The Economy We Control

None of us are likely in a position to, say, influence money rates in any meaningful way but we can control one element of our economy.

We can choose to support our communities and buy local.

The Benefits of Buying Local

I’m writing this after driving past Nick’s Pizza in Crystal Lake on an errand. The drive and parking lot was jammed. This followed a plea from Nick Sarillo that his company needed your patronage to stay in business. Nick’s had expanded into Elgin, a site that was beset by ill-managed road construction that, at one time without notice, left the Elgin restaurant with no visible access from Randall Road.

Unfortunately, Nick’s case probably isn’t as unique as his hutzpah. At lot of us could use a jammed parking lot and I’m uplifted by the image this night at Nick’s as an effect of his plea.

You can choose to spend your money locally, with locally owned and operated businesses and not the national chains. Crystal Lake, McHenry County and greater Chicago offer effective local choices at every level of commerce. Our friends at SMT Associates, Inc., in Crystal Lake, turned us on to the 3/50 project.. What a great idea. Identify three local businesses and spend $50 at each.

With the economy still struggling and risking a double-dip, we need to support each other. It’s important to buy local. If you’re running a business, check your vendors. As consumers, choose locally owned businesses over national chains. What goes around comes around when you buy local.

By some accounts, local businesses reinvest $0.45 of every $1 you spend with them back into the local community versus a $0.15 reinvestment by national chains. Of course, WalMart attracts a lot more of your money than either Nick’s or our Conscious Cup; I’d guess more than Nick’s or CC combined. So, I’m not saying you shouldn’t shop at WalMart, just think hard about what you need or want and then see if that can be met by any of our local merchants or service professionals.

Convenience

I know several people who swear by their single-serve coffee-maker.

Freshness aside for the moment (no, the coffee is not fresh), I’ve always had a nagging concern looking at, for example, the rather large cardboard box filled with little tiny cups stacked at Costco. The packaging far outweighs the coffee — some 3 billion (yes that’s a “b!”) of the little cups are discarded each year so that’s a big effect on the waste stream. Little evidence exists that the cups are recycled or composted. Consumer behavior isn’t that keen on either, unfortunately. (Consider that arguably some 70-90% of readily recyclable plastic, single-use water bottles are simply tossed into the trash.)

Julie Graves

Julie Craves, a University of Michigan bird ecologist and coffee lover, holds the same concern about the single-serve coffee systems, writing in www.coffeehabitat.com (her web site) that little progress is being made on making the small cups either recyclable or more readily compostable. The makers of the Keurig K-Cup system, the most widely used have been stalled for more than five years in coming up with a recyclable cup. (The owners, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, have had an otherwise laudable sustainability and responsibility program for years.)

The New York Times has weighed in on the single-use cup dilemma — the tussle between convenience and waste. Oh, how we love convenience and my how little we care about waste.

While a bit less convenient, we suggest you consider a pour-over. Tea kettle, carafe, filter holder, filters and freshly ground coffee. It’s the best way to get rich, coffee-house flavor at home. Paper filters and grounds are compostable: At Conscious Cup grounds are available to customers free (and great for tomato plants).

Tarts & Truffles

Late Friday was a bit like Christmas morning.

Pina Colada Cupcake

Standing in the door to the kitchen was a flour dusted Deb Mindham from Tarts & Truffles in Woodstock. She was bearing our first order of delectable cupcakes and more. There were dark ones, light ones, Kingly ones and ones with little umbrellas. Oh, and more, even little iced cake pops! Carrot cake, pumpkin cake, lemon bars, big boy-sized cookies dipped in chocolate. I can hardly go on.

Guess you’ll just have to drop in and say “Hi!” and take a peek in the pastry case for yourself.

Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce Mixer

We had a great time hosting the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce at a mixer on Aug. 17.

These are candid photos taken during the event. Enjoy!

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What's Your Mom's Thing-To-Do?

This past week I was at Ginger Blossom, an amazing place just west of Richmond on Highway 173. The house is stuffed with items from around the world.

Momma Ship's Collection

We looked at reclaimed teak tables from Bali and furniture from Mexico’s Sierra Madre and never got to the rug room. I looked longingly at pottery from Mata Ortiz, fired in rude kilns in Northern Mexico. We have two lovely pieces of Mata Ortiz art.

Nearby on a shelf, something called softly to me. I passed by the pottery and picked up a Navajo folk art rooster.

In our house, we have pottery roosters and roosters on plates. Maybe a few other stray artistic roosters perch around the house here and there. Sometimes I think I hear them talking.

Does your mother have something special like that? Visit our Facebook page and let us know.

Remember your Mom this weekend: Buy her a cappuccino or one of our delicious new loose leaf teas.

Best,

Jack

Edge of the Surf

Vero Beach at Dawn, Kurt Kamholtz

Our latest guest at Conscious Cup, who may if wishes come true linger for a time, is Kurt Kamholtz and his paintings.

Kurt is a graduate of Crystal Lake Central, from a time before it was “Central,” and Illinois State University, where he studied art under Harold Gregor.

He admits that family and work diverted his attention for a while but lately has been resurrecting his painterly life. We display portions of his McHenry County on Canvas series and new works he calls Slack Tide. Vero Beach at Dawn, shown here is from the latter.

Slack Tide is a mind play; toe tag with the surf. Kurt describes the works as a progression, as Monet took from simple rural scenes to wall-sized water lily paintings. Slack Tide studies the interplay of color, light, texture and composition found at the water’s edge. Kurt captures the serenity, beauty, and relentless tug of the surf on sand.

Core Visions

Conscious Cup Coffee’s gallery is featuring dynamic contemporary acrylics by Andrew Sentamu. Andrew’s new series of large scale paintings is called “Core Visions.”

Andrew was born in Kampala, Uganda. Inspired by his sister at a young age to focus on his creative talents, he went on

to pursue art more seriously and received a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial and Commercial Arts from Nkumba University in 2001. In 2005, he moved to the US. His desire is to capture the,beauty of what God has created in a unique and interesting way.

Paintings are for sale. More about Andrew and his works can be found at www.andrewsentamu.com.

Super abstractions

"At Bat" by Colin Burke on exhibit at Conscious Cup Coffee.

Colin Burke is a big fan of comic books, especially the exaggerated poses, bold lines, and striking colors of superhero comics. At the same time, he is fascinated with abstract paintings that feature heavy use of texture and color.

It is Colin’s appreciation for these two styles of art that drives him to create his own work. He brings elements of both illustrative and abstract artwork into his paintings. Colin captures emotion and energy in the subject of the work through color and texture. This style allows for constant experimentation, making every painting new and exciting.

You can find more of Colin’s work at swirlingpaint.com, as well as prints of most of his paintings.

If interested in purchasing a painting, please contact Colin through email at swirlingpaint@gmail.com, or by phone at 224-805-3840. 20% of all sales from this show will be donated to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation.

Colin grew up in Cary, IL, and received a B.F.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL. His work has been shown in various art fairs around northern Illinois, and has received several awards.