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Inside the Short North
July 2006
Columnist John Angelo
Short North Business Association Executive Director
Call 614-228-8050 or email snbacols@aol.com

John Angelo Archive

John Angelo / Photo by Rob Colgan

Viva Via Colori!
Via Colori lives! In March, the Short North Business Association made the extremely tough decision to step away from the production of Via Colori, our annual street painting festival. A collective sigh was heard from across the community.

Though we too were saddened, we were confident there was a better fit to be found between the event and the producing organization. One of our greatest challenges was committing the hundreds and hundreds of hours required to round up sponsors, sell art squares, deal with permits, recruit and coordinate artists and take care of the myriad activities required the months leading up to the event. After all, our core constituents, business owners, are not typically known for their abundance of spare time to staff operations committees. So while we loved Via Colori and the tremendous exposure it brought to the creative scene and the Short North, we knew we couldn’t sustain it year after year.

Enter Children’s Hospital Founda-tion, an organization with thousands of volunteers and tremendous resources. Suddenly we have a win-win across the board. First and foremost, CHF brings its enviable volunteer base to the table. Via Colori finds heightened exposure in the brilliance of the Children’s Hospital spotlight. CHF taps into the corps of artists established by the SNBA over the last three years. The event remains in the Short North, and the SNBA can rededicate the months of July, August and September to addressing our core business.

So expect a one-year, transitional hiatus and then the stellar return of Via Colori in September 2007. The event will once again be held at Goodale Park. The exact date will be announced later this year. And talk about advanced planning, the Featured Artist has already been announced – Hani Hara. Hara’s work focuses on his love for freedom of style and space and his belief that the expression of art has no boundaries.

To sign up as an artist, a volunteer or a sponsor, visit www.ViaColori.com. For more information, contact Bethanne Tilson at the Children’s Hospital Foundation. Call 614-722-2987 or email tilsonb@chi.osu.edu

Goodale Park Arts Festival
And while we’re on the subject of Goodale Park events. Though September will be missing Via Colori, October will be gaining the Goodale Park Arts Festival, a juried sale of unique American fine art and craft featuring 100 artists from the Columbus area and across the country. The event wil be held October 7-8, 2006.

The festival is the newest production of By Hand, a fine art and craft organization founded by Jay Snyder, former Fair Director for Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s Winterfair. I caught up with Jay to get his thoughts on the event:

“The Goodale Park Arts Festival will be an art-driven festival. As an event in the Short North Arts District, I think it will immediately become an important part of the Columbus art scene and continue to build upon the Short North’s reputation as the Midwest’s premier arts center.”

Go Jay! We’re with you all the way. For more information, call 614-444-5767 or visit www.byhandevents.com

Happy 70th CBB
That’s right, local fixture, Columbus Barber & Beauty Wholesale Supply turns 70 this year. Located at 962 N. High Street, CBB has been quietly, and successfully, ticking away the years through thick and thin. The business was started in 1936 by Joe Loudenslager, now 85 years old, and his dad. It has been in its Short North location for 50 years. Prior to that, the shop was located where the Convention Center now stands. Originally there was a manufacturing site adjacent to the store where they produced shampoos, cocoa butter, hairspray, hair tonic and a host of other products under the “Eudora Products” moniker. The Loudenslagers built a successful company by servicing the professional barber and beauty shops of the region.

Times have changed and the manufacturing side no longer exists, but CBB, with a selection of over 300 products, still services the professional community, and now is open to the general public as well.

Linda and Michael Holman bought Columbus Barber & Beauty six years ago. Michael has worked 38 years in the industry. He owns Mike’s Barber Shop at 3518 N. High St. That keeps him busy enough. Though he is 50 percent owner of CBB, he prefers to stay out of the supply house and leaves the operations to Linda.

While the business has evolved through the years to keep up with changing technology (computer-based ordering systems, a Web site launching soon), the 1,200 square foot retail space is all about nostalgia, quality and old-school customer service. Linda’s pride for CBB’s unique perspective bubbles over as she talks about the shop.

“You get a feeling of stepping back in time,” she said. “The whole set up is nearly as it was 50 years ago. We still use a crank register. We write up sales on order boxes ... the customer gets one copy and the other copy goes in the box. We play music from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. We intentionally keep it as a nostalgic experience, because if we changed, we would be just like everyone else. Even Joe’s daughter, Cheryl Tumblin, is the sales manager. Sometimes it’s nice to have things that anchor us, things that don’t change.”

“I’m all about the experience and true customer service, versus big company protocol,” said Linda. “People feel the difference shopping here. We do a lot of special orders and research to find products.”

CBB has been a steady constant in the Short North’s constant state of change.

“The shop was here when people were afraid to come to the Short North,” she said, “so the store was delivery-oriented. Now we’ve gone from the place not to be, to the place to be. Our retail storefront is becoming much more important. Still, a lot of people don’t know they can purchase salon products directly from us. We’re working on that.”

In honor of their 70th, expect to see year-long specials and an exterior makeover. Linda says the “auto-primer red” paint will be replaced with chartreuse and teal to match the store’s signage and that they’ll be a “fresh new face on the block all over again!”

“Since I’ve had this business, I’ve never been more in tune with the small business owner,” said Linda. “We have to support one another. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it. What a fabulous legacy we have here in the Short North.”

Welcome Select Specialty
There’s a new neighbor in town! Select Specialty Hospital is officially open for business. Formerly Doctors North Hospital on the corner of Third and Dennison avenues, the newly renovated facility opened its doors on June 21. The first patient arrived at 10:43 a.m. This is big news for the community and the business district. SSH brings a team of nearly 540 employees. The hospital has an initial capacity of 60 beds with plans for expansion to over 150 by 2008. Counting the employees and the patients’ visitors, the Short North will see an influx of thousands of patrons per year.

Select Specialty is a different kind of hospital. They offer patients a longer acute-care stay than is available in traditional hospitals. These patients typically have chronic illnesses, multiple injuries, trauma, or multiple medical complications. Also unlike traditional hospitals, Select Specialty offers its patient families 24-hour visitation and free parking.

“We are really looking forward to being part of the history of this community,” says Albert Wright, CEO. In February, Albert joined the board of the Short North Business Association to accelerate his acclimation to the area.

Already, creative partnerships have begun forming. As part of the hospital’s growing interest in integrating with the Short North community, Select Specialty will be offering their parking facilities and serving as a shuttle stop to help balance traffic during Gallery Hops.

Inside the hospital, Select is also partnering with the community. The lobby and physician lounge will promote the spirit of the Short North by hosting guest art works from local galleries. “We wanted to incorporate the flavor of the art community inside our walls,” explains Cathy Omodio, Director of Provider Relations and Marketing.

Email John Angelo at snbacols@aol.com
Visit the Short North Business Association Web site at www.shortnorth.org

©2006 Short North Gazette, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.