555 Studios in Detroit hosted a “Blessing of the Lowriders” event this past weekend, which showcased one of the best legacies of the Motor City’s mechanical heritage. You can see an old Impala in the background, but check out these custom trikes.
Source: 555 Gallery and Studios
We posted some prep for the annual May Day parade as a Daily Pic a few weeks back, but here’s a sweet video of the event’s first-ever march. Follow TPT back to 1975 for the start of what’s become a freaky annual tradition.
Source: TPT
D:hive BUILD is a business planning and development course presented by Detroit’s up-and-coming creative community center. Their first class of graduates just finished their programs this week – congratulations to all!
Source: D:hive
Freyja, the American Swedish Institute’s resident fiberglass goat, showed off her Minnesota Wild spirit today. She normally lives on the building’s green roof, but she apparently decided to come down and meander today. Goats, Swedes and hockey – what’s more Midwestern than that?
Source: American Swedish Institute
Signal-Return, a Detroit letterpress shop, showed off their new flat files on Facebook today. Those are some museum-quality pieces, and should make the printing experience at the store that much more authentic.
Source: Signal-Return
This 11-foot sectional sofa just went on the market at Succotash, a St. Paul boutique. With a nice square table in the corner, you’d be set for a night spent listening to the hi-fi.
Source: Succotash
Two anonymous students at the Columbus College of Art and Design have been setting inspirational quotes in chalk on campus, and the results are just stunning. From Lennon to Jobs, these standby aphorisms gain new life in the hands of these kids.
Source: Colossal
Like most mid-sized Midwestern cities, Peoria, Ill., has a good number of historic buildings that have worn a few hats throughout their lifetimes. The Spalding Institute is no exception – it was one a high school, and now it’s a Christian center. The people behind Meanwhile Back in Peoria have posted an excellent photo tour of their old school.
Source: Meanwhile Back in Peoria
It’s been a long week of cold, rainy weather here in Minnesota, but the team at Northfield’s Bossy Acres, a small farm, have been posting some great shots of their up-and-coming crops already. This dark opal basil shows an unexpected color after weeks of grays and browns.
Source: Bossy Acres
The Highpoint Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis is one of the premier print studios in the upper Midwest, and their classes give students a chance to cut their teeth in a variety of media. Their student show runs for another 10 days; stop by and check out some colorful new work.
Source: Highpoint Center for Printmaking
This historic Hollywood Theater in Northeast Minneapolis is a gem of bygone movie houses, but it’s fallen into total disrepair. It’s a shame, because the interior has real potential. It last showed a picture in 1987 – and once was a venue for a Husker Du show – but is finally getting sold to Andrew Volna, a media professional, part-time developer and Nordeaster. Check out the full story via MinnPost below.
Source: MinnPost
It might seem like $159,000 isn’t a huge sticker price to own a piece of design history, but this Mies van der Rohe-designed Detroit townhouse just went on the market for that record-setting number. Check out a full gallery via Curbed Detroit below.
Source: Curbed Detroit
The Campana brothers, two furniture designers who build chairs out of off-the-wall materials, are setting up shop at Re:View Contemporary Gallery in Detroit. Their exhibit, which opened for previews this past weekend, runs through the end of May.
Source: Re:View Contemporary Gallery
The North Dakota Heritage Center hosted some its first tours since being closed for renovations Monday. The museum, which temporarily shuttered in 2012, features some impressive pieces of Peace Garden State history, like this mastodon.
Source: Bismarck Tribune
Library Street Collective, a Detroit art gallery, is showing this engaging octagon panel by REVOK. It’s four feet wide, making it a centerpiece of any wall.
Source: Library Street Collective
Sauce Magazine, the St. Louis-based food publication, announced their summer “Food Truck Fridays” series this week. Check out the link below for more details and the schedule.
Source: Sauce Magazine
The Minnesota Historical Society’s newest exhibit, “Sights, Sounds and Soul: Twin Cities Through the Lens of Charles Chamblis,” opens tonight. It’s a look back at the Midwest soul scene of the ’70s and ’80s, and it’s got thousands of photos to view. Here, Sweet Taste of Sin perform at the Jet-Away Club in Minneapolis.
Willie Willette is a Minneapolis carpenter who turns out some eye-catching work time and again. These bars for the American Craft Council expo are no exception. Eight different kinds of wood went into each, he says.
Source: Willie Willette Works
There’s a Shinola collection for sale at Paris boutique Colette, and this love letter to the Motor City is in the window. Fun to see some Detroit love half a world away.
Source: Shinola
“We’ve poured Schloss Vollrads [here] for years and years,” say the team at Fresco Rooftop Restaurant & Lounge in Madison. So, instead of reading about how the wine is made, they visited the estate in the Rheingau region of Germany. Here, they receive a lesson from managing director and winemaker Rowald Hepp.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune showcased an excellent home-improvement idea this weekend: If you’re looking for more car storage, build up, not out. Sometimes the best way to unlock potential in an old home is to think unconventionally.
Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
The team at Strand Design in Chicago are moving offices, and they’re getting rid of some of their excellent modern furniture. They’re offering this classy coffee table on their Facebook page; make an offer, they say.
Source: Strand Design
As the weather warms up, the number of “I (HEART) ____” things we’re seeing keeps going up. Igloo Letterpress of Columbus added their take on it with this catchy, summery print. The heart-in-Ohio logo is just darling.
Source: Igloo Letterpress
The Urban Chestnut Brewing Company in St. Louis recently completed updates on their Bierhalle location in The Grove neighborhood. Stop by and check out their clean, modern facility.
You may know the name Antique Archaeology from TV’s “American Pickers,” our modern version of the treasure hunt. Owner Mike Wolfe scours the country for interesting finds, like this totally gutted Indian motorcycle that he quite literally dug out of the ground. It’s now set up in their LeClaire, Iowa, shop.
Source: Antique Archaeology