafe. See below for Wash U's press release:

http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/14070.html

We are thrilled - this award money puts us within reach of opening our doors. However, to ensure the Cafe has a fair shot at success, our fundraising goal is $50,000. We invite you to join our community of supporters and help give The Urban Studio Cafe the final push it needs to open its doors for business and community transformation.

Donate to The Urban Studio Cafe by mailing a check to:
The Urban Studio Cafe
2815 North 14th Street
St. Louis, MO 63107

Please make checks payable to "The Urban Studio c/o Grace Hill"

All donations are tax deductible, and all donations large or small help ensure The Cafe's success. If you would like to learn more about our work and/or support the Cafe, please get in touch with us: theurbanstudiocafe@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who helped us throughout the Competition, we couldn't have done it without you!!

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE URBAN STUDIO CAFE... THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 14!!!

Hello, friends! We know you are anxiously awaiting the grand opening of the Urban Studio Cafe, but in order for this to happen, we need YOUR help! 

We are currently in the finalist round of THE LARGEST SOCIAL ENTERPRISE COMPETITION IN THE WORLD, the S.E.I.C.  If we win, we will receive enough operating capital to open our doors. However, some of the judges are concerned that not enough people would be willing to come to a cafe in Old North St. Louis. 

Hogwash!!

We know that if we build it, you will come, but we must convince these judges. So here's the plan.  We are having a photo shoot on Saturday, March 14 from 10 am to noon. Stop by for a few minutes, get your picture taken and be a part of our ad campaign that says YES! I DO LIVE/VISIT/WORK IN OLD NORTH AND I LOVE COFFEE/TEA/HOT COCOA!!!

Thanks!!! We can't wait to see you on Saturday!!!

(Contact Claire Wolff at claireawolff@gmail.com for any questions)

Fall Community Bike Rides were a SUCCESS!

The Fall Community Bike Rides concluded on Saturday, November 8th with a ride exploring the historic architecture of Old North St. Louis. Kids and adults alike braved the cold and biked around the neighborhood to see first hand the restoration going on all over the area.

We're thrilled that everyone has enjoyed the bike rides, and are looking forward to starting the rides back up in the Spring!

A BIG thank you to Americorps Rangers Allison, Louise, and Aaron, who led the rides every Saturday - you guys are awesome!

A SNEAK PREVIEW...

We're hosting a sneak preview event of The Urban Studio Cafe. Due to limited space, this is an invitation-only event. As we're building momentum towards opening the Cafe, we wanted to invite a small group of local influencers to learn about our vision and the progress we've made throughout the last six months. We can't even begin to express how much we look forward to opening our doors wide to the public. But for now, the sneak preview is limited to a smaller audience. If you feel you should have received an invitation, send Liz Buerger a note: elizabeth.buerger@gmail.com

The Urban Studio Cafe WINS IdeaBounce!!!

The Urban Studio Cafe was selected as an Idea Bounce winner October 23rd!

IdeaBounce is a Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies project that allows organizations, innovators, students, and the creatively-inclined to share innovative ideas that are related to social change. Ideas are first submitted online at www.ideabounce.com. A subset of the ideas are then selected to compete at an IdeaBounce event, where each individual or team is given two minutes to "bounce" an idea to the audience and a panel of judges. The judges select a winner based on the clarity of the idea, passion of the presenter, and the request for help.

On October 23rd, Urban Studio Project Manager Claire Wolff presented The Urban Studio Cafe concept to a group of peers and a panel of judges. The Urban Studio Cafe was selected as the winning social change idea for the evening, providing Claire with an opportunity to dine and chat with the panel of judges. Thanks, IdeaBounce!

In the next series of months, The Urban Studio Cafe will be competing in the Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition, sponsored by the Skandalaris Center and YouthBridge Community Foundation. The winners of the competition walk away with a cash prize to help the idea become a reality.

We'll keep you posted...

Come to Old North St. Louis and RIDE A BIKE!!!

Speaking of bikes....

The Saturday Bike Rides have gotten off to a great start, and we're seeing more kids each week! While this is a great thing and we hope to see even more kids and adults in the future, we are using almost all of our kids-sized bikes already!

If you have a working bike that would fit a child aged 8 and up that you would be willing to donate, please contact Liz Buerger. You will receive a tax-write off for your donation!!

elizabeth.buerger@gmail.com

Community Bike Rides are Back!

The Urban Studio Cafe and Grace Hill are holding Saturday Bike Rides from October 4th-November 8th from 10am-12 pm! Led by Americorps Rangers, these rides travel down the Riverfront Trail, and each week we're going somewhere new!

We started off with a trip to the Mary Meachum Crossing to learn about the dangerous journey slaves made to escape to freedom. This past weekend, kids and adults alike biked down to the Arch and got to explore this amazing structure as well as the museum inside.

