Press release: Tech Employee Needs Masseuse

Press Release targeting business/entrepreneur newspapers and magazines

(Seattle, Wa.) When Queen Anne's Sam Foley went looking for a massage therapist after an injury last year, his search was far from a relaxing part of the process.

After struggling to find someone who fit his criteria -- someone recommended, female, accepting his insurance provider, working in Queen Anne -- Foley, a former Microsoft program manager, decided to work with business partner Mikal Serkan, another Microsoft veteran, to create a search engine that would allow him "to find exactly what the searcher is looking for."

Their goal was to beef up local search and provide community at the same time, says Foley: "Our vision is to allow users to search for anything: a job, a date, a massage therapist, plumber, hairstylist, whatever. We also want people to feel comfortable mingling on the site."

The result, (name redacted), provides a patent-pending, Wiki-based search for local service providers that intelligently extends and becomes more comprehensive with each searcher’s request. The founders refer to it as a “Structured Search,” which allows the user to define exactly what users are looking for down to very specific criteria.

The better-targeted ads that will result from structured search will mean better business and better service for the user, says Foley. What he means:

Along with a detailed and sophisticated search engine, (name redacted) will include a reason for users to stick around longer on the site: a silent auction component that allows users to view bids from providers in direct response to their needs. While users read bids, MiNeeds will have a much greater window of time to target ads.

“Our goal is to provide a great value and service to our users, by saving them time and energy that they’d otherwise spend searching and negotiating deals. At the same time, on our platform advertisers will know exactly what a user is looking for, and when -- and we can extend dramatically the window of opportunity to advertise as a result,” notes Foley.

For more information about (name redacted), please contact XXX.

Press release -- Island Artist Shows Stewart

FROM BAINBRIDGE ISLAND TO MARTHA STEWART LIVING
Local-born artist, a favorite of Martha Stewart and sculptor Louise Bourgeois, is showing at Seattle Design Center.

Martha Stewart hosted his 25-year retrospective in July 2009, collected his paintings, and called him a friend.

Stewart first saw Bainbridge Island-born artist Philippe Gagnier's paintings-rich with color, defined by “erasure and recovery” (as the artist described them) and a moody dreaminess -when he served as her production assistant for 15 years starting in 1992.

Although Gagnier died of brain cancer in January 2007, at age 48, his vibrant paintings have come home to Seattle Design Center's Trammell-Gagne showroom. Gaining the attention of interior designers and their clients should be an easy task, considering the praise that precedes the work.

“Philippe had an exquisite eye for color and a sophisticated sense of design,” said Stewart. “His paintings are both rich and understated, which makes them ideal centerpieces around which to build a room. I am privileged to own a number of Philippe's paintings, which I continue to value.”

Bourgeois, best known for her graceful spider sculptures, such as one at the National Gallery of Canada, hosted Philippe's “Eiffel Tower” series in a May 1999 studio exhibition, “The Bridge and The Tower.” She has written, “Philippe's work was reserved and yet remarkably powerful.”

Gagnier's work was also featured in several magazines, including the May 2007 and February 2000 issues of “Martha Stewart Living” and Summer 2006 issue of “Blueprint.”

His paintings can be seen - in limited quantities, for a limited time - at the the Trammell-Gagné showroom, Seattle Design Center. For more about Philippe Gagnier's work and his story, see www.PhilippeGagnier.com.

Press Release -- Baby Blankets that Resist Rain

Seattle Mom-preneur Becomes Star among Hollywood’s Celebrity Moms, Rain or Shine

(Seattle, WA –January 30, 2009) – In Seattle’s changeable climate, wrapping up the kid to keep off damp, chill, and the dirt of an outdoor lifestyle is essential for parents. But is there any way to do it in style? Hollywood stars think so. Celebrity moms like Angie Harmon (Law and Order) and Ming-Na (ER) are scooping up a new Seattle-designed baby blanket, called XXX, to swaddle and protect their young ones in La-la land.

The XXX recently made its way into a pre-Golden Globes event on Jan. 11, 2007, where Harmon, Ming-Na, and other Hollywood stars enthused about the fashionable-meets-functional blankets and other kid necessities at the Century Plaza Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“These are genius -- what a fantastic idea,” noted Harmon. Other stars commented on the softness and practicality of XXX products. “My son is always kicking off his blanket; this will be great,” said Ming-Na. “And it’s so soft.”

That’s because this unique line of blankets, bibs, and burp covers is made of soft, cozy material on one side and an easy-to-clean, water-resistant nylon back. The blankets come with playful grosgrain ribbon ties so they can be fastened to strollers, front packs, and car seats to keep the blankets in place and the kids bundled and warm.

All this from a Seattle mom who wanted to take her daughters around Green Lake Park in style.

“These baby products are an expression of many frustrating years as an outdoor enthusiast mom,” said XXX, founder of XXX, the company behind the XXx line. “My husband and I could never find baby products that were weather resistant and stylish, so we just decided to design our own. We’re thrilled that other parents have received the XXX so positively.”
To see photos of celebrity moms with XxX at the pre-Golden Globes event, which she attended along with another local business, XXX, please visit this website: www.XXX. For more information about XXX blankets and other luxe-water resistant necessities for kids by XXX, please visit www.XXX or call contact XXX.

###

Press Release -- Tech Employee Seeks Masseuse

Press Release targeting business/entrepreneur newspapers and magazines

(Seattle, Wa.) When Queen Anne's Sam Foley went looking for a massage therapist after an injury last year, his search was far from a relaxing part of the process.

After struggling to find someone who fit his criteria -- someone recommended, female, accepting his insurance provider, working in Queen Anne -- Foley, a former Microsoft program manager, decided to work with business partner Mikal Serkan, another Microsoft veteran, to create a search engine that would allow him "to find exactly what the searcher is looking for."

