I've never purchased a copy of, much less subscribed to, Vogue. I never embraced Men's Vogue, though its short shelf life would seem to indicate I wasn't the only one with reservations. None of this kept me from settling in to watch the 2009 documentary film, The September Issue, which chronicles Anna Wintour and her legion's quest to produce the thickest issue in Vogue history.  

While most regular Vogue readers will be smitten (and frankly, it's difficult not to be) with the couture, the romanticized locations, and the gratuitous dose of pomp and circumstance that seems to surround Wintour's every sunglass-wearing move, I was soundly floored by the business of Condé Nast's fashionable centerpiece. 

While MTV would have every teen girl believe a fanciful career in publishing awaits them at the editorial roundtables of Elle, Teen Vogue, et al, The September Issue does well to document that reality is much different. And even more ridiculous. 

As print magazines struggle, the Vogue team triumphs on in the openly ludicrous world of fashion. Filmed during the making of the record-shattering September 2007 issue, the cameras follow Wintour and her cadre on international jaunts to Paris and Rome, long hours, a tragically uncool Starbucks addiction, clever story boards, creative infighting, the scrapping of photo shoots that cost more than $50,000 and the ever-looming deadline. Having worked in the print industry, it made me nostalgic. 

The days of long editorial staff debates over what carefully cultivated copy would never see the light of day, meetings with creative directors to coordinate photo shoots for covers and fight over images, being tightly wound as deadline approached, breathing a sigh of relief when the issue went to bed: that's print nostalgia – not full reality. 

Vogue is an anomaly. Most print publications don't have multimillion dollar monthly budgets to develop their books. There's no doubting that Grace Coddington is among the world's most truly gifted creative visionaries ever to share her talents with the print world, but part of me would like to see how creative she'd be with a budget of $100 and little to no equipment. That's when a creative director really shows his or her colors. I'd like to see what Wintour would do with a staff of four, and what publisher Tom Florio would do without a reliable sales army, among other things. 

Giving credit where it is most certainly due, the Vogue team banged out an 840-page September '07 issue (of which 727 pages were advertising; 87 percent of the magazine, if you're doing the math). Two years later, ad pages were down to approximately 425. 

Recently, news broke that Florio would leave Vogue at the end of June. With Condé Nast in various capacities since the 80s, Florio doesn't know yet what he'll do next, just that he wants to do his own thing. "I've been here a long time and I really love the place … But if I don't do this now, then when?", Florio was quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal. So even the top man at a top performer like Vogue can still feel the pull of the open road, so to speak.

No doubt, Florio will have ample capital at his next venture, though probably not the vast resources, power and influence he both felt and wielded at Vogue. Clearly, these things aren't as important to him as pulling his own strings. Perhaps that's the appeal of the entrepreneurial venture. I've felt it myself.

It is a widely heard message across Ohio: buy local. Consumers are encouraged to eat, drink, bathe, sleep, live, listen and build local. It is a notion that has gained significant momentum in recent years, despite the rise of multinational chain outlets. However, as one local group has discovered, living local is a hard slog. 

"We are committed to local entrepreneurial ventures. Period," says Patrick Billows, co-founder of the Center for Righteous Aspirational Poverty. "We commend those organizations that refuse to be bought by big business, instead relying exclusively on local organizations, businesses and people to fund their enterprises." 

Billows, the former proprietor of a boutique sweater shop, featuring goods only made using wool from regionally raised alpacas, opened the center in 2008 with his wife and business partner Amanda, who admits their venture was a bit shortsighted. "We launched in November and business was great for the first six months," she says. "When the weather changed in spring, business tanked and never recovered." 

The center raises money for local enterprises by relying on fund-raising efforts at events throughout Northeast Ohio. To date, local philanthropy has helped the organization raise close to $800. "We gave $100 each to six different outlets that sell local products only." The pair kept $200 as rent money for Billows' brother, who the couple lives with. 

"When we opened, we knew it would be tough; we took a vow of poverty to be local," says Renee Dintan, owner of Style Us, a clothing and record shop in Sheffield Lake. "We wanted to carry only locally made clothing and only sell albums recorded by Ohio artists." Dintan argues that the manufacture location of the vinyl is a moot topic given the artists' Ohio connection.

