to start off our 2020 podcast season / season 2, i’m so excited to share an interview with Brennen and Eden Waldron, the husband and wife duo behind ohusa woodworking and Poppy Faye Floral

If you frequent the hot spots in dayton, you’ve probably sat on or seen their work around town, so we met them for a chat at the new Ghostlight Midtown, where Brennen built out a large portion of the bench seating, aesthetic details, and the amazing community walnut table.

we talk about how their businesses were born on their wedding day, what it means to be a conscious creator, and more, and we hope you love this episode and support this awesome couple in the work they're doing to create #newdayton

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With the holidays approaching and a new decade right around the corner, a lot of us are looking for a change, or a fresh start, or a feeling of more peace in our lives and our homes. Enter minimalism + simplicity. The topic of minimalism is a popular one right now, and you might not know that we have a sought after minimalism and simplicity coach right here in Dayton. Rose Lounsbury has literally written the book on minimalism, spoken on the topic at Ted X Dayton, and has a clear and thoughtful way to help us simplify our homes and really our lives. We went to her beautiful, simplified home in Dayton and had a long chat about our relationship to our things, why our kids’ stuff is really not the problem, and how we can simplify everything from our homes to our schedules by tapping into our worth.

Disclaimer: No guilt in Christmas shopping! But perhaps this conversation will inspire some intentionality and care into what you bring into your homes and your lives this holiday season and the new decade. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

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Leroy Bean is a poet, dreamer, entrepreneur, and one of the winners of the 2019 UpDayton Summit that we talked about with Lauren White in Episode 15. When he presented his vision for The Baldwin Cafe at the Summit, Daytonians voted, and now he’s on the path to bringing his vision to life in 2020. The Baldwin Cafe will be a cafe and bookstore specializing in African American literature and serving up specialty tea and vegan and vegetarian meals. Leroy’s mission is to create a third space between work, school, and home and to help people experience health in body, mind, and soul.

At 25, Leroy has wisdom and insight that surpasses his age, as you'll quickly learn as we chat about his vision for the Baldwin Cafe, what he has experienced as a young black man on the west side of Dayton, and what he believes we can do to get out of our bubbles and become one as a city.

And, Leroy drops a little spoken word in the episode and you won’t want to miss it.

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As the awareness to shop local and eat local rises, the priority for a good farmer’s market has definitely risen on people’s lists of living necessities. In Dayton, we are lucky to have something that many larger cities don’t even have, and that is a year-round covered farmer’s market. The 2nd Street Market at 600 E 2nd Street downtown is open Thursday-Saturday all year long, and Sundays June-December. The historical freight house turned indoor market features 50-60 local farmers, bakers, prepared food providers, and artisans and is really an amazing way to shop local and purchase high quality ingredients. You can get a great lunch or a coffee or a locally made gift and we’re really lucky to have an experience like this in Dayton. We sat down with Public Market Manager Lynda Suda and Market Coordinator Becky Hoen to hear more about what goes on at 2nd Street Market and all is has to offer our community. 

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There are some entrepreneurs in Dayton that are involved in more than one venture, and today’s guest is a great example of that. Charlie Carroll is the owner of Table 33, a locally-sourced restaurant on 2nd Street in downtown Dayton (and one we frequent often). He’s also the pastor of City Church Dayton, owner of Body Garage Dayton, and plays a role in a list of other businesses that stretches into the double digits. He’s not just a dreamer, he’s a doer. In this interview with Charlie, we talk about what makes Table33 unique as a restaurant and business and how they care for their people well, from owners to managers to employees to customers. Charlie also shares some great wisdom for entrepreneurs in every field, and we talk about what a healthy and helpful response to the recent tragedies in our town could look like. You might want to take notes on this one. Tons of good nuggets for better business and life. 

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Back in May, we came across an Instagram photo of a handmade ceramic plate with a caption that read, “More good things are coming your way, Dayton. Look for our launch Fall 2019.” Over the last few months, our team has become mildly obsessed with the “intentionally wonky”, handcrafted ceramics featured over at @jmorgan.atelier. We admire the artistry and character of each piece, and we really admire the woman behind the ceramics who said she was going to launch a business in Fall 2019… and she’s actually doing it.

We got to sit down with Jackie Morgan, the face and hands behind J. Morgan Atelier, and hear all about her story from being a creative stay-at-home mom of 18 years to launching her business this coming week.

Mark your calendars for her launch party this coming week and one of two opportunities to purchase her pieces before Christmas!