Their goal was to beef up local search and provide community at the same time, says Foley: "Our vision is to allow users to search for anything: a job, a date, a massage therapist, plumber, hairstylist, whatever. We also want people to feel comfortable mingling on the site."

The result, (name redacted), provides a patent-pending, Wiki-based search for local service providers that intelligently extends and becomes more comprehensive with each searcher’s request. The founders refer to it as a “Structured Search,” which allows the user to define exactly what users are looking for down to very specific criteria.

The better-targeted ads that will result from structured search will mean better business and better service for the user, says Foley. What he means:

Along with a detailed and sophisticated search engine, (name redacted) will include a reason for users to stick around longer on the site: a silent auction component that allows users to view bids from providers in direct response to their needs. While users read bids, MiNeeds will have a much greater window of time to target ads.

“Our goal is to provide a great value and service to our users, by saving them time and energy that they’d otherwise spend searching and negotiating deals. At the same time, on our platform advertisers will know exactly what a user is looking for, and when -- and we can extend dramatically the window of opportunity to advertise as a result,” notes Foley.

For more information about (name redacted), please contact XXX.

Direct-Response Sample -- Unproduced

The Greatest Countr(ies) in the World know this game…or they will soon.

World Joy is its name.

Children want to know about the world. So do we grown-ups, right?

It’s why “The Greatest Catch” and “Amazing Race” have been successful shows – because we like to know about worlds outside of our own.

Right?

World Joy gives your child an open view of our globe.

Through it, he or she will learn:

If you say “I’m lucky I was born in the USA, because nowhere else has rights like it does” – you’ll get points off.

Surprising? Not really. Your child will learn about nations that also have strong Constitutions and bills of rights.

These include Canada, the nations of western Europe, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Japan, South Korea, and others.

The game also includes bright images of children in less-wealthy countries, showing that they can be happy because of strong family ties and a simple life-style.

Through the game, we learn about the lives of children in other countries. If a child lives in rural Africa or the mountains of South America or village India, we learn what is good about their lives.

Your child will bring home flash-cards and images from all over the world, along with recipes that will work well in slow cookers.

Until January 30, World Joy is available at the introductory price of $15 a set, when purchased in quantity for classrooms.

Want a single set? World Joy is $13 for individual purchase, but only until January 30. After that, this unique game has a purchase price of $25 a set.

Imagine the wonderful things your child will do for the world, when he or she grows up.

Better yet, think of the wars we won’t have, and the ways that your child will get along with others, after playing this game. 

What is it? It's a peace keeper for primary schoolers.

##

Marketing Copywriter - What I Do

Catherine Arnold

206-446-2211

Here's what I do:

Write social media, white papers, case studies, online copy, press releases, and all marketing copy

Work easily in brand voices

Adhere to company style

Ensure consistency across print and web media

Track development of copy through production cycles

Ensure accuracy of information presented in copy

Work collaboratively with managers, editors, designers, coworkers, clients

Proficient in MS Office

Experience as Freelance Copywriter/Writer:

Currently conduct editorial and other online research for Parentmap.com, Seattle-based website of kid-related articles.

Freelance journalist with Seattle Times real estate and business sections.

Previously:

CityRoom, llc., Port Townsend, WA--Wrote copy for retail sites selling tea, coffee, coffee accessories, organic skincare, fashion, wine, and travel. These include: Worldwidetea.com, Coffeeroom.com, worldwideskin.com, hawaiianskin.com, igstyle.com, literatureweekly.com, and oenologist.com. March to May 2009; employer afterward outsourced writing overseas.

Sur La Table culinary retail headquarters, Seattle, WA--Wrote copy for corporate chef. Copy included letter-from-the-chef that mentioned new French pan and other kitchen items; other written items for newsletters and online publication. Copyedited recipes adapted or written by the chef. Worked temporarily to speed process when primary copywriter was busy. May to August 2007.

Other copywriting clients:

MiNeeds, Inc., Seattle, WA--Press releases for bidding and search site for service providers.

Chatterbox, Inc., Seattle, WA--Press releases for All-Weather Woobees, film, and others.

Howard Sherman, artist, Houston, TX--Press releases.

Women's Earning Institute, Seattle, WA--Web copy and presentation materials.

Copyediting and proofreading experience:

Milliman, Inc., Seattle, WA--Covered maternity leave for primary editor in marketing department, May to September 2008. On-call editing Nov. 2006 to Dec. 2008: Web, corporate materials.

GE Healthcare, Seattle, WA--Proofread 260-page conference guide. June to July 2008.

Becker & Mayer book producer, Bellevue, WA--Copyedited or proofread three book manuscripts of more than 250 words each. June, Oct., Nov. 2007.

Fodor's Travel Guide, New York, NY--Fact-checked 250-page volume. April to May 2007.

Arscentia, Inc., Bellevue, WA--through SmartDept. Edited and re-worked text for two financial/insurance industry brochures. Nov. 2006.

Previous Full-time Employment:

Staff Writer. Marketing News magazine, American Marketing Association, Chicago.

Aug. 2002-Jan. 2005. For biweekly deadlines, wrote articles about marketing campaigns and news in technology, public relations, and marketing.

Newsletter Editor, Public Relations Assistant. Trim-Tex, Inc., Lincolnwood, Ill. April

2002-July 2002. Wrote and proofread company newsletter, helped write and proofread proposal letters for fundraising.

Staff Writer. National Underwriter, Hoboken, N.J. May 2000-May 2001.

As staff writer, interviewed sources, wrote articles for weekly deadlines for insurance

industry trade magazine. Wrote news briefs for daily Web site updates.

Writer/Contributor, Microsoft Sidewalk.com. June 1997-April 1998.