Business at Style Us has been tough, and Dintan sleeps on a pullout cot in the 400 square foot store and relies on a pay phone down the street from her storefront. "We read how interested people were in supporting local businesses – just go on Facebook, and it seems as if everyone is championing a local business," says Dintan. "I see lots of people talk about my store, but I don't think they're all really shopping here."

Jake Pembrooke may disagree.  He owns Father's Farm Cottage in Portsmouth, Ohio, a quiet southern Ohio town where Pembrooke's restaurant business has been booming. "I read about the problems facing local retailers – heck, I even see them; plenty of businesses have come and gone since I opened the Farm Cottage, but we don't seem to be affected," he says. Since opening, Pembrooke's highly seasonal, highly local menu has won rave reviews, and residents are clamoring for a seat. "Everything we serve is from Ohio soil, and while it costs more, it certainly tastes better." An Ohio rib eye with local purple potato hash and a roasted corn maque choux made with local vegetables costs $39. The average yearly income in Portsmouth is $24,000. "Our profit margins are negligible," says Pembrooke. "From staffing, licensing, permits, food, billing, materials and all the other costs, we barely break even, which stinks because there's not much left we can reinvest in the community." It's an alarming trend, according to at least one financial analyst. 

Bill Rearoro, a financial analyst with Bender & Beggs in Canton, says that this situation has historical precedence. "At one time, China was the technological and cultural center of the world," he says. "Yet, after years of self-imposed isolationism, the country crumbled. I see parallels to the misguided if well-intentioned business plans of today's entrepreneurs." Success comes at a price, too. 

 "I opened Primrose Particulars in 2004, selling a variety of locally made goods, from honey and soap to books and pottery," says Janet Primrose. "Yes, we carried lots of other goods to help pay the bills and help us continue to support the local artisans." Local critics saw things differently.

"Being local means you have to struggle, or 'you're not keeping it real,' I was told," says Primrose. "If you make money, you're clearly doing something wrong." Primrose closed her store in late 2009, and now lives in Florida. 

[Photo by Kevin Nortz]

Collaboration requires baked-in leadership, and we’re not just talking about pie. Progress is made when leaders lead where there’s a need, galvanizing others in the process. The folks in the Lake Erie Building at Templar Industrial Park are leaders. They decided collaborating on an open house was the perfect way to usher in spring and showcase the West Side’s inner ring artistry. A local professor continues to lead beyond instruction: his weekend-long poetry exposition offers a soapbox for amazing writing and perspectives, bringing in poets from far and wide. A local dance company’s cutting-edge performances continue to lead in the Midwest – and have drawn in a couple of organizational fans for a new breed of benefit concert. That’s three Fresh Starts just for you. None of them happens in a vacuum.

Jawing In Kent

It’s been a long time since the Classic Cleveland Poetry Slam at the Beachland Ballroom came to an end. Thankfully, there are many events across Northeast Ohio that have filled the gap. Kent State University poetry professor Maj Ragain helms one of the best: the annual Jawbone Poetry Reading and Pie Festival, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this Friday, April 30 and runs through the weekend. The affecting catalyst, as revered as the late Daniel Thompson by some, provides an open poetry forum with featured guests from across the region and the country. The whole weekend ends up being a venerable who’s who for regional poets. Of course, there’s pie, too. Lots of pie. This is a must for anyone with a poetry jones. Learn more at Standing Rock’s website.

Screw You

Take in the Screw Factory Artists Spring Open Studio this coming Saturday, May 1 from 1 to 8 pm, at the edge of Birdtown in Lakewood. Artists Arabella Proffer, Gina DeSantis, Shannon Okey and more than two dozen other local artists open their Lake Erie Building studio doors for a no-cost, open to the public open house. The mediums on display for this auction-exhibit include fiber, photography, painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass and mosaics. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Friends of Madison Park. Organized in 2007, FOMP is a community group committed to enhancing Lakewood’s Madison Park as a “backyard park” for children and families.