Everyone has had a great time, and there are still four more rides to go!

      October 18: Mississippi River Ecology

      October 25: Halloween Theme / Prairie Planting

      November 1: The Branch Street Trestle & McKinley Bridge

      November 8: Explore Old North St. Louis Architecture

The Cafe is getting organized...with your help!

 Are you refurbishing your office? Cleaning out your garage?

The Urban Studio Cafe is looking for a two drawer, locking file cabinet!!! If you have one that you would be willing to donate to the Cafe, please contact Liz Buerger. You will receive a tax-write off for your donation!

elizabeth.buerger@gmail or (914) 552-0829 

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Digging around the archives, Executive Director Phil Valko found photos of a plastering class held at The Urban Studio in 2005:

Thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of those students and plasterer Eric Aulbach, the walls of The Urban Studio Cafe have been transformed with the beautiful blue Venetian plaster you see today:

Calling all Volunteers!

Thanks to all of your help, our first volunteer day was a success! But there's still more to do, so this Saturday, September 13th, we're having another one! 

It will take place from 10am to 2pm and include painting, cleaning, making flower boxes (drilling experience helpful!), installing an air conditioner, and touching up the Urban Studio Mural.

Delicious Einstein Bagels will be provided! 

Please email Liz Buerger or Claire Wolff if you would like to help us this weekend: elizabeth.buerger@gmail.com

claireawolff@gmail.com

The Urban Studio Cafe looks like a....cafe!!

What a difference a bakery case makes!

After a generous donation of a bakery case by Kaldi's Coffee, the studio is finally beginning to resemble a cozy cafe. We are hoping to fully open late fall 2008.




In other exciting news, The Urban Studio Cafe will feature a bike blender!  Yes, you will be able to blend your own smoothie by peddling this fantastic vintage exercise bike, pictured below. Delicious AND healthy! Thanks to the Wash U Engineers without Borders group for creating this sweet machine!

Infused with Energy!

Volunteers from the Wash U Leadership Through Service program whip the studio into shape!

Becca touches up the doorway-

After a reconstructing the sunflower mural, volunteers help relocate the masterpiece.

Painting, taping, sanding, cleaning

Digging out a hole for a street tree!

Framing photography from past programs-

The Studio Gets A Facelift!

Thanks to 30 Wash U student volunteers, the studio has a new sunny disposition and an optimistic outlook on Old North! Check out her transformation!! 

Bye-bye, magenta and mustard!

The Urban Studio... for ghosts

Optimistic yellow...

TA-DA!!!

Thanks, Leadership Through Service!

We Need YOU!

Caption: the newly refinished Urban Studio floors

We are working fast and furious to prepare our storefront to open our social change cafe and we need volunteers!

We will have work days both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, August 23rd and 24th. We are most in need of folks willing to paint, help us resurrect this gorgeous mural, and remove one mean old stump to make room for a new street tree.

Please email Claire Wolff if you have time to donate this weekend. We'll provide the music and age appropriate drinks: claireawolff@gmail.com

Brewing A Special Blend of Coffee and Social Change!

Thanks to everyone who came to the Urban Studio Cafe sneak preview on May 10!

Mid summer 2008, we'll be opening our doors on the weekends, serving drinks with a slice of social change. Our cafe is a social venture  that seeks to strengthen the sense of community by creating a social gathering space, providing jobs for area teens, showcasing the creativity of local creators, and producing income to fund other Urban Studio programs. This will be no small feat. We're off running, but we're going to need all the help we can get to make this project a success. Here is a list of some of our current needs. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

-Graphic design work

-Website development

-Certified Electrician

-Certified Plumber

-Carpenter

-Accountant

-Volunteer tutoring program coordinator

-Metal worker to create a sign

-Screen-printing

-Grant writing

-Financial contributions!!!

-Additional tables and chairs

-Weekend volunteers 

Introducing...The Urban Studio Cafe!

The Urban Studio is back from a winter hiatus and better than ever!  We are very excited about our newest venture, The Urban Studio Cafe!

The cafe seeks to foster a sense of community and creativity while providing a quality cup of joe. Revenue generated by the cafe will go towards funding future art programs for youth in the area. 

Although not open until Mid-summer, this Saturday, May 10th from 10 am to 4 pm, we offer you an exclusive sneak preview of our quirky, cozy coffee shop. The Urban Studio Cafe will be an official stop on the Old North St. Louis House and Community Tour, so hop on that trolley and check us out! Even if you don't participate in the House Tour, feel free to drop by, grab a delectable cup of Kaldi's coffee and learn more about the cafe and how you can help us be a successful social venture.  We are located in our studio space at 2815 N. 14th St. 

  Contact Phil or Claire at info@theurbanstudio.org for more information.

What: Cafe Sneak Peak

When: Saturday, May 10 from 10am-4pm

Where: The Studio!

Who: People who like coffee