Wrote news items and blurbs for events section and uploaded these using FrontPage software; wrote 800- to-1200-word features for several sections of online cityguide.

Published articles in:

MSNBC.com, Seattle Times, Washington Post travel section, Seattle Where, Coastal Living,

Backpacker, Islands, AirTran Go, Philadelphia magazine, Chicago Social, Houston

Chronicle, Puget Sound Business Journal, Microsoft Sidewalk.com


Education:

Bachelor of Arts, English and writing, University of Houston - Honors College

Article from MSNBC.com's The Body Odd

Give 'em room! Bystanders injured by video game players

Catherine Arnold writes: When it comes to video games, some people don’t let anything stand between them and a high score. Not even bystanders, it seems, who are turning out to be the collateral damage in the quest for video game greatness.

A new study of injuries that occurred as a result of, say, an over-eager dash at the electronic pins in Nintendo Wii bowling or the swing of a racket in interactive tennis shows that bystanders were being injured in the line of fire.

The study, done by the American Academy of Pediatrics, looked at the 696 video game-related injuries reported between 2004 and 2009. Of those, nearly one in five injuries were to bystanders while the rest were to those playing the game.

A common injury to bystanders was facial laceration (ouch!) as well as trauma to the shoulder, ankle and foot. Most injuries happened when a player was mimicking the movements done in actual activities such as boxing, bowling and tennis, researchers found.

Dr. Patrick O'Toole, the lead study author, says that he and his colleagues became curious about the real injuries from virtual, interactive games as they grew in popularity: "We felt that the injury pattern would be significantly different to traditional gaming injuries."

So, how to prevent facial lacerations and other icky injuries from overzealous gaming? O'Toole says, "Participants should be able to freely mimic the activity without being impeded by obstacles."

In other words, they should be able to arc the tennis racket, move their bowling arm back and forth lustily, and even downward-facing-dog without someone standing right next to them.

Or, to boil it down to two very un-scientific words: Stand back!

##

Article from Seattle Times Real Estate section

Home sweet, cozy home

The cottages that have sprouted around the Seattle area are small but don't feel that way and are part of a nationwide trend toward smaller homes.

By Catherine Arnold

Special to The Seattle Times

PREV 1 of 4 NEXT

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Todd Staheli, his wife and two young daughters moved into the Greenwood Avenue Cottages in Shoreline from Ballard in 2008. Staheli thinks living in smaller home helps with parenting. "Being close together and sharing space is a better thing than not," he says.

For anyone who thinks that spending one's days and nights in a 1,000-square-foot house might be a tight fit, try kicking around first on a boat, says Todd Staheli, who has lived with his wife and two daughters in a Shoreline bungalow for two years.

"If we could live on a boat that's about 50 square feet — then a thousand seems like a lot," Staheli says, referring to the sailboat he used to live on at Shilshole Bay Marina in Ballard.

Empty-nester Allison Jones was ready to downsize. She left a 2,300-square-foot house in Bellevue for a new 1,000-square-foot bungalow in Redmond in June.

"I don't need a large home," says Jones, who lives in a courtyard-centric Craftsman-style bungalow designed by Seattle-based The Cottage Company. "These [houses] are beautifully designed, so I don't feel like I'm going to live in a cracker box."

"I think [downsizing] is going to be more and more popular, actually," Jones says.

The average house size in Seattle, 1,460 square feet, is smaller than the national average of 1,548 square feet, according to Seattle-based real-estate website Zillow.com.

That smaller average size is partly owing to the number of bungalows and small houses that were built before 1950; the average Seattle house was built in 1949, as opposed to the national average of 1974. Twenty-six percent of Seattle houses were built between 1940 and 1959, the highest percentage of any time period for the city, also according to Zillow.com.

The national average size of houses being sold is decreasing in the recession. In 2009, the average square footage of single-family houses fell to 2,434 from 2,508 in 2008, census data showed. That's still much larger than the average size 30 years ago — 1,700 square feet.

Seattle's suburbs can be a different story. In Bellevue, for instance, 23.3 percent of houses are 1,800 to 2,400 square feet; 25.4 percent are 2,400 to 3,600 square feet; and 8.8 percent are 3,600 or more square feet.

"Maybe a third of the people I meet don't want the 3,000- to 4,000-square-foot house," says Laura Westlund, of Laura Westlund Realty in Kirkland. "They come in and say, 'It's just my wife and me, and we don't want too much space.' But that can be hard to find, because large houses have been built instead."

Westlund said small houses sell well in downtown Kirkland. Recent sales include a 900-square-foot cottage on Third Street, and a house of "around 700 to 900 square feet" off Market Street that sold for $795,000, both of which had been "dolled up" and painted.

People are buying smaller homes for a variety of reasons other than financial cost-cutting.

Moving into a smaller floor plan can be freeing, says Jones. "It forces you to go through your things and keep only what you really love. I have to sell or pass on to other generations what I won't need and can't fit in this house. It's a good thing, because we — as people — don't need a bunch of stuff."

Small sometimes means using less energy in the case of new, green-fitted houses, notes Staheli.

In 2008 when he and his wife were house hunting, they especially wanted an energy-efficient house, says Staheli. At the time they lived in a 1923, 2,200-square-foot house in Ballard.

"It needed new electrical work, new plumbing, better light exposure, and new kitchen appliances," says Staheli.

They paid $390,000 for their Shoreline cottage in 2008 and have saved a lot on their gas and electric bills, says Staheli.

"Because everyone in the courtyard community shares water, we save on that, too. We save by fourfold what we paid in our larger Ballard house."

Feeling crowded hasn't been a problem, either, says Staheli.

