Thursday, April 5, 2012

Third Coast -- It's a Wonderful Name, Don't You Think?

I've wanted to use the name "Third Coast" for at least three decades.   Once, just after coming to Detroit to take up residence in my tiny but very cool office in an ancient hotel (it used to be called McKenzie Hall, and before that it was one of Detroit's nicest hostelries -- now it has ceased to exist, imploded because the Powers That Be thought they couldn't fix it for 11 million dollars.....I'll bet I could have fixed almost anything for 11 million -- how about you?), I had in mind starting a funky literary magazine called the Third Coast Review -- but I couldn't figure out how to get a stable of writers together across a number of disciplines and make money doing it.  And I didn't have tenure, so first things first. 

Then a small bookshop opened up in Grosse Pointe Park -- thrillling to see, because they were called Third Coast Books!  That wonderful name!  Sadly, they went out of business -- but not before they got a TICKET (I am not making this up) for daring to put a cart full of sale books on the wide, wide sidewalk.  Grosse Pointe Park is nothing if not up tight.

So now the name appears again -- this time in a perfectly brilliant logo designed by Larry that will grace (BLARE OF TRUMPETS) the First Annual Third Coast Fiber Festival, to be held in mid-September upcoming at the gorgeous McGregor Conference Center on the Wayne State University campus in midtown Detroit.  It even has a darling little blue wave in the lower right corner.

Loading
I've lined up an amazing array of workshop leaders and instructors from Michigan and beyond, in weaving, spinning, knitting, crochet, on and on.  We have have a nice, big marketplace featuring at least 20 mostly-Michigan fiber artists.  I have wanted to do this for at least five years -- so to hell with having to be retired first.  It's time. Besides, I have good helpers at Artisan Knitworks LLC.  Check the website for details or come talk to the staff at Artisan Knitworks.  The formal announcement goes out within a week.     svb

5 comments:

  1. yippee! how exciting--can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Drat, I won't be here, but be sure BadAmy hears about this! And we've always called our are the North Coast-- we Great Lakers have more coastline than the other kids after all. And Third Coast is even cooler!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope that Bad Amy is on the list. I will double check. She is TOTALLY cool, you know. svb

    ReplyDelete
  4. I LOVE Wayne State and look forward to an excellent excuse to visit the campus again. Here's to lunch at the Circa!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here's to the very real possibility of a couple of hundred lunches at circa and at a lot of other close-in places. This will be great. We already have about 8 sign-ons for the market, and the applications have not gone out yet! We might have the very good problem of having to deal with TOO MANY. svb

    ReplyDelete