Cleveland Clinic Innovations (CCI) has named seasoned Health Information Technology (HIT) veteran Gary Fingerhut as its new executive director. Fingerhut has more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur in IT, co-founding a global software company and as a senior executive of a software development and technology consulting firm.

CCI is the commercial arm of the Cleveland Clinic, responsible for company creation and business development of medical technology developed by its doctors and researchers.

For the past three years, Fingerhut has served as general manager of IT commercialization for CCI, a position he will continue to perform in addition to his new executive director duties.
 
HIT makes up 23 percent of Innovations’ business, up from six percent when Fingerhut started with the organization. “I take credit for being part of a team,” Fingerhut says of the growth. “We’re a very collaborative group here: very dedicated, very focused in bringing products to market that will change lives. You can’t ask for a better role than that as executive director.”
 
Fingerhut plans to continue that growth in his new position. “I’m really heavily focused on inventor satisfaction as a key goal,” he says. “And I would like to see our Innovation Alliance grow considerably.”
 
And, of course, Fingerhut wants to improve care through technology. “Everything we do is focused on better patient care,” he says. “But we’re also focused on growth in Ohio. Since we began in 2000, we’ve created 1,100 jobs in Northeast Ohio and 66 spinoff companies.”
 
Fingerhut is a Cleveland native and has raised five children here. “This is an incredible institution and I’m really honored to be a part of it,” he says. “We take innovation seriously here, and I look forward to really making a difference.”

 
Source: Gary Fingerhut
Writer: Karin Connelly

There's so much pop culture ephemera floating through the average American brain, it's impossible to keep track of it all. No worries: Three Cleveland-based authors have recently published pop culture books on Superman, breakfast cereal and film, which take dead aim at our nostalgia centers.

Shaker Heights perhaps is better known for its handsome residential districts than its commercial areas. However, a new pop-up event aims to highlight local businesses in the Van Aken District, invite a few new ones to participate, and offer a new kind of winter market where people can shop close to home.

Pop Up Shaker will bring a range of local food and craft purveyors into Juma Gallery and Lucy's Sweet Surrender for a two-week run beginning Saturday, November 30th and going through Sunday, December 15th. Upcycle St. Clair's innovative Shop the Window event will brighten the windows of the vacant storefront between them.

"The goal is to encourage residents and others to look at Shaker as a great place to do business," says Katharyne Starinsky, an Economic Development Specialist with the City of Shaker Heights. "Construction on the Van Aken streetscape is starting next year. We want people to think about how great the future of the area will be."

Cleveland Culinary Launch and Kitchen will turn Juma Cafe into a marketplace for tantalizing foods; Cleveland Craft Connection will host a handmade market and teach crafting classes at Lucy's; and Shop the Window will allow visitors to purchase upcycled crafts simply by scanning the QR code with their smartphones.

"You can immediately purchase the gifts right then and there, and then they'll be available for pickup at Upcycle St. Clair, or they can be shipped," says Starinsky.

So far, everyone loves the idea, which has never before been tried in the City of Shaker Heights. "People are excited to be able to shop in their own community."


Source: Katharyne Starinsky
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Cleveland is home to a vibrant collection of women-owned businesses, many of which are in fields traditionally dominated by men. From manufacturing to moving, these heavy lifting ladies credit their success to hard work and a soft touch.

Shaker Heights entrepreneur Kai Wingo recently launched the Buckeye Mushroom Farm on a vacant lot on E. 127th Street off Buckeye Road. Wingo is growing oyster and garden giant mushrooms on beds and racks there. She also teaches classes and sells mushrooms under the moniker Kai's Kultured Mushrooms at the Coit Road Farmers Market.

"I'm a mushroom ambassador," she says. "I want people to know about benefits we get from mushrooms. I'm the only one I know of who's doing it at this scale."

Wingo began growing mushrooms four years ago, and launched her business when she got laid off from her job with the Cleveland Municipal School District. By then, she'd outgrown her home garden, so she applied for a vacant lot through the land bank. Recently, she also built a hoop house there to extend the growing season.

"Mushrooms are a powerhouse of nutrition," she explains. "The gardens also benefit because of the compost they provide. They're just a grand recycler."