"There wasn't a concept that we'd all need separate, large spaces — a 'man cave,' or a two-car garage." By man cave, Staheli means separate rooms in the basement that hold a big-screen TV and weights.

The small-scale house was high on design and beauty, says Staheli.

"After moving in, we really fell in love with it. We just loved our space — it was well-built, had high ceilings and skylights; and we loved the light exposure. It's a really pleasant place to be."

##

Article from Washington Post Travel Section

washingtonpost.com

Chicago: To Ethnic Markets We Go

Sunday, May 30, 2004; Page P08

After a food tour of Chicago with Evelyn Thompson, it's impossible to look at an ethnic grocery in quite the same way.

That's because Thompson, an avid cook, former teacher and longtime Chicagoan, has been hosting private tours of the city's grocers since 1994, when she got her start by presenting a talk on them to the Culinary Historians of Chicago. Not only does she know the use and history of each spiny vegetable; she also knows the stores' owners.

Thompson's Ethnic Grocery Tours, usually conducted in her maroon Corolla station wagon, are custom-made depending on clients' interests. Though we traveled by car, we decided to cover the different ethnicities represented by several stops on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Red Line elevated train in the North Side, starting at Howard Street and proceeding down Clark Street, through the neighborhoods of Rogers Park, Andersonville and Uptown.

We started at Rogers Park Fruit Market (7401 N. Clark St., 773-262-3663), in a former gas station. Thompson pointed out the nopalito, prickly pear cactus pads that -- when despined, cubed and shrink-wrapped -- make excellent salads and are often added in soups; the herb bundle epazote, which smells like kerosene but is good for soups and killing intestinal worms; and watercress, valued by Asians as a blood purifier.

Across the street at the Supermercado Morelia (7334 N. Clark St., 773-761-3291), a Mexican grocery, we salivated over an assortment of more than 20 types of pan dulce (pastries). Thompson bought a wedge of cheesecake to demonstrate its difference from the American version -- the filling was thick and pudding-like. I also had a satisfying besito, whose name means "kiss" and describes how its two circles of white cake are melded together by red jelly and coconut.

We ventured to Devon Avenue -- possibly the most interesting international street in Chicago, with a mix of Assyrians, Pakistanis, Indians, Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Russians, Poles, Orthodox Jews, Mexicans, Cubans and Eastern Europeans -- to the Cuban grocery La Unica (1515 W. Devon Ave., 773-274-7788). We ordered at the counter in back (entrees start at $4.99) and ate at one of the 10 tables. The menu: strong espresso-size cups of thick Cuban coffee, fried yellow plantains and yuca con mojo (boiled and vinaigretted yuca, a potato-like vegetable also known as cassava and manioc). The Spanish yuca con mojo, as the potato-salad-like dish is known, was tangy and terrific, with fresh salsa verde.

Down the street at BM Bakery (1443 W. Devon Ave., 773-381-1321), the smell of fresh-baked Bosnian bread filled the air. A group of men conversed in their native tongue in the bright open space while eating plates of savory boiled meat and bread, cigarette haze hovering over their table. Other specialties include cheese breads and kifla, puffy, yeasty breads that look like pita but which Thompson said are good substitutes for hamburger buns. At 60 cents apiece, the price was right.

Back in the car, we drove south a couple miles to Andersonville, an area more gentrified than the neighborhoods farther north. Although it was settled by Swedes, a community of Assyrians who landed there in the early part of the 20th century created today's Middle Eastern community, which includes several busy restaurants.

The Middle East Bakery & Grocery (1512 W. Foster Ave., 773-561-2224) has -- along with a wide range of staples used for Middle Eastern cooking, including tahini and long-handled copper Turkish coffee pots -- a case containing freshly prepared foods ranging from pickled turnips and brochette to multiple varieties of hummus. You can also buy olives by the pound ($2.95), sandwiches and flat breads. The bread, often hot from the oven, includes a flavorful new low-carb option: a crunchy seven-grain pita, containing wheat, barley, potato rice flour, soy, grits, bulgur wheat and rye meal. From there we headed to Broadway and Argyle Avenue, with its thriving district of Vietnamese (and, to a lesser extent, Chinese) restaurants, cafes, butcher shops and stores. At Bale French Bakery (5018 N. Broadway, 773-561-4424), you can buy banh mi, the wonderful sandwiches made from a baguette and a spread of fresh mayonnaise, cilantro, pickled slivered carrots and fresh cold cuts, such as barbecued pork. The bakery also offers prepackaged cold entrees, such as sliced pate with bean sprouts, other vegetables and a tangy sauce, and sweets such as sesame balls filled with red bean paste and glasses containing distinct levels of tapioca, black-eyed peas and coconut cream.

Thompson's tour ended a few doors south at the Thai Grocery (5014 N. Broadway, 773-561-5345), where we looked at the produce, including green mangos and green papayas. The counter service area in back serves up pad thai by the pound ($3.95 a quart) and mild Thai sausage ($5 for a package of five).

From the Thai Grocery, it was an easy walk through the busy foot traffic of Argyle, past butcher and seafood shops where brown and crispy roasted fowl hang on strings just inside front windows, to the El station. After my afternoon of grazing from grocery to grocery, I needed the exercise.

-- Catherine Arnold

Up to four people can take one of Evelyn Thompson's tailor-made grocery tours at one time. Cost for the 3 1/2- to four-hour tour: $60 for one, $70 for two, $85 for three and $110 for four. Details: 773-465-8064, Ext. 2 , www.ethnic-grocery-tours.com.

Marketing, Social Media, and Ad Writer

Food-allergy sufferers turn tables by launching their own products

Bevy of NW firms thrive by catering to special diets

Premium content from Puget Sound Business Journal by Catherine Arnold, Contributing Writer

Date: Sunday, January 21, 2007, 9:00pm PST

Catherine Arnold

Contributing Writer

People who need their baguettes without wheat or their cakes sans butter are safe in the Puget Sound area.