J. Morgan Atelier Launch Party

NOVEMBER 8 from 5-9 PM

NOVEMBER 9 from 10 AM - 7 PM

1001 E Second Street, Dayton

Building 100, Doors B-C

Third Floor: “The Betty”

Refreshments provided by Grist Provisions and Salt Block Biscuit Company and background music by Skeleton Dust Records.

We’re so excited to share this interview with you and to celebrate Jackie’s launch next week! Hope to see you there.

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More than any other interview, today’s guests win the award for most requested by our other podcast guests. It's fair to say that probably 75% of our guests to date have mentioned today’s Dayton business as a local fav. Jack and Natalie Skilliter founded Corner Kitchen,"a finer diner", a restaurant that offers seasonal American cuisine right on the corner of 5th and Wayne in the Oregon District downtown. Having managed restaurants in restaurant capitals like New York and Washington D.C., we were so curious to hear the story of how Corner Kitchen found its home in Dayton. When we reached out to Natalie and Jack for an interview, even their email reply was thoughtful and genuine and we knew we were in for a great conversation. They certainly lived up to the hype and we’re so excited to share this interview with you. Foodies, business junkies, and proud Daytonians. There's something for everyone in this one! If you enjoyed the podcast, subscribe and leave a review, or share it with your friends on social media! You can connect with us and join the conversation on the website or on Instagram.

Today we’re talkin improv. Maybe you’re already deep into it, or maybe you only know it from watching Who’s Line Is It Anyway marathons back in the day. What you may not know is that it’s not just fun to watch, but the practice and skills of improv hold valuable tools for business, relationships, and life.

Black Box Improv Theater is kind of a trailblazer as Dayton’s only improv theater, and we got the chance to have an entertaining and educational chat with founder and owner, Justin Howard, who also owns Emerge Improv, an experience-based training to help teams and organizations transform the way they communicate. We talk about the origin story behind Justin deciding to bring improv to Dayton on the front end of our city's resurgence, how anyone can use the practice of improv to improve almost every aspect of their communication and life, and why Black Box should be your next date night plan. Justin will make you laugh and think and learn and we’re so excited to share this interview with you.

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You’ve probably heard of the term “food desert”. It’s a term used to describe urban areas in which there is little to no access to quality, fresh, healthy food. No grocery stores, no farmer’s markets, no healthy restaurants. And you might know that the west side of Dayton is one of those food deserts, and on top of that, a food swamp, where you find an abundance of fast food instead. In today’s episode, we talk with Kenya Baker, who is facing this problem in our community head on and is working to do something about it through creating the Gem City Market. The Gem City Market will be a for-profit cooperatively-owned grocery in west Dayton that will provide access to healthy food, education, and work to those in our community that don’t currently have it

We talk about some important and controversial topics like how the food desert came to be, gentrification, and how we can support and help our community without hurting them. The Gem City Market just celebrated their groundbreaking in late September, so the excitement is quickly rising, and we know you’ll want to get on board, become a member, or just hear more about how Kenya and her team are bringing GCM to life

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Back when the podcast was just a dream, I would envision getting to sit down with different leaders and interesting people in Dayton and hearing their story. Today’s guest was at the top of that list of people I envisioned getting to chat with.

Chris Wire is the owner and leader of Real Art, one of Dayton’s coolest and most far-reaching companies. Real Art is an innovative design and ad agency that creates never-before-seen experiences that help brands and businesses become unforgettable. They’ve worked with internationally owned companies, like Converse, Audi, and Lowe’s, and, even more importantly, take pride in calling Dayton their home

If you are a business owner or creative or design fanatic and want to know more about Chris and how he leads one of the most successful businesses in town, you’ll love this episode. He’s a deep thinker, amazing creator, and just a good hang

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In this episode, we’re highlighting three of the thriving women-owned businesses in the heart of the Oregon District downtown: Heart Mercantile, Luna Gifts and Botanicals, and Beck + Call, known for their gifts with a sense of humor, prime plant selections, and catchy chalkboard slogans you’ve almost definitely seen on the gram. We sat down with co-owners Brittany Smith, Carly Barrett, Kait Gilcher, and Amanda Hensler at Toxic Brew Company, right across the street from Heart Mercantile and talked about the origins of Heart and their line of boutiques, how to rally your community around you when launching a business, and winning at retail in an Amazon-driven culture. We’d also like to note that this interview was recorded before the tragedy that occurred in the Oregon District on August 4th, 2019, right across the street from Heart, and we’d like to acknowledge that the way that these women responded to this event was nothing short of courageous and strong and we encourage everyone to continue to support them as well as they process the event over the months and years to come.

If you enjoyed the podcast, subscribe and leave a review, or share it with your friends on social media! You can connect with us and join the conversation on the website or on Instagram.