Monthly Archives: December 2010

Lincoln City businesses who practice sustainability, earn the the right to display the sign of the SeaStar; photo Jan Jackson

Lincoln City, Ore. – Lincoln City prides itself for being green, but that hasn’t stopped it from getting greener. The first city on the Oregon Coast to be an EPA green-power community, the first to buy energy as wind power and the first to place free charging stations for hybrid automobiles, has created a SeaStar program that makes it easy and profitable for its business people to help their bottom line and at the same time protect the environment.

SeaStar pays off

A few of the activities included in the city-funded program are recycling wastewater to use for landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands and properly recycling all curbside pick-up recyclables. SeaStar certified businesses all have green managers or teams, regular trainings for maintenance and operations staff and a written process that allows staff and guests to provide feedback. They use energy efficient lighting, heating and cooling equipment and they no longer use environment polluting Styrofoam products and the list goes on.

What started it all was a conversation between Lincoln City Mayor Lori Hollingsworth and Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau Executive Director Sandy Pfaff. VCB Special Events Coordinator Katera Woodbridge gave it its name.

“We had to come up with something to call it and with our rich store of tide pools filled with such things, I thought SeaStar sounded right,” said Woodbridge, a native of Waldport who has been on the VCB staff for three-and-a-half years.  “Kent St. Clair, a designer who was working for a local print shop at the time, came up with the logo design which turned out to be a great visual. We’ve already used the logo on some T-shirts to wear to trade shows.”

The goal of the program was to increase awareness of environmentally sustainable practices that would protect the environment now and in the future. To do that, they made the criteria to participate in the voluntary program simple and affordable to implement so it would make good business sense. As a bonus, it provides marketing opportunities and help for participating properties to gain national certification.

SeaStar in action

When Rob Lee, a native of Lincoln City who recently returned from 11 years in California to become director of operations for the Coho Oceanfront Lodge learned  about SeaStar, he jumped right on it.

“I was really pleased to see the city as a whole be so passionate about sustainability,” Lee said about first hearing of the program. “Given that leisure travel is the main focal point of the local economy, SeaStar not only sets us apart from other cities but it really sets a standard for us all.

“We’ve had SeaStar at the Coho for more than a year now and now we are starting it at our sister property, the Inn at Wecoma,” Lee said. “It has made us evaluate all of our practices on a regular basis and continue to seek future improvements. Since my wife attended a local class Chef Sharon Wiest teaches at the Culinary Center, we have been trying to figure out how to add composting onsite so that it works with our daily operations.”

To do this, Lee said the company has assigned its Guest Service Rep. Bonnie Monk as the eco-leader to work with front office, housekeeping and maintenance teams to ensure the lodge follows guidelines and keeps management accountable and on point with initiatives it has set in place.

“We are proud to earn the right to display the SeaStar,” Lee said.

What’s next for Lincoln City

What’s next for Lincoln City? The program continues to be refined, and hoteliers  like Rob Lee are continuing to follow it because it helps the bottom line and gives tourists the option of choosing properties that are sustainable.

“We have about 25 percent of the lodging folks certified and another 10 percent of restaurants and retail shops,” Woodbridge said. “We will start working more on it again this winter now that the heaviest part of tourist season is over. As more and more businesses enjoy the savings to their bottom line, the more they are excited about becoming certified. We think earning and displaying the SeaStar will make a difference.”

So, the next time you visit Lincoln City, keep an eye out for SeaStar logos in Lincoln City hotels, restaurants and retail shops. It will give you a good idea of who is up to what.

For more information, contact Katera Woodbridge, Lincoln City VCB, 541-994-2408, email kateraw@lincolncity.org or Rob Lee at the Coho Inn Lodge, 541-996-2953. Email roblee@thecoholodge.com.

Happiness is reading in a jet tub; photo by Kirsten Force. http://www.thecoholodge.com/

… I don’t know what you are reading right now but, imagine you and your book in this in-room jet tub at the Coho Oceanfront Lodge in Lincoln City, Oregon. It even makes it better if the storm winds are blowin’.