Kaili McIntyre, who is unable to digest the gluten in ordinary bread because of a disease called celiac, is certainly glad to be in Western Washington. She owns the gluten-free Da Vinci Cafe & Bakery, in Seattle's Greenwood area.

Other local manufacturers of medically oriented food products include Seattle-based Ener-G Foods Inc., which bills itself as the nation's largest manufacturer of foods for special diets; Woodinville-based Mona's Gluten-Free, which sells dry mixes; and Sammamish-based Chez Jane Inc., which makes garlic products aimed at increasing health and fighting cancer.

"The Pacific Northwest is absolutely the best area to live for getting food that doesn't give issues to people with food allergies," McIntyre says.

These businesses have sprung from a base of consumers who are unusually knowledgeable about food and health.

"Seattle is a center for consumers looking for those foods," says Trudy Bialic, spokeswoman for Seattle-based PCC Natural Markets. "Seattle has been a leader for many years, not just in nutrition, but in recognizing that food is not one-size-fits-all; that people have different needs.

"The kinds of foods that are available here you won't find in Cleveland, where I'm from," Bialic added. "Forget trying to find spelt flour, wheat-free bread (in Cleveland) -- the awareness isn't there."

Although no total sales figures are available for special dietary foods produced in the Puget Sound area, it's a market spurred by increased national awareness of food allergies, says Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America, based in Auburn.

Those conditions include celiac. For sufferers of this disease, wheat and gluten can cause huge digestive problems, even tumors or death. According to the Studio City, Calif.-based Celiac Disease Foundation, one in 133 Americans has the condition.

Other common food allergies include those to dairy and soy products, says Jamey Wallace, a naturopath and clinical director for Seattle's Bastyr Center for Natural Health.

"I've been a practicing naturopath for 10 years, and there is much more awareness of food allergies, and probably of celiac to a degree -- that may be why there's such an increase in available food for folks who have allergies of some kind," says Wallace.

Production in the Puget Sound area will continue to grow, Kupper says.

"I'm definitely hearing about interest in opening new manufacturing facilities or dedicated gluten-free markets in the Seattle area," she says. "It's part of a nationwide surge of growth in gluten-free products."

Ener-G Foods Inc., sells products free of gluten, wheat, egg and dairy. The company started in 1962, making low-protein foods for pre-dialysis renal patients.

Today, Ener-G calls itself the largest manufacturer and seller of foods for people on restricted diets in the United States, and has a 33,000-square-foot facility in Seattle and a 10,000-square-foot plant in Womelsdorf, Pa.

Although the company does not release sales figures, its top sellers include soy-based pretzels, breads made from tapioca and rice, respectively, and a potato- and rice-based pretzel, says Jerry Colburn, sales and marketing manager for the company.

But the special-foods industry also has room for plenty of small bakeries and other shops that start small, then ship cross-country in order to stay in business, says Kupper.

"What's happening, nationwide, is that a mom 'n' pop starts," Kupper adds. "Then, in order to survive, they ship products cross-country fresh-frozen."

Indeed, Greenwood's Da Vinci will start shipping breads, pastries and other baked goods after renovations to its 1,400-square-foot building are finished in February, says McIntyre.

McIntyre started selling gluten-free baked products in December 2001, soon after learning that she had celiac. White, potato and cinnamon breads are the best-sellers -- all made using rice flour and tapioca starch. Other products include pizza crust, fruit strudel, cinnamon rolls, scones and various cakes. McIntyre does not release her sales figures.

Contrary to popular belief, gluten-free food does not have to taste like sawdust, says McIntyre, who notes that because Da Vinci does not advertise itself as gluten-free, customers are often surprised that flaky-layered strudel and other goodies could be nontraditional.

"Even the non-gluten-free people love it," she says. "They just keep coming back."

In Woodinville, Mona's Gluten-Free is a special dietary company that, like Da Vinci, was started by a special dietary foods customer. Lisa Shaw, sometimes called "Mona" Lisa, was a longtime baker, restaurant industry employee and food enthusiast when she was diagnosed with celiac in 1989.

"I baked for the first 20 years of my life," says Shaw, "so the diagnosis was a big blow to me."

After realizing what had caused her ill health and weight loss, Shaw began experimenting, baking with rice flour and tapioca starch purchased from health food stores. When the results garnered positive reviews at food industry cocktail parties, she decided to sell her products, says Shaw.

Mona's Gluten-Free started in Shaw's basement in Victoria, British Columbia, in 2000, but in 2004 Shaw relocated the company to Woodinville.

The company sells nine dry baking mixes, all free of gluten, corn and soy. Top sellers are mixes for pancakes and waffles, and French bread.

The company's 2,000-square-foot facility produced $3,500 in shipments and $60,000 in in-store sales during 2006, says Shaw.

The specialty foods market is growing, in Seattle and nationwide.

"It's dramatic to see the new products available in stores on a monthly basis," notes Shaw. "You literally find new companies or gluten-free products springing up on a monthly basis. A lot of bigger manufacturers are labeling their products as gluten-free, because they recognize that this is a market that isn't going away."

##

Article: 36 Hours in Missoula, Mont.

36 Hours, Missoula, Mont.

(copyright 2009 and 2005 Catherine Arnold)*Please note that prices/locations may be out of date.*

Kayaks top the ubiquitous 4wd Subarus here -- all the time. Independent coffee houses outnumber the single Starbucks, the best ice cream in town is huckleberry from local walk-up window The Big Dipper, the Saturday farmer’s market is the biggest social spot in town, and weekend mornings signal a run -- of tubing, kayaking, rafting -- on nearby rivers the Blackfoot and the Bitterroot. Missoula is a mountain town, but it’s no Jackson Hole, no Aspen.

