Fresh Water pulled into the funky co-working space on Lee Road and met up with four of the resident businesses to get their stories and hear about what motivates and excites them.

Jereme Westfall, owner and artist of Work of Arc Welding, prides himself on breathing new life into discarded objects.
 
A damaged cello Westfall purchased from a music store, for example, is now a lighted sculpture complete with ribbed metal wings. The instrument can no longer play a beautiful concerto, but it's still lovely to behold, says its owner.
 
From his workshop at Steelyard Commons, Westfall also welds a unique identity onto working lamps, clocks, shelving, fountains and wall hangings. Primarily focused on metals, the arts-centric entrepreneur "upcycles" junk into works he sells at gallery shows or on his Etsy site.

"I take garbage and instead of recycling it to its original form, I'm turning it into something that still has a use," says Westfall, 39. "I've got a basement filled with valves, springs and other stuff that inspires me."
 
Hard work comes at cost for customers, although some pieces can be had at lower prices than others. Westfall's cello sculpture, a product of 100 man hours and $500 in materials, sells for $3,100, while his lamps run from $320-$355. More affordable offerings include business card holders built from transmission gears, which are $35 each.  
 
Westfall opened his studio a year ago after receiving certification from the Lincoln Electric Welding School. Creating functional art full time wasn't his first thought upon entering the industry, however.
 
"I worked as a welder for awhile, then decided I wanted to make my own rules," Westfall says. "I started making my own stuff, went to some art shows, and things took off from there."
 
Westfall's steampunk/industrial style lends itself to rustic spaces or the average man cave, he notes. The Medina native tries to add something quirky to each piece, like a valve that acts as a dimmer for a lamp.
 
Going into 2017, Work of Arc has several months of back orders to fill, among them a conference table repurposed for an area diamond broker. The business is also busy showing its regional pride through Cavaliers and Ohio State metal wall art pieces.

As long as folks keep buying, Westfall is happy to continue making something out of nothing.

"The biggest thing for me is to be flexible," says Westfall. "I like doing a wide range of pieces rather than just one thing over and over again. There's such a wide variety, I never get bored."
 
 

UPDATE 1/8/17 12 P.M. EST: oWOW Radio is reporting that details and confirmation may come as early as tomorrow.

Rumors are abounding that the legendary band U2 will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of The Joshua Tree with a stadium tour of North America. The website @U2 taps Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Pasadena, Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Washington, DC. In addition, one German website also adds Cleveland's to the roster for a possible summer 2017 date.
 
Per Google translation: "A source told oWOW Radio that U2 was booked for the summer of 2017 at FirstEnergy Stadium."
 
Bono, The Edge and Co. have not performed in Cleveland since the band's Dec. 10, 2005 concert at Quicken Loans Arena.
 
If the whispers pan out, this will prove to be one (ahem) beautiful day for area U2 fans, if not, call it Sunday, bloody Sunday.

Drew Anderson of Cleveland Kraut was named as one of Forbes' "30 under 30" for the 2017 food and drink category. Read why here, then scroll through the rest of the list to see the other lofty young foodie professionals that made the list and what they're offering up. (Think: pancakes, curry, toffee, hemp, grass-fed beef and ... cookies!)

Children living in Cuyahoga County have some of the highest lead blood-levels in the Ohio. Public entities, nonprofits such as Neighborhood Connections and – most importantly – residents on the ground are tackling the broad and complex problem.

The man inside Cleveland Custom Trucks has a story that stretches far beyond the rolling kitchens he creates.
 

From bikes and trees to street festivals and offshore wind, the Office of Sustainability takes a look back at the year that was with a fun and fresh roundup of 19 stories and events that made 2016 great here on the North Coast.

Read the whole list here.

A zoomin' fleet of electric go-karts? The next must live neighborhood? What made the RNC such a success? We've got all that – and more.

Click here for a roundup of some of Fresh Water's most popular stories from 2016.

From Joe Queenan for the Wall Street Journal:

Every year, one American city steps up to the plate for the nation’s attention. Some years it is Los Angeles, seething cauldron of glamour and elegance, other years New York, financial powerhouse and cultural leviathan. San Francisco, Boston and Chicago have all had days in the sun, as have Memphis, Tenn., (Elvis Presley), Portland, Ore., (hipsterism) and Miami (the “Miami Vice” look).

This year, it was Cleveland.

No one really saw this coming.

See all the reasons Queenan added our fair city to that venerable list here.
 

Sr. Rita Petruziello, organizer of the hugely successful Circle the City with Love event last July, is organizing another gathering to celebrate unity on a grand scale.