Get in on the Swedish tradition of hyttsill, where people gather to watch glass artists in action while sharing a meal or drink (or two), when Fredrik Nielsen comes to town this week. Nielsen’s work is currently on display in the American Swedish Institute’s show, “Pull, Twist, Blow: Transforming the Kingdom of Crystal,” in Minneapolis. There are two ways to watch the artist work. Either head to Cocktails at the Castle for a night of demonstrations, DIY glass, street food and drink, or bring the family to an afternoon of fun where you can create a one-of-a-kind slöjd. Nielsen, who the ASI calls a “punk rebellious master glassblower of sorts,” will demonstrate glass blowing at both events.

Source: American Swedish Institute

Chicago, you got lucky. Minneapolis’ MidNorth Mercantile is packing up shop and coming your way this week. But don’t cry just yet, Minneapolis, because MidNorth is throwing out deals left and right on their vintage threads, home goods and store fixtures to lighten their load before the move. Head to the free spirit building in Minneapolis’ northloop to shop the until Thursday. See MidNorth Mercantile’s Facebook page for more updates on what’s coming up for the store, and what they’ll bring to Chicago in the months ahead.

Source: MidNorth Mercantile

Detroit may not be near Silicon Valley, but that’s no reason tech-savvy entrepreneurs shouldn’t come to city to share what they know. To do that, native Detroiter Delane Parnell started Fifty Founders, a group he hopes will meet monthly (read more at Detroit Unspun). This Friday, Fifty Founders will kick off their first get together with a fireside chat with Brian Wong, co-founder and CEO of Kiip, a mobile-rewards network. The 22-year-old started the company with friends three years ago and raised more than $15.4 million since then. Tickets to the event already sold out twice, so Fifty Founders decided to open up thirty more seats to their fireside chat. In other words, act fast.

Source: Detroit Unspun

Hop on your bike and pedal around the Milwaukee Avenue area today where Chicago’s young and emerging artists showcase their talent at artist-run exhibition spaces. The tour starts 1 p.m. at Roots and Culture Contemporary Art Center for coffee, and ends three hours later at The Comfort Station. Cap off the adventure with a barbeque where you can mingle with artists and gallerists, while sipping beer and munching on brats. For more details, see the Facebook event.

Source: Hyde Park Art Center

Up the remnant logging trail and through the dense woods in Baraboo, Wis. sits the Bluff House. The home, completed by Bruns Architecture in 2009, was intended to be a woodland retreat. The orientation of the house is set to utilize the surrounding foliage as a natural shading element in the warmer months. See photos of the sleek interior and exterior at ArchDaily.

Source: ArchDaily, Bruns Architecture

On the night of the Surly’s seventh anniversary party, the craft beer brewer released images of their hotly anticipated “destination brewery.” The proposed brewery, bar and event center in Minneapolis’ Prospect Park neighborhood could serve start serving thirsty fans as early as 2014. To see renderings of the proposed space from HGA Architects, head over to the Star Tribune.

Source: HGA Architects, Star Tribune

They’ve passed the inspections; tore up the old carpet and replaced it with new flooring. Now all that’s left for Amanda Brewington, founder of Always Brewing Detroit, is to flip the coffee shop’s sign to “open” and fill up the first cup of joe. Brewington started the coffee shop as a pop-up, but today Detroit’s newest coffee shop opens for good. Head over to their grand opening, and check out more details on the new neighborhood coffee shop at Curbed Detroit.

Source: Chris and Michelle Gerard, Curbed Detroit

It’s got cathedral-like ceilings, boulders and even a tree or two. After all, this wasn’t named the Wall Street Journal’s “House of the Year” in 2012 for nothing. Frank Lloyd Wright’s last Taliesin apprentice, Arthur Dennis Stevens, built this pagoda-inspired house that boasts 5,700 square feet. According to Curbed Chicago (check out the photos of the house), the price of the well-known property recently dropped in June from just over $2.6 million to $1.5 million. How’s that for a deal?

Source: Curbed Chicago, VHT

Want to learn how to make your own copper bowl or spoon? The Smith Shop in Detroit can help. At the studio space, located at Ponyride in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, you can also learn how to recycle old jewelry and powder coat.  Check here for their list of current classes. Once you’re trained in, take advantage of renting out the studio for any of your metalsmithing needs. Take a look at their Facebook page to see the recent metalsmithing projects the shop is working on, such as the belt buckles for Detroit Denim.

Source: Smith Shop

Can a piece of fabric be more than just cotton and dye? The Goldstein Museum of Design says yes. Their exhibition, “Printed Textiles: Pattern Stories,” showcase textiles that reflect popular culture, act as evidence of humans’ unending fascination with flowers and function as individual expressions of artist and designers. The exhibition runs through August.

Source: Goldstein Museum of Design

Robert Oshatz had a problem to solve. He needed to build a house for a growing family without cutting down any trees on the property and using natural elements. But most importantly, the building he designed had to act as one with the environment, providing unobstructed views and offering connections to the surrounding landscape. His solution? The Chenequa Residence: a spiraling home tucked behind a single lane driveway surrounded by trees. To see photos of the floor to ceiling glass and curving lines of the exterior, head to visit ArchDaily, where you can delve deeper into the intricacies of Oshatz’s design.

Source: ArchDaily, Cameron Neilson

Thanks to the fleet of powder-blue bikes whose docking stations have taken over Chicago’s sidewalks, it’s easier than ever to get around. That cool new restaurant you’ve been wanting to try for lunch that’s just out of walking distance from the office? No problem. Need to make a quick run to buy a few extra groceries for dinner? Easy. To read more about how Divvy works, check out Time Out Chicago.