One of the largest towns in the state, and home of the University of Montana’s 12,000 students, Missoula is as good a place to see the latest indie movie (at restored classic theater The Wilma) as to raft a river or dine on Buddhist-influenced Indian food. Early June is one of the best times to visit, when every day is a celebration of having shaken off winter.

Friday
7 p.m. Art Beyond Remingtons
First Fridays, the Missoula Museum of Art and more than 20 galleries, coffee shops and retail stores downtown, and museums on the nearby U of M campus, open their doors from 5 to 8 p.m. Get to know Missoulians over wine and cheese. 335 N. Pattee, 728-0447.

Saturday
9 a.m. - noon Nosh Fest
Miss the Saturday morning farmer’s market, and you’ve missed a major part of Missoula. Outside the former train depot downtown, espresso shops and local bakeries gather carts into a horseshoe where locals hang out over large, honey-laden bearclaws, sweetbuns, dense breads and strong coffee. If you’re open to meeting strangers, you could run into potential hiking partners here; Missoulians are spontaneous and friendly, particularly in outdoor matters. Circle Square, 543-4238.

11 a.m. Booking a Break
Browse at Shakespeare & Co., a low-key bookstore named for the Paris shop, that features sophisticated selections from literary fiction, Montana and Western authors, outdoors-oriented as well as urban fare. Owner Garth Whitson, who plays guitar in a local rockabilly band, organizes author readings by edgy scribes like Steve Earle. 103 S. 3rd St. W., 549-9010.

12 p.m. Chili and Chat
If you don’t mind cigarette smoke, The Dinosaur Cafe, in the back of Charlie B’s bar, dishes up good, cheap chili, a handful of Saltines, and conversation with pre-gentrification Missoula regulars: from writers to veterans of local ranching or mining operations. 428 N. Higgins, 721-9346.

1 p.m. Catch a wave
10,000 Waves, a raft and kayak expedition company, will take you down one of the nearby rivers (Blackfoot, Bitterroot, or Clark Fork), giving you a better idea of the Missoula view of the world: from a river at least part of the time. 1311 E. Broadway, 800-537-8315 or 406-549-6670.

6 p.m. Enlightened Dinner
Tipu’s Tiger is a light-filled, Buddhist-influenced restaurant that serves a wide selection of Indian-influenced vegetarian food. Cardamom, saffron almond or chai ice creams from Big Dipper are after-dinner treats. 115 1/2 S. 4th St. W., 542-0622.

9 p.m. Hoof It To the Beat
At the cavernous Union Hall Co., grab a pool table while you wait for one of the bands that play here. Sweet ‘n Lowdown, for instance, take up considerable stage space with their 13 musicians creating a lively, innovative fusion of rock, blues and roots music. The place gets packed. 208 E. Main, 728-7980
Sunday

9 a.m. No “V8” Necessary
At The Raven Cafe, breakfast includes omelets, other egg dishes, many vegetarian and a few meat selections, and quiche. “Veggie browns,” a variation on hash browns, are steamed vegetables laid over herb roasted potatoes, topped by Monterey Jack, cheddar and spicy sprouts. 130 E. Broadway, 829-8188.

10:30 a.m. Hit the Trail
Hike in the Rattlesnake Recreation Area, the formidably named, but considerably less intimidating large woodland area that borders town, which is crossed by a rushing creek. Follow Van Buren St. to Rattlesnake Dr., about 2.5 mi. The main trailhead is on Sawmill Gulch Road. 329-3814

1 p.m. Re-fueling
Good, light soups and salads at Catalyst Espresso include house versions of fresh tomato, lime and tortilla, and one or two other soups daily, and four good salads including one with baby greens, gorgonzola, walnuts and dried cherries.
111 N. Higgins Ave., 542-1337.

2 p.m. Best Scoop in Town
Don’t leave town without trying a scoop at Big Dipper. El Salvador coffee, honey porter and huckleberry are among about 20 flavors always available.
631 S. Higgins, 543-5722.

THE BASICS
How to Get to Missoula

Visitors to Missoula can fly into Missoula International Airport. Airport Shuttle is available at 543-9416 , although most motels and hotels provide free shuttles.

Gibson Mansion B&B is from the early 1900s and has a library, parlor, grand oak staircase and verandah. Its four rooms are $99-149. All have private baths, a morning tray with coffee and scones, and full breakfast. www.gibsonmansion.com
823 39th St., 251-1345

Goldsmith’s Inn, a 1911 Victorian brick house, sits on the banks of the Clark Fork River, next to the Lewis & Clark river walking trail and across a footbridge from the University of Montana campus. Four of the seven rooms have balcony views; prices are $94-$144. www.goldsmithsinn.com, 809 E. Front St., 728-1585

Holiday Inn Express Riverside’s 95 rooms include breakfast, high-speed Internet access and a fitness center. They are $105 for king or two queens, $149 for balcony suites facing the Clark Fork River.

The Wilma movie theater sells beer and wine at its concession stand. The Wilma, 131 S. Higgins Ave., 728-2521.

AirTran Go magazine article: Seattle's Chinatown

(Originally published in AirTran Go magazine, the publication of AirTran Airways, www.airtranmagazine.com -- July 2006)

Seattle’s Chinatown

words by > Catherine Arnold

East Meets West

* Get a taste of Seattle’s International District.

Some Chinatowns no longer feel lived-in. If their streets bustle at all, it is mainly with tourists, not residents or immigrant shoppers. Seattle’s International District— a name for the area of mostly Asian businesses that includes Chinatown—lives and thrives. Not only that, but it’s a terrific place to see old streets that slope toward a view of Puget Sound and the Union Station clock tower, eat a lovely meal or shop in a grocery with a great selection of fish, tofu and kitschy toys.

