Making Archives - cruciforme

Blog Archive

Become an expert craftsperson with these luxury workshops, from floristry to mosaic making

All this extra time spent indoors right before the festive season may be something of a blessing in disguise. Christmas is nigh, but suddenly there’s plenty of time to plan for the season of gifting.

While high-end purchases are always received well, it’s not often that one takes the time to craft a gift by hand. Why not use this time to submit to the tutelage of a master artisan? Emerge from lockdown with a garden of silk flowers and tins overflowing with biscuits that could be in the window displays of any top patisserie. Or if you’d rather wait a while, book ahead and revel in the knowledge that soon you’ll be painting watercolours in the shade of an oak tree.

Virtual floristry with McQueens Flowers

McQueens Flowers regularly works with the likes of Claridge’s, The Berkeley and The Connaught, but its

Recreation

by
November 23, 2020

The Pandemic Is Making Us All Suckers for Nostalgia

PHOTO: PAUL ZIMMERMAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

2020 has been one hell of a year. The pandemic is hard on everyone, especially for those who are personally battling with the virus, but also for the rest of us who have to continue to keep up with the changing world.

As a 19-year-old student, I found it particularly challenging to adjust to online classes. Being stuck in my room and having to listen to virtual lectures made me lose focus and motivation. And to cope, I began falling down a rabbit hole of nostalgia. I revisited favorite shows and movies from my childhood. First, it was Big Time Rush, then the Camp Rock movies, followed by Wizards of Waverly Place.

I also found myself going through my family’s hard drive full of photos we’ve collected over the years and I rewatched old videos

Adventure

by
November 18, 2020

Doctor Who’s Mandip Gill talks making a Black Mirror-style movie in lockdown

From Digital Spy

Interactive movie Five Dates lands this week. From November 17, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch fans will be able to embark on a much lighter take on the concept of a narrative delivered via a click-based adventure.

Featuring Doctor Who’s Mandip Gill (Yaz), Five Dates is an online rom-com (ROM-com?) telling the story of Vinny (Two Weeks to Live’s Taheen Modak), a charming (or slightly less charming, depending on which options you choose) singleton who’s signed up for a dating app to help him get through lockdown. Vinny has five dates to go on, and one of his matches is played by Gill.

So, yeah, less heavy than Black Mirror, but it turns out Gill had already avoided the darker version of Bandersnatch going into Five Dates.

“I played it a couple of times. I’m not really adventurous, so I was like ‘No,

Adventure

by
November 16, 2020

Students and administrators reflect on making it through an unconventional semester

A look into Butler’s COVID-19 record throughout the fall semester. Photo by Josa Kerns.

KATIE DEAN | STAFF REPORTER | [email protected]

Nov. 6 marked the 9th week of in-person classes at Butler. After a semester of hybrid and in-person classes, canceled sporting events and lots of mask-wearing, there is much to reflect on.

Throughout the 11 weeks students have been on campus, new positive cases have averaged under 20 each week, according to Butler’s COVID-19 dashboard, with a total of 206 total cumulative cases as of Nov. 10.

Marion county has seen a general increase in their averages of positive tests since August. When classes began in August, the Marion county cases averaged 110 per day. Now, however, that number has risen to 440 cases per day, as of Nov. 9.

The most notable spike on Butler’s campus occurred during the week of move-in, where over 50 students

Recreation

by
November 11, 2020

Chef Omar Tate Is Making Sure West Philadelphia Is Well Nourished

On a clear, hot September afternoon in West Philadelphia’s Mantua neighborhood, Omar Tate, a 34-year-old chef, is walking through a grassy, vacant lot a block from home, talking about planting seeds. Behind Tate, the fractured wooden frame of an abandoned house bulges from its backside like a broken spine. “I was going to throw the seeds down right here,” Tate says, “grow some plum trees.”

It’s a fitting, generative gesture for Tate, one in stark contrast to a year marked by shutdowns. Tate has overcome the occupational damages of the pandemic and weathered an incendiary national uprising over racism to emerge energized as a leader and builder.