Oh man, oh man, oh man – want to go there.

Luv,

Sissy

Kelly Howard, glass artist and owner of Volta Glass Gallery in Lincoln City, came west to blow glass; photo Jan Jackson

Lincoln City, Ore. – When you buy and blow your own glass float, paperweight or starfish at the Jennifer L. Sears Glass Art Studio in Lincoln City, the chances are good that you will encounter glass artist Kelly Howard. Kelly and her team of artists in residence are there five days a week in the winter and seven in the summer giving one-on-one help to any child or adult who wants to make and take home their own one-of-a-kind blown glass creation. Since it officially opened in February 2005, the first visitor-centered, hands-on studio of its kind has seen more than 250,000 men, women and children come through the door.

The first of its kind

“Because Jennifer’s venture was such a new idea, when we opened I was afraid no one would come,” Kelly said. “But, by the second week, people started coming in and saying that their friend had blown a glass float here and they wanted to do it too. Now we have people coming to Lincoln City from all over the United States for the sole purpose of being able to blow their own glass. In the summer months, we are so busy they have to take a number.”

Glass artist Kelly Howard moves her precious cargo from her workshop across the street to sell in her Volta Glass Gallery; photo Jan Jackson

Kelly, who was born and raised an hour west of Chicago, grew up painting and drawing and made  many projects in her father’s industrial design workshop on weekends. In 1990, she enrolled and spent a year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She transferred to the University of  Wisconsin at Madison and earned a Bachelors of Art degree in psychology in 1994. While at the U of W, she spent a semester traveling to Italy and Venice, and after graduation she accepted a presidential merit scholarship to SAIC to study painting, drawing, fiber arts and bronze casting.

Born to blow glass

The turning point to her future as a glass artist however, came the summer she enrolled in her first glass-blowing class.

“From the first time I tried it, I knew it was for me,” Kelly said. “After that, I couldn’t get enough of it. After I got my BFA, I took a job at the school as Assistant Director of Admissions and used all of my vacation time to take more glass classes. But, working full time in the office and interviewing students for admissions, I didn’t have enough time left over for glass blowing. In 2000, I met some folks who were opening a studio in Vancouver Washington and when they offered me a job managing their studio, I moved to Portland. Part of my pay was getting to blow glass. It was while I was working for them that I ended up in the glass scene in Lincoln City.”

Glass artist Kelly Howard, helps first time glass blowers Ann and Alex Hussey blow a glass float at the Jennifer L. Sears Glass Art Studio in Lincoln City, Oregon; photo Jan Jackson

Kelly, who contracts with the City of Lincoln City to teach glass blowing to locals and visitors, makes about 16 to 20 pieces a day to sell in her gallery located across the street from the glass studio. In the winter when the studio is open Wednesdays through Sundays, she works Mondays and Tuesdays creating her signature glass art.  During the hectic summer months, she does her work in the early morning before the studio opens to the public.

World wide acclaim

Earning a reputation for her beautiful use of color and form, Kelly is now enjoying  widespread attention for her art.  This past summer a glass collecting German couple who had also visited the famous Murano glassmakers in Venice, included Lincoln City in their travel itinerary so they could add a few pieces of  Kelly’s glass   to their collection.

“It has been fun to visit with folks from all over the world, but it’s also fun to see the locals come in,” Kelly said. “Whether its shoppers in the gallery or individual folks or groups for tours, corporate team-building and other special occasion tours in the studio, we’re open for business.”

For more information about Kelly Howard glass art and Volta Glass Gallery, visit 4830 SE Highway 101, Lincoln City, go online to http://www.kellyhowardglass.com or call 541-996-7600.

For more information on the Jennifer L. Sears Glass Art Studio, visit 4821 SW Highway 101, Lincoln City, www.jennifersearsglassart.com , http://www.oregoncoast.org or call 541-996-2569.