The Chinese who settled in the district in the late 1800s were followed by Japanese and Filipinos. Unfortunately, very little remains of Nihonmachi, or Japantown, which was hard hit by the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. But the Japanese-American-owned super-grocery Uwajimaya (206-624-6248, www.uwajimaya.com), the area’s shopping jewel, is the flagship of a Northwest chain started in 1928 in Tacoma.

More than just a grocery, Uwajimaya’s 66,000 square feet of floor space is filled with exciting eats. The food court has Chinese, Vietnamese and other international foods—and a large origami swan in the entrance hall. In the grocery’s deli, find sushi marked down each evening, trays of pickled treats commonly eaten in Japan and plenty of non-Japanese foods, such as falafel, baklava and Filipino breads. Be sure not to miss the Asian candy aisle, sake and Chinese rice wine selection and huge seafood cases.

If you’re in a food haze, regain your bearings at the Wing Luke Asian Museum (206-623-5124, www.wingluke.org). The museum, with an elegant Chinese-style lacquered front, is located in storefronts on an ordinary block, so that it blends in with the shopping-scape.

It is named for Wing Luke, who in 1962 became the first Asian-American elected to public office in the Northwest, as a Seattle city councilman. An ongoing exhibit, Camp Harmony, replicates a Japanese-American internment camp; interactive materials tell the story of the area’s settlement, which began when some Chinese immigrants pooled their money to buy two buildings in the district.

Once you have built up your appetite, it’s back to checking out the area’s fantastic food offerings. The Vietnamese restaurant Green Leaf (206-340-1388) is a small, well-appointed place for attractive dishes made of fresh ingredients, such as bahn xeo: an egg pancake with which to wrap up lettuce, basil and other herbs, then dip in a sweet fish sauce; bowls heaped with noodles and grilled pork, topped with artistic bits of carrot, radish and herbs; or a papaya and prawn salad. One of the area’s most lauded Chinese restaurants is Seven Stars Pepper Szechuan (206-568-6446). Try the pickled vegetable pork soup and prawns with pickled pepper sauce.

After your meal, head to Mon Hei Chinese Bakery (206-624-4156), a great place to pick up goodies like sesame seed pastries stuffed with red bean paste, barbecue pork buns and chicken pies, or to drink tea among elderly men passing time together.

Among the district’s several locations for bubble (or boba) tea, Oasis Tea Zone (206-447-8098) is particularly fun. Along with tall glasses of tea and tapioca bubbles with a gummy bear consistency (sipped through wide straws), Oasis sells flavored shaved ice, condensed milk teas and pureed fruit drinks, such as taro and honeydew. Open till 2am on weekends, the space has high chairs and tables, a pool table and board games like Taboo.

A good spot to reflect on all the day’s delicious finds is Panama Hotel Tea & Coffee House (206-515-4000)—stylish digs built as Japanese working men’s lodgings nearly a hundred years ago. The teahouse features a clear panel in the floor, showing the basement where many Japanese-Americans stored their belongings during internment. Today, it’s a well-lit space offering Asian and Indian teas, panini, espresso and free wireless internet.

More than just a place to fill your belly and shopping bags full of food, Seattle’s International District is a vibrant neighborhood, where locals happily share their culture with visitors, and it should be on the itinerary of anyone passing through the Emerald City.

Washington Post article: Art Cars USA

Originally printed in the Washington Post Travel section, Sunday, May 8, 2005.

Artful Dodges, and Hondas, and . . .


Sunday, May 8, 2005; Page P02

Next time you're driving down the street and a T-Bird bearing a dorsal fin, beady eyes and other sharkish accouterments pulls into the lane next to you -- well, just be aware that an art car parade may not be far away. Art cars are vehicles decorated in fantastic ways, from carpeting the entire auto in Astroturf and plopping a mermaid on the hood to crafting an oversize Corona bottle on wheels. Although Houston's art car parade offers prizes, the events are less about competition than a way for folks to roll out their zany vehicles for a day -- and for others to see them. Here are three events that are coming down the road. -- Catherine Arnold

· Houston


TRA art car. Undated handout photo. This year's ArtCar Fest, parading through the streets of San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., will be Sept. 22-25, 2005. This is the Mondrian Mobile by Emily Duffy. Credi: Harrod Blank/www.artcaragency.com
TRA art car. Undated handout photo. This year's ArtCar Fest, parading through the streets of San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., will be Sept. 22-25, 2005. This is the Mondrian Mobile by Emily Duffy. Credi: Harrod Blank/www.artcaragency.com (Photo Of Emily Duffy's Mondrian Mobile By Harrod Blank/www.artcaragency.com)

What: Everyones Art Car Parade, part of EV1.Net Art Car Weekend.

Where/When: May 14 from 1 to 3 p.m. on Allen Parkway near downtown.

Back story: Art cars in Houston began with the Fruitmobile, a '67 Ford station wagon covered in plastic produce and donated in 1984 to the Orange Show, a local arts foundation. It generated so much enthusiasm for decorated cars that in 1986 the foundation organized a parade; 12 vehicles were featured. These days, the parade attracts 200 to 250 cars, including dozens from out of town, and 250,000 onlookers. The foundation, now the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, organizes most of the weekend's events.

Highlights: The 2005 parade will include artist Mel Chin's 71-foot-long Weapon of Mass Destruction, a missile-shaped structure on the foundation of a mobile home trailer, complete with vinyl siding and aluminum windows . . . Armadizuki, an aluminum-and steel armadillo atop a Suzuki, will also make an appearance . . . On May 13, check out the downtown street party on Main Street to see a battle of one-man bands and preview cars from the parade, parked a block away at Market Square.

