MARGOT C. LESTER
New business in Pittsboro
A few days after fire destroyed Pittsboro’s historic courthouse, there’s something to cheer about downtown.
Last week, Emma Cabrera and Eric Morin opened a brand-spanking-new gallery/shop/arts space smack-dab in the middle of the central business district, at 18A E. Salisbury St. Davenport & Winkleperry, “purveyors of fine art and what-nots,†is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and currently features The Oddity Exhibition through April 30. The show depicts carnival and circus freak-show motifs from years gone by and reworked with modern interpretations.
“We’re not your typical art gallery,†Cabrera explains. “We carry collectible toys, books, affordable artwork and we have an in-house seamstress offering custom work, as well as some ready-to-wear items. We also have grand plans of adding a cafe and wine bar with a small performance space in the future.†For the present, the duo rents out studio space to local artists, so the entire space is utilized until they’re ready to expand.
The company’s name comes from Cabrera’s alter-ego, Emmett Davenport, the name she uses as co-host and DJ of the Clockwork Cabaret, her weekly radio show/podcast. Winkleperry is Morin’s nom d’artiste, Snydley Winkleperry.
Fair Trade Chapel Hill
On Monday, students in Judith Blau’s Sociology of Human Rights course presented Chapel Hill town officials with a resolution to make the Southern Part of Heaven a certified Fair Trade Town. The resolution asked merchants, retailers and Chapel Hill citizens to:
1. Buy Fair Trade Certified products such as coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate and fruit, as available, for myself and if applicable, for meetings and gatherings.
2. Purchase commodities or crafts from members of the Fair Trade Federation.
3. Educate classmates, coworkers, and community members about Fair Trade.
4. Promote Fair Trade in our community through events or other activities whenever possible.
“The motto for the class’s fair-trade project, which includes its petitions and resolution, is Changing the World, Two Cities at a Time,†explains Chelsea Journigan, a senior in the class. “If true equality is to arise and permeate throughout the world, then we must voice our opinions and begin to actively pursue human rights for our neighborhoods, towns and cities with the intent of inspiring these actions to occur on a wider scale.â€
Glazed Expectations relocates
Glazed Expectations, the paint-your-own ceramic and sculpture studio, relocated from Star Point to 205 W. Main Street, Suite 104, in Carrboro (next to Chapel Hill Tire). In addition to pottery painting, owner Susannah Sloan offers sculpture classes for children and adults, summer camps for ages 5 and up and a gallery for local artists.
Survey says…
Brian Russell, founder of Carrboro Creative Coworking and the soon-to-open Durham Coworking, is running a contest to gather data on market needs. You take a three-page, five-minute online survey; he registers you in a drawing to win an iPad. The winner will be announced April 23. A link to the survey is located at durhamcoworking.com
There’s an app (or 2) for that
Speaking of the iPad, two local tech companies have created nifty new stuff for the Apple i-devices. Carrboro-based Little Green Software developed Tally-O, which, according to an email sent to The Citizen, “brings a world of adventure to the iPhone.†The app searches for nearby destinations from more than 1,000 travel guides and scavenger hunts. Recommendations reflect the interests, perspectives and personalities of Tally-O players and their friends. Users can win points by visiting and interacting with a destination or creating their own “adventures.†Built-in GPS detects the player’s arrival at the destination and an optional Homing Sensor on the 3G and 3GS provides an extra challenge on scavenger hunts. Tally-O 1.1 is $1.99 exclusively at the App Store in the Travel category.
Chapel Hill’s PrkL8 launched a free “mobile discovery engine†last week. The app searches the web for news, trivia, images and other information that users can share on Facebook with one click. Users can “teach†the app to find items of interest by using the “like†or “hate†buttons. According to a company news release, “PrkL8 makes surfing the web more like channel surfing and less like talking to a reference librarian.†No offense to librarians, I’m sure. The free app is available at prkL8.com or the iTunes App Store.
Carrboro Planning Board vacancy
There’s an opening on the Carrboro Planning Board for a resident of the Carrboro Extraterritorial Planning Jurisdiction. The planning board meets on the first and third Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Learn more about the board at ci.carrboro.nc.us/AdvBoards/advbrds.htm#PlanningBoard. Submit an application at ci.carrboro.nc.us/AdvBoards/advbrdapp.htm. Appointments to the seat are made by the Orange County Board of Commissioners.