Wingo says there is great untapped demand for local mushrooms, which are a high-value crop, and that her business and classes are taking off. "There's a long waiting list of farmers markets that would love to have mushrooms there, but there aren't any people to fill the niche, so that's why I'm teaching people."

Hough entrepreneur Mansfield Frazier also has tapped Wingo to grow 'shrooms at his new biocellar project. She can be reached via Facebook or by phone at 216-561-3200.


Source: Kai Wingo
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Predictably, Paul Benner and Justin Carson came up with their idea to launch a brewing incubator over a couple of strong pints at a local alehouse. Benner owns the Cleveland Brew Shop, a homebrew supply store in Tremont, and Carson runs JC Beertech, a company that installs and cleans draft beer lines.

Two weeks ago, JC Beertech moved its 40-person office from Medina to a renovated building in Ohio City. The company occupies the second floor of the Tomasch building at 4125 Lorain Avenue, which was built 100 years ago as a Czech social hall. Benner and Carson are now hard at work on renovations to the first floor, which by next spring will be home to Platform Brewing Company.

JC Beertech's new offices feature gleaming hardwood floors, the original bar from the Czech social hall, solar tubes that introduce natural light and windows that overlook Lorain. The stout brick building's exterior has been completely renovated with new storefront windows, and signage will be added when the project is completed.

Platform, a microbrewery and brewing incubator, will occupy 5,000 square feet on the first floor. The space, part of which was a former bowling alley for the Czech hall, has slender planked hardwood floors that are being restored. A 20-foot-tall garage door will open to a spacious new beer garden. The Plum, a cafe and sandwich shop opening next door, will provide food from a shared kitchen.

Platform will brew beer for consumption on premises and sale to restaurants, offer contract brewing services for restaurants that want to brew their own beer, and hold classes and other instructional programs for homebrewers who want to break into the industry. Benner says it's the only brewing incubator he's aware of in the country.

"We're excited about creating a new district in Ohio City," Benner says of Lorain Avenue between W. 45th and Fulton, which is considered part of SoLo (South of Lorain). "We'll have people here from seven in the morning until ten at night."

In spring, Benner will plant hops vines that will grow over trellises in the rear of the building and along the alleyway next to the building so that they're visible from the street.


Source: Paul Benner
Writer: Lee Chilcote

Ann Onusko doesn’t leave the house without first putting on some perfume. “I’ve always been a perfumista,” she says. When she travels with her husband to his native Holland, she hits the perfumeries. “When we go there, the first thing I do is search out the local shops. Same when I go to LA or New York. But Cleveland doesn’t have any perfumeries.”

The fact that Cleveland lacks a perfume shop with scents by small, artisan companies got Onusko thinking. After working as a nurse for 10 years, and then 20 years as general manager of a special events and floral design company, Onusko decided it was time to bring a perfumery to Cleveland.
 
On October 15, Onusko opened Indigo Perfumery in an historic building in Lakewood. The shop features fragrances not found in department stores. “Most often, when I’m placing an order, I’m talking to the person making perfume,” she says. “They’re very careful about where they want to sell.”
 
Onusko carries 120 perfumes in a variety of price ranges --from Cleveland’s own Yates Apothecary to Paris’ Jul et Mad. “I like these scents more because they have more character, more passion,” Onusko explains.
 
Onusko works with her customers to find the right scent for their styles and body chemistries. She also sells samples for $1. “I want people to take it with them and see how they like it,” she explains. “Two or three hours later it’s a different scent again.”
 
Onusko also sells scented candles and plans on hosting fragrance workshops and opportunities to meet the perfumers. She is in the process of hiring two additional perfumistas.

 
Source: Ann Onusko
Writer: Karin Connelly

The new kid on the block on historic Larchmere Boulevard sells everything from vintage longhorn antlers and Tory Burch sandals to designer jeans and mid-century modern Herman Miller chairs. That's just how Eclectic Eccentric rolls, which is a perfect fit for a street that is nothing if not both of those things.

Long considered the East Side's premier antiques district, the street still contains remnants of that, but now also houses a yarn shop, bookstore, soul food joint, bistro, barber shops, galleries and much more within a few short, walkable blocks. A new streetscape project, set to kick off next year, will make that walk even more pleasant when it wraps up in 2015.