Watching the ‘Wheels

Here’s one that’s sure to end up on many “Best Of” lists at the end of the year: Dancing Wheels Dance Company and School joins forces with two marquee arts organizations for a benefit gala/concert at the State Theatre at Playhouse Square Saturday, May 1 at 7:30 pm. Titled And All That’s Jazz!, it features special musical guests the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, along with the heavenly Singing Angels and students from the physically-integrated dance company and school. The program features two world premiere dances, including one by Broadway legend Donald McKayle, who will give a pre-performance talk prior to the performance. The gala, featuring hors d’oeuvres, desserts and a silent auction, immediately follows in the theatre’s swanky lobby.

I say! Have you a pair of velvet knickers you aren't able to wear often enough? Do you lament not wearing your monocle on city streets, for fear of being mocked?  Your time has come.

Tomorrow's Fantastic Cleveland Tweed Ride should be a jolly good time for those of you with a bicycle and an affinity for all things old time-y. Brought to you by Spin Bike Shop, the Tweed Ride is the latest in a series of similar events in other US cities and even across the pond. The event is a ride, not a race, though there will be stops for refreshments, challenges and, of course, shenanigans. Prizes will be awarded, including honors for most dapper (male), most snazzy (female), best moustache and "most prized steed." (For a little more information on Tweed Ride culture, visit the home of the San Francisco Tweed Ride, where you'll get an idea of proper attire, jargon and etiquette.)

The event begins Saturday, April 24 at 3 pm at the fountain in Mall A (in downtown Cleveland, behind the library); there is no cost to participate. Huzzah!

Photograph by Adam Thompson.

There's nothing quite like a liberal dose of spirited competition to bring out the best in people. In Cleveland, fans – fair-weather to fervent – stand behind the Cavs as they march to a championship. The city celebrates each win, each dunk, each bucket, with shared enthusiasm. Strangers are suddenly high-fiving friends, and there's a tangible energy pulsing through the region, from West Side to East. We're a proud city. We like winning.

Over the years, the North Coast has had many epithets ("the mistake on the lake") hurled our way, and we've survived more than a few notorious incidents (our burning river). I'm sorry, Joakim Noah, you're neither original, nor clever.

Noah has certainly grown bitter, though. In a league where points and triple-doubles are the stuff that feed fans' fervor, Noah's stats mostly reflect his skill at being a lout. He has been ejected once, received eight technicals and 198 personal fouls this season, 3.1 personal fouls per game. Well done, Noah: Those represent your highest numbers since being drafted in 2007. If you were Michael Jordan circa 1989, we'd be more worried.

Chicago is a wonderful city. It's a bustling Midwest metropolis with loads of curb appeal. It's a lakefront town with a rich history. It's renowned for award-winning restaurants and shopping opportunities. It has a strong cultural presence, with numerous parks and museums. It's pro football, baseball and basketball teams are big draws. Sounds awfully familiar.

Cleveland was already a year old, incorporated in 1836, an industrious city on Lake Erie, by the time Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837. While Chicago has Grant Achatz, Rick Bayless, Paul Kahan and Charlie Trotter, Cleveland is no slouch in the chef department. Cleveland is home to a nationally lauded restaurant scene, led by the likes of Lolita/Lola/B Spot/Bar Symon chef/owner Michael Symon, L'Albatros/Chinato/Parallax/Table 45 chef/owner Zack Bruell, Melt Bar & Grilled's Matt Fish, The Greenhouse Tavern's Jonathon Sawyer and Momocho/Happy Dog's Eric Williams. The Magnificent Mile is impressive, yet those famed labels and retailers that figure prominently on the strip are hardly unique to Chicago. In Cleveland, you'll find an eclectic collection of locally owned boutiques that sell locally made goods. From Room Service and Salty Not Sweet, to Banyan Tree and Revive, you'll find amazing wares not easily found elsewhere. There's also Brigade, which sells clothes from Cleveland-based, LeBron-approved Wrath Arcane, NEXT and Style Lounge.

Northeast Ohio is blessed with numerous beaches, Lake Erie, and one of the country's finest natural resources, the Emerald Necklace. The Cleveland Orchestra is consistently ranked among the finest ensembles in the world, while the Cleveland Museum of Art is home to a a world-class collection of art. From MOCA to the Sculpture Center, and too many galleries to list, Cleveland is awash in culture. We also have the Browns, the Indians and, of course, the Cavs.

So, what's the lesson here, Noah? It's easy to be defensive without being foul.