- Jan Jackson ©2010 – See Jan Jackson’s Bio

Sissy, with the new Kelly Howard Glass 2011 calendar

… found a new calendar this week that will make you happy for the next 12 months. Glass artist Kelly Howard and photographer Tracy MacEwan put some mighty beautiful photos of Kelly’s blown glass art on a 2011 calendar they are selling for $10 each. You can see my favorite is the January fish (that’s because I do love Kelly’s fish – smile).

You can see more at www.kellyhowardglass.com. or pick some up at Volta Glass Gallery, 4830 SE Highway 101 in Lincoln City. Actually, you can even try your own hand a blowing a glass float, paperweight or fluted bowl at the Jennifer L Sears Glass Art Studio across the street.

If you see Kelly, tell her I sent you.

Luv,

Sissy

Students from Silver Crest School, near Silver Creek Falls, tag Christmas trees prior to their being shipped all over the world; photo Jan Jackson

SILVERTON, Ore – As you drive highways that wind through fields of Oregon Christmas trees, think of the kids at Silver Crest School, located in rural Silverton near Silver Creek Falls. There are few students anywhere that have a better concept of a global world than the 140 or so kids who attend Silver Crest. Surrounded by Christmas tree farms owned and operated by civic minded growers, for about 12 years now these students have individually tagged two or three Christmas trees with their names and school address and a plea to have the buyer write to them and tell them where the tree ended up.

“These kids get to see how their small rather isolated community has an impact on the world,” said Abby Greene, a long time teacher at Silver Crest.  “Each of the kids in first through eighth grade, tags two or three trees with special tags that invite whoever buys them to write to them at the school. When a response comes back, the student responds with a personal letter and includes a brochure that talks about Christmas tree farming in their community. Sometimes, even long-term pen-pal friendships come out of it. We put up a map and track where the trees come from. It is fun as well as educational.

Each student tags two or three trees that invite whoever buys them to write to them at the school; photo Jan Jackson

Mailbox watch

Letters come in from people all over the world and in all walks of life, Greene said. Some people send T-shirts, photos of the tree after its decorated and photos of their family. One year, a student received a response and some memorabilia from the actress in California who does the voice-over for the animated Jimmy Neutron series.

“We’ve had responses from a Catholic monk, retail nurseries, someone from the University of Hawaii and as far away as Asia. The kids really start watching the mailbox,” Greene said.

The  brochure that students send out to those who write to them, explains in detail how their tree started as a seed, was transferred to the field as a seedling, how it was clipped, trimmed and harvested, and, finally how it was shipped to the person who bought it. On the outside panels the brochure tells about Silver Crest School, the community and that lies between Silverton and Silver Creek Falls. It also tells about Silver Crest School and the surrounding community that lies between Silverton and Silver Creek Falls.

Poem to the buyer

The tags students attach to the trees,, include the following poem:

“Like a letter in a bottle that’s tossed far out to sea,

This special tag has been placed upon your Christmas tree.

Let me introduce myself, I’m a child at Silver Crest,

A school in tree farm land, way out in the West.

I wonder where you’re reading this poem sent just to you.

And if you’d like to write me, I’ll tell you about my school.

You’ll be sent information on how your tree was grown

From a tiny seedling to the tree that’s in your home.

So don’t delay, just write me at the address seen below,

And have a happy holiday with lots of fun and snow.

A load of Christmas trees are tagged by Silver Crest students and ready to ship from Cascade's Best Christmas Tree Farm in Silverton Oregon; photo Jan Jackson

Christmas tree grower gives support

Glen Kent, owner of Cascade’s Best Christmas Tree Farm, looks forward to the annual tree-tagging activities.

“It is delightful to see the hopes and aspirations these kids have when they put their tags on the trees,” Kent said. “They walk over from the school, pick the trees they want to put their tags on, eat some cookies we have waiting for them and then go back to the classroom and wait for the letters to come in. It not only teaches them so many things but it is a cool thing to watch.”

- Jan Jackson ©2010; See Jan Jackson’s Bio