At the onset of the pandemic, changing Mantua’s landscape—whether via fruit trees or the singular multiuse commercial, dining and cultural space he’s currently planning under his rapidly evolving Honeysuckle brand—was something Tate had only dreamed of doing. “This year sped up my trajectory,”

Hotel

by
November 10, 2020

Making their mark: The Chattanooga Startup Awards recognize entrepreneurs and their visions across the community

Each year during Chattanooga’s Startup Week, businesses and their founders from a variety of industries and backgrounds earn the recognition of their peers and colleagues in several categories. These are the finalists of the 2020 Startup Awards.

STARTUP OF THE YEAR

* Rhinogram / Kathy Ford

Rhinogram is a telehealth solution that removes patient-provider communication barriers via texting. The platform also increases provider efficiency by reducing staffing costs, enabling reimbursable virtual consults, and leading to new patient acquisition. Keith Dressler is chairman and CEO. Kathy Ford is president and chief product officer.

some text — Staff photo by Erin O. Smith / Kathy Ford, president and chief product officer of Rhinogram, gives her pitch during the HealthTech Accelerator Demo Day in 2019.

* Waypoint / Drake Rustand

Waypoint has shown significant growth in the past year and is now available in millions of households, allowing outdoor enthusiasts to engage with their content regularly

Adventure

by
November 1, 2020

Two pet-boarding businesses making the best of a “ruff” situation

CHIPPEWA VALLEY, Wis. (WEAU) -Ruff Life Pet Hotel in Lake Hallie is celebrating one year in business this Sunday.

Owner Stavroula McCormick says even though more people are working from home, more dogs are coming their way.

“We have seen an increase in day-boarding just people working from home and they get distracted easily by their pet, ya know the pet comes up and wants to sit on their lap obviously or play so they’ve been coming here and are leaving their dog for the day so they can get more work accomplished,” McCormick says.

After their numbers took a hit in March they started selling their products online.

The Ruff Hotel has had to adjust to the pandemic as people’s plans and their needs for care have changed.

“They book a trip or they book a vacation and then all of a sudden someone’s got coved and they have

Vacation

by
October 30, 2020

San Francisco’s ‘CAREN Act,’ making racially biased 911 calls illegal, is one step closer to becoming a law

It may soon be illegal to make discriminatory, racially biased 911 calls in San Francisco.

The “CAREN Act” (Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies) was introduced in July at a San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting by Supervisor Shamann Walton.

The ordinance is one step closer to becoming a law. On Tuesday, the board unanimously passed the act on first read. Next week, the bill has to be voted on again by the board, and then it will be sent to Mayor London Breed to sign.

The ordinance’s name is a twist on “Karen,” the name social media gives people making racially biased 911 calls.

And it’s not just “Karen.” There are also names like “Becky,” which has also come to symbolize a stereotype of whiteness. And “Susan.” And “Chad.”

The “CAREN Act” has been met with support and opposition since it was proposed. Several residents wrote letters to the board

Hotel

by
October 21, 2020

4 Ways to Sustain the Mindset of Making More Money

October
16, 2020

6 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Economic downturns make it more important than ever for entrepreneurs to secure the marketing support they need to sustain profitability for their small businesses. Jennifer Kem, CEO of The Master Brand Institute, knows from experience the pain of losing everything due to the drastic shift in the 2008-2009 financial crisis when she was forced to close her brick-and-mortar retail business. Within a year, she was bankrupt, borrowing money from her mother, and knocking on literal and proverbial doors to see where she would find the next best opportunity to finance herself and her two daughters.

Today, she is the CEO of two future-proof, eight-figure earning enterprises, both of which focus on brand strategy and marketing consulting for corporate and small businesses. As she watches the economy struggle and small business leaders pivot from the potential of

Vacation

by
October 16, 2020

Maine ski areas are making big changes to open safely during pandemic

As ski areas throughout Maine prepare to open for the busy winter season, they’re making some major changes to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last ski season ended abruptly in March as the pandemic swept across Maine and the country.

The ski mountains are ready to reopen now. In an effort to reduce close contact among people, many ski areas are encouraging skiers to purchase online lift tickets and reserve their rentals online as well. They will be strictly limiting the number of people inside buildings such as base lodges. Skiers will be required to wear face coverings indoors and in all areas where practicing social distancing is difficult, including lift lines and while riding on lifts.

“We think it’s going to be a good season, we just think it’s going to be different,” Dirk Gouwens, executive director of Ski Maine Association. “Some people will probably arrive, ski and maybe

Recreation

by
October 14, 2020