Eclectic Eccentric owner Tracey Hilbert says that she got her start in retail at the tender age of 14, working in her father's drugstore. Last year, the Shaker Heights mom returned to her roots and opened a small store above Conservation Studios. Emboldened by its success, she pounced on a vacant storefront that became available earlier this year.

"I wanted the combination of a vintage store and new merchandise that's modern," she says. "People have always said I have a good eye, and I like the juxtaposition."

Hilbert, who is partnering with several other designers and clothing makers to turn Eclectic Eccentric into "more of a co-op space," says that she's tapping into a resurgence of interest in all things vintage and green. "There's a trend with people around the country taking what they like and incorporating a variety of different things into design," she states. "There aren't as many set rules any more."

Eclectic Eccentric is located at 13005 Larchmere Boulevard.


Source: Tracey Hilbert
Writer: Lee Chilcote

When Sharie Renee opened Cosmic Bobbins on Shaker Square last November, she originally intended for it to be a temporary pop-up shop for the holidays that showcased her handbags made from recycled magazines and other items from local artisans.

A year later, Cosmic Bobbins not only is still going strong as a permanent Shaker Square presence, the store's owner has expanded its offerings and the number of artists it features from 10 to 20 and again to more than 30.
 
“I have been such a lover and supporter of the arts that many of the artists I carry in my shop are people that I admire and have become my friends over the years,” she says. “Other artists have started out as our customers.” 
 
Renee carries a few fair trade, vintage and boutique items and has custom embroidery services. Business is going so well that Renee has hired two employees to help her run the shop. “We would love to hire more people,” says Renee.
 
Furthermore, Renee now offers private and semi-private sewing lessons, a fragrance blending class with Yates Apothecary owner Melissa Hale, and plans to offer classes on beauty care products when Renee launches her new spa line, Cosmic Bubbles. Renee is renovating the basement to have a larger workroom and classroom.
 
In the summer, Renee works with Youth Opportunities Unlimited to create mentorship and summer jobs for youth in the community. “This year, we worked with MyCom South Shaker to identify students in the area that had a particular interest in the creative arts and entrepreneurship,” explains Renee. "Some of the students wrote a community grant to further education in sewing and textile arts. We made it to the interview process, but have yet to hear about the grant.”

 
Source: Sharie Renee
Writer: Karin Connelly
 

Among Tremont residents, it's a running joke that the area has almost as many dogs and cats as people. Now this pet-friendly neighborhood will gain another asset in the form of the Tremont Animal Clinic, which is set to open on W. 14th Street by the end of the year.

"We grew up in Cleveland, born and bred," says Katie McCoy, who is opening the clinic with fellow veterinarians Sara Tippins and Bob Litkovitz (known as "Dr. Bob" to all who frequent Gateway Animal Clinic, where he and Litkovitz has worked for years). "We looked at Independence, Hinckley, but always came back to wanting to be a part of the city. We walk down the street and see people we know. Tremont is a nice, small, supportive community, and we love that."

Tremont Animal Clinic will be a full-service clinic that offers appointment times and segregated examination rooms. The vets decided to open the clinic to offer an alternative to Gateway, which is walk-in only and has large, open rooms. The facility will be open Monday through Saturday, and will be open until 7:30 p.m. at least one evening per week.

The building, located at 3148 W. 14th Street, is the former home of the Rodeo Bar, a nuisance that Tremont residents have complained about for years. Local entrepreneur and Treehouse owner Tom Leneghan is completely renovating the place, having gutted it down to the studs. A hair and nail salon is located next door, and a barbeque joint called Nana's BBQ is slated to go in on the other side.

"People were so happy to see us go in here because the Rodeo had been a problem for years," says McCoy, who is aiming for a soft opening before Christmas.


Source: Katie McCoy
Writer: Lee Chilcote

If you were among the thousands of people who attended concerts this summer outside the Transformer Station in Ohio City, you have Thomas Welsh to thank. As director of the Cleveland Museum of Art's newly minted City Stages, the Philadelphia native is spicing up his new hometown with musical acts from around the globe.

Once ground zero for all things rock 'n' roll, Cleveland has steadily shed its reputation as King, and in the process squandered many of the economic benefits that go along with it. An effort by local advocates is attempting to change that by raising the industry’s profile and marketing it to a wider audience.