Info: 713-926-6368, http://www.orangeshow.org/artcar.html .

· San Francisco Bay Area

What: ArtCar Fest, parading through the streets of San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif.

Where/When: Sept. 22-25. On Thursday, the Caravan drives from Amoeba Music (2455 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley) to the store's San Francisco location (1855 Haight St.). The viewing continues at 11 a.m. Sunday, when the cars take part in a parade for the How Berkeley Can You Be? fest.

Back Story: In 1997, art car designers Harrod Blank and Philo Northrup started a parade exclusively for people who drive their art cars year-round. Now ArtCar Fest, an artist-sponsored nonprofit, attracts 80 to 100 cars annually and upward of 100,000 viewers.

Highlights: The 2005 fest will include some old favorites, such as the Camera Van (with 1,705 pieces of photo equipment covering a Dodge van) and a stained-glass Volkswagen known as the Glass Quilt . . . New this year is Daisy Singer, a 2004 Honda Element clad in antique tin ceilings, linoleum and curved animal horns . . . The How Berkeley Can You Be? fest has music ranging from a punk rock orchestra to "cosmic rockabilly" . . . Dancing, food and drink booths, crafts and kids activities will also be on hand.

Info: ArtCar Fest, http://www.artcarfest.com/ (update for 2005 due soon). Berkeley fest, 510-644-2204, http://www.howberkeleycanyoube.com/ .

· Baltimore

What: Art CARavan parade, part of the Baltimore Artscape festival.

Where/When: July 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. traveling north on Charles Street from North Avenue and Mount Royal Avenue (the festival site).

Back Story: In 1992, artist Philip Minion displayed an art car -- a Baltimore rowhouse-themed Dodge Dart with an Astroturf hood and Formstone sides -- at the festival. The following year, 15 other artists showed cars, but it wasn't until '99 that the current parade took shape. Today, 5,000 to 10,000 people watch the parade, which features local cars as well as vehicles from Houston, the Bay Area and elsewhere.

Highlights: Cars parade through downtown to the festival, then remain on display all weekend . . . Standing out in years past: the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir, an old Volvo covered in mechanical fish and lobsters that lip-synch to music ranging from Handel's "Hallelujah" Chorus to the "Rawhide" theme song . . . Non-car activities at Artscape will include a Billie Holliday vocal competition (Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m.) at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (1212 Cathedral St.) and offerings from Dance Baltimore, Baltimore Opera Company, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Maryland Film Festival.

Info: 410-752-8632, http://www.artscape.org/

Public Relations Proposal Letter

The Determined (or Vehement)

John Adelman, Beau Comeaux, Garland Fielder, Howard Sherman Despite the clamor about over-educated, faculty-quoting graduate students nationwide, here are four who were just too inventive and stubborn to cave.

All MFA graduates of the University of North Texas, these fierce-minded and unique artists -- Adelman, Comeaux, Fielder and Sherman -- crackle with vibrancy and momentum, and are already garnering recognition. In August, Houston Press described Howard Sherman’s work as: “unflinchingly frenetic, completely noisy, but ordered and beautiful all the same...It’s almost as if he has created an entirely new idiom, a style all his own, and one that’s definitely worth checking out.”

Each of the artists has developed his own visual language. The results are as follows: Sherman is in The Twenty-First Exhibition of New American Talent; The New American Paintings edition no.60; and his summer solo show at McMurtrey Gallery in Houston sold out.

John Adelman is in a four-person show at Houston’s Rudolph Projects; represented by Hwy90 Gallery in Marfa, Texas and Holly Johnson Gallery in Dallas where he will have a solo exhibition in January.

Beau Comeaux is in Snap to Grid at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art and Denver International Airport; Artist’s ShowCase in CameraArts magazine; and represented by Marty Walker Gallery in Dallas.

Garland Fielder has shown at Dallas’ Conduit Gallery; in Houston the Fluid Geometry exhibition at Artscan Gallery; and was featured in the “West Meets West” show at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Finland.

One thing is certain: these four have held their own.

More about them:

Following the Form. John Adelman’s pieces are intricate and beautiful in a way that’s unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. They are the visual representation of a quantity of immense proportions. A bale of hay rendered by hand tracing 71,271 individual shafts of hay. Each work follows a set formula: decide objects, pour them out, trace as they lie. No alterations. Patterns that emerge are a result of the form.

Domesticity, Afterglow. In Beau Comeaux’s enhanced photographs, houses are the focus: unreally lit, but eerily familiar. A window radiates acid-yellow, a backyard tree is lit from above, fog-machine gloom unfurls behind a glowing white farm cottage. The voyeurism of lonely travel, domestic life’s roil of emotions -- these surface.

Geometry Metamorphosing. Garland Fielder’s spidery lines and geometric sculptures invite the mind to finish the picture. Like modern science, they allude to a much larger galaxy of possibility. Altered space. Unrestricted access to the other worldly.

Id in Paint. Howard Sherman’s paintings fly with happiness, rage, the frustration of receiving a telephone solicitation call at dinner. Their surfaces swirl with flown hands, turbans, and motion; titles bring to mind familiar daily experiences: “Bad Call Center Employee,” “They use paypal, too,” and “Downsizing at the Call Center.” The skill of their expressionism speaks of deeper issues -- and the exasperations of our daily existence.

***
John Adelman, Beau Comeaux, Garland Fielder, Howard Sherman -- now is the time to capture the incipient energy of these four artists from the University of North Texas. Don’t miss them at this important point in their careers; they’d make a vibrant and thought-provoking show. To inquire, please contact John Adelman at 2315 commerce street studio C, Houston, Texas, 77002. email: errantnickel@hotmail.com; cell: (940) 453.0572. Thank you.