Columbus, Ohio USA
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Dis 'n' Data
By Margaret Marten, Editor
email margaret@shortnorth.com
December 2007
A belated congratulations to Jeni Britton and her husband Charly Bauer, the proud parents of a baby girl, Greta Britton Bauer, born August 17 at Riverside Hospital. A photo of the baby is posted on their Web site at www.jenisicecreams.com. Greta weighed in at 8 pounds 10 ounces or (in ice cream jargon) “30 1/2 scoops.” The new addition hasn’t slowed Jeni down, who says it’s easy enough to tote the baby around and that Greta goes wherever she goes. It appears that the growth of the family has inspired and energized the burgeoning business as the ice cream empire continues to expand. The fourth location of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, targeted to open next spring, will be based in Bexley on Main Street. In the meantime, the winter ice cream menu provides an appetizing change of pace for those in the Short North with special seasonal flavors including the amazing Goat’s Cheese with Cognac Fig Sauce. And in February (for two weeks) a new annual tradition will be officially established with the offering of a concoction of completely handmade ingredients including marshmallows made from scratch, freshly smoked almonds with Jeni’s homemade carmel sauce all tossed on a wonderful serving of chocolate ice cream.
More growing families among our Short North neighbors include Rebecca and Sebastian Ibel who welcomed a newborn baby, Sarah Elisabeth Ibel, into their hearth and home last September. Sarah was adopted by the Ibels shortly after her birth on September 8, 2007. And like other entrepreneurs, Rebecca is now making the rounds with her little one, bringing the snuggling Sarah along while working in the Short North and Miranova galleries where Sarah begins to absorb the artistic beauty and tasteful surroundings her mother has created with such passion and talent. The Ibels also welcomed a new associate into their fold this fall. Ellen Glimcher, a childhood friend, joined Rebecca Ibel Gallery shortly before Sarah’s birth. Ellen and Rebecca attended Columbus School for Girls together, and the rekindling of their friendship along with Ellen’s life-long interest in art brought her into the gallery business. Rebecca says the stars were all aligned before Sarah’s arrival to have a nice team in place.
The extra help couldn’t have come at a better time. Gallery director Amanda Rich left last summer to (you guessed it) have a baby. Employed at the Rebecca Ibel Gallery for seven years, Amanda worked her way up from intern to assistant to director. An art history major, her humble beginnings as an intern were greatly enhanced under the expert tutelage of Rebecca Ibel. “Rebecca was wonderful. She taught me everything I know and took me on all the trips and art fairs where I learned so much. It was wonderful,” she said.
Our congratulations to Amanda and husband Bradley on the birth of their son Tate Bradley Rich born at Riverside Hospital on August 12. The delivery was reported to be “extremely rough” (about 18 hours of labor) but a small price to pay for the boundless rewards of motherhood and other baby bonuses.
Last September, another child of sorts emerged in the Short North with the opening of Flower Child at 989 N. High. This co-operative enterprise, under the direction of owner Joe Valenti, began in a Cleveland basement in 1999 with four vendors selling vintage collectibles, home furnishings and clothing and has grown to 16 co-op members. Valenti says it started out strangely: When he was in college, he began collecting furniture, but marriage plans and the couple’s conflicting tastes gave him no choice but to leave the furniture behind in the house he owned, which he rented out while moving in with his wife. The furniture remained in the rental with the tenants for five years, and when they moved out, his elderly mother moved in and managed to work her way around the furniture as the former occupants had done. However, after her passing, Valenti said he simply couldn’t look at the furniture anymore and decided to put it in storage but found that it was too costly. He managed to sell the furniture instead and raked in a couple thousand dollars in a couple weeks and realized he had found his calling. With a background in media, selling “hair, teeth, and eyes” over the telephone for The American Federation of Television and Radio, he figured he could sell anything and quickly found four folks willing to invest in the enterprise. The expansion into Columbus has brought those four members and others who commute to work here on alternating days. Valenti says each person has his/her strengths. Two are certified jewelers, one is in fine arts, another does pottery, so that if one person doesn’t have the expertise, somebody else within the group will know something about that piece of art or that piece of clothing so they can place it correctly and give it the right description. The 7,000-square-foot two-story Columbus store is stocked with furniture, houseware, art, lighting, jewelry, and clothing from the ‘30s to the ‘70s. Being a co-op with a group of people, there is a lot more purchasing power, says Valenti. And with that, you also have a lot more hands to help with the merchandise – and there’s no shortage of goods to be found out there among the “vintage” generation who are downsizing or passing away and filling Valenti’s “user-friendly museum” with an artful array of remarkable relics.
Flower Child, 989 N. High St. is located next to ROY G BIV Gallery. The store number is 614-297-8006.
News about upcoming events in the neighborhood can be found in this issue on pages 18-19 as well as among the classified listings on pages 38-39.©2007 Short North Gazette, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.