Source: Time Out Chicago

Thursday has just become one of the most delicious days of the week–at least in Detroit, that is. Why? Lafayette Greens, the Compuware urban garden, in now home to Detroit’s first downtown farmer’s market, where you can buy everything from a salad of fresh greens and sliced almonds and pears from Brother Nature Produce, to garlic scapes from Food Field. To read more, check out the article on Model D, and then visit the Downtown Farmer’s Market’s Facebook page.

Source: Downtown Farmer’s Market Detroit

The group of 12 artists showing in the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland’s exhibition “Realization is Better than Anticipation,” may work in a range of mediums, but their connection to Cleveland and surrounding areas such as Detroit and Pittsburgh binds them all. The exhibition combines work from emerging and established artists, some with a long history in the region, and others who have recently moved to the area from elsewhere. All living artists created new works for the show, that runs through October.

Source: Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland

Could you live in 340 square feet? That’s the question Revelations Architects posed when they developed E.D.G.E., a partially prefabricated house that could function as a vacation spot, or a permanent dwelling. In the last few decades, the average house size in the United States has increased dramatically Going against this trend, Revelations Architects decided to focus on the basic functions of life–eating, bathing, sleeping and communal fellowship–when the created E.D.G.E.. Now the question is, could you live in it? Head over to ArchDaily to take a look at the space and open floor plan and decide for yourself.

Source: Dan Hoffman

From the rise of the auto industry to the success of Motown Records, Jenny Risher and Matt Lee capture 50 of the most influential, successful, fascinating and beloved Detroiters in their book, “Heart Soul Detroit: Conversations on the Motor City.” This week, the companion exhibit, “Heart Soul Detroit,” opens at the Detroit Historical Society. The exhibition, which opens Friday, July 12, will present portraits and raw interview transcripts from the book. Advance tickets to the opening reception are on sale through today. A limited number of tickets will also be sold at the door on opening night.

Source: Heart Soul Detroit

What’s one piece of advice Craig Foster has for young artists who want to work at an animation studio? Keep drawing. And he should know. The Wichita, Kansas native, who got his BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, has worked at Pixar for 10 years on movies such as “Cars,” “Cars II” and “Monsters University”, a prequel to “Monsters, Inc.” To read more about the work the 46-year-old does in Pixar’s graphics department, head to The Wichita Eagle.

Source: Alexandra Ambrose/ Pixar Studios, The Wichita Eagle

If you’re already feeling nostalgic for seeing colorful bursts of light in the sky, fear not, you don’t have to wait until next year’s Fourth of July. TCB, or Twin Cities Brightest, is the creative outlet of Dana Maltby, an art light photographer in Minneapolis who combines photography, graphic design and performance to create unreal and otherworldly photographs. TCB’s “Fireworks & Sparklers” set captures stunning displays of moving light that won’t fade a few seconds after bursting in a night sky. Check out TCB’s website to see more work.

Source: Twin Cities Brightest

If Jennifer Davis’ paintings move you to words, you’re in luck. Paper Darts (in collaboration with their pop-up shop at SooLOCAL) invites wordsmiths to lose themselves in Davis’ painted worlds and  write 500 words inspired by the artist’s works. The best story will be published in Paper Darts. See the details here.

Source: Paper Darts

The repairmen at Sherm’s Musical Instrument Repair Shop know a thing or two about making sweet music. Here, instruments are not just tools to create sound, but works of art. Armed with that attitude, and a deep knowledge of how instruments are designed and created, Sherm’s has created a dedicated following of customers who started coming to the shop as kids, and now bring their own kids in. To read more about how Flint, Mich. repair shop keeps the music alive, see Artserve’s article.

Source: Tom Cheek, Artserve

What’s the best way for a small town to fill an
empty storefront? A contest, of course. And that’s exactly how Grinnell, IA
decided to fill that empty space with a tasty new option. Forty-four
submissions later and after competing head-to-head against two other chefs,
Carly Groben walked away victorious in “Iowa’s Best Bite Restaurant Challenge.”
Last fall Groben opened her new restaurant, the Prairie Canary, serving options
such as buttermilk poppy-seed pancakes and the Canary Burger, complete with
blue cheese, bacon and caramelized red onion. Read more about the contest and
the Prairie Canary’s Midwestern food with a flair at The New York
Times.

Source: New York Times

The new house may have been move-in ready, but it definitely lacked style. When blogger Emma, of A Beautiful Mess, bought her new home she inherited the plain tan walls, popcorn ceilings, and ugly curtains with it. Just wait until you see what she swapped them out for in the redesign.

Source: A Beautiful Mess

Wisconsin’s Racine Art Museum is celebrating their 10 year anniversary! The museum’s registrar, Elizabeth Frozena lists her top 10 favorite moments while working at the museum. Click here to read the article.

Source: Racine Art Museum 

On Saturday the paintings will be unwrapped and the sculptures will sit in their places as The Saint Louis Art Museum opens the doors of its new East Building. Natural light will flood in through the floor-to-ceiling windows and one-of-a-kind grid of skylights of the $162 million expansion, designed by British architect Sir David Chipperfield. Get a more detailed look at the new space, that will allow the museum to keep more of their contemporary permanent collection on display, from Alive magazine. Check the Saint Louis Art Museum for details on the grand opening this Saturday, June 29.

Source: Alive magazine

After six weeks of preparation in Minneapolis, a group of 12 students traveled to the Netherlands to spend four weeks studying, living and designing around water issues through the Cities on the Water study abroad program. The students then spent five weeks in Venice. Read more about their adventure here.

Source: University of Minnesota College of Design