At the Depot, we’re already in the holiday spirit, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you! On Friday, December 6th, join us at the Depot for a special Holiday Party and First Friday event filled with artists, refreshments, community, music, an appearance by Santa himself, and more!
We are excited to join forces with our Depot neighbors, R.S. Monger and Sons Inc. and Herr & Co. to host a special Holiday Party and First Friday event! Join us to share in the Holiday celebrations as we listen to live music performed by Red Wing Academy, share your wish lists with Santa himself, and enjoy our two featured artists.
The festivities will be held on both the second and first floors of the Depot. Come visit with Santa and take your own photos, listen to the amazing performers from Red Wing Academy, and check out our artist’s creations.
Our TWO talented artists this month are Erika Cash and Justin Poole! Erika’s creations, “Royal Knotz” will be available one night only. Justin Poole will feature “Vistas,” a collection of oil pastel paintings, which will remain up for the month of December.
As always, this event is free and open to everyone, and refreshments will be provided by the Gaines Group Architects, Monger Lumber, and Herr and Company! — Erika’s Bio and Description:
Erika Cash is a wife and mother of 3. She has been crocheting for 26 years. Erika can bring many things to life with just a ball of yarn and a hook and has been commissioned to make many one of a kind items. She loves creating crochet patterns and watching others bring the patterns to life. Erika sees crochet as a way to express herself and relieve stress.
“Royal Knotz” was created by Erika at the beginning of 2024 as a branch off of her crochet business that she has with her mother, Wistful Willows. Royal Knotz focuses on crochet patterns that Erika develops herself. — Justin’s Bio and Description:
Justin Poole is Associate Professor of Theatre and the Theatre Program Director at EMU, where he has also taught classes on art history. He and his wife Amanda lead semester-long performance and visual art-themed study abroad programs to Europe and Morocco. Traveling is the greatest source of inspiration for Justin’s own performance and visual art. Largely self-taught, Justin hones his drawing and painting skills while observing and sketching the works of the masters at some of his favorite European art museums, especially Vienna, Austria’s Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien and the Tate Britain in London. He is also the Artist-In-Residence at Asbury United Methodist Church, where he manages the gallery space and seeks to integrate art and faith.
This show entitled “Vistas,” represents a new phase in his development as an artist. The oil pastels are an attempt to foster a looser approach in his artwork, while the new oil paintings are an attempt to lean further into the fantastical, dreamlike, and sublime. More works of both types are being dreamed up and created as this new show launches, and he looks forward to where these new styles will lead.
The Shenandoah Valley Partnership brings together local government, education, and business to increase economic development activity. Jay Langston and his team have done a fantastic job figuring out new ways to promote our valley in an ever-increasing competitive economic landscape. The result is amazing success at adding new jobs to our valley, growing existing businesses, and attracting new businesses.
“SVP is an awesome collection of businesses that understand the importance of supporting each other, combined with local government and education partners. This organization understands that a rising tide raises all ships.” Board Chairman Charles Hendricks continues, “it takes innovative leadership in our world to attract new business and to support existing business growth, and we have that at SVP.” From a local cooking show to a podcast series, Jay and his team are reaching a large radius of site locators in an authentic way. The message of collaboration among local business leaders resonates with how business wants to be done and these outreach efforts highlight that approach.
We need your help. If you want to be involved in SVP, reach out to Charles or Jay, learn more about investing in the partnership HERE.
I own a small business in a post-pandemic economy, and life is difficult. (Disclaimer: I have 4 business partners, I don’t do this alone).
I keep seeing posts on social media from other small business owner friends of mine and I think we are all feeling the weight of the world right now. I can tell you I need help, support, and compassion right now more than I have in the 16 years I have been a business owner. Thank you to all those who are supporting me and offering words of encouragement. Thank you also to all my clients who are allowing me to design for them.
But more about the challenges: Owning an architectural firm means I have to have thick skin, a very high tolerance for stress, and be extremely flexible in schedule, goals, and expectations. I have not found the balance, if there is such a thing, and tend to give more to others and the business than to my own mental and physical wellbeing. Owning a business is hard.
Something changed coming out of the pandemic. Expectations are higher, timelines are shorter, price structures are more volatile, and product shortages are unpredictable. It is beyond stressful to figure out the challenge of balancing meeting our clients expectations, mental health of staff, and providing a safe place for design creativity, with staying economically competitive and quick. Are you done yet? While all these challenges / goals have always been there for small architectural firms, since the pandemic it seems they are all heightened. It is not necessarily directly related to the pandemic, but there was a shift in how our clients think about us and what our employees expect in a workplace since the pandemic. Many days it feels like everything is in a very fragile balance and any small wrong move will break the system. We balance building code compliance with aesthetic beauty with structural product price spikes with changing communication patterns from our clients, consultants, and employees. We are expected to pivot quickly and stay on top of all the changes all the time. Products that used to be readily available are no longer in our market. Builders that used to need work are booked out for a year or so. Software costs skyrocketed from just a few years ago when you could purchase a software package to now having to purchase an annual subscription. The market has shifted where the big firms will frequently compete with smaller firms for local projects. These larger firms have entire teams dedicated to responding to potential client requests while in a small firm we each wear many different hats and have to give time in many different ways and directions.
I am not complaining about owning a business and getting to set my own schedule, write my own mission statement, and set my own path. (Well sort of set my own path and as long as my schedule is work a lot I can set it for sure.) I love what I get to do: solve spatial problems for our clients that enhance their livability, protect the environment through sustainable design practices, and inspire joy through beautiful design work. I just wish it was a little easier to find the clients, deliver the projects efficiently in a more relaxed schedule, and figure out the balance between earning a comfortable living and being affordable. It does feel like I am climbing a steep hill with the sun in my eyes many days.
Does anyone else have some insights on the joys and challenges of owning a small business? Please share, it is good to know that others face similar challenges.
As a firm, we practice design as an act of service. We work closely together with our clients to create projects that are completely custom and unique to their needs. Well-rounded and well-designed projects should aim to better people’s lives by taking in their ideas and input. As designers and architects, we are driven by the passion of using our skills to help people better their environments. Practicing design as an act of service means meeting our clients where they are, working hard to understand their needs, and leading with empathy and patience to help bring their visions to life. These are the projects that have the power to truly connect people and meaningfully better their environment. Here are a few examples of projects we designed with this in mind!
Church Street Townhomes
The Church Street Townhomes project in Christiansburg, Virginia was developed by Habitat for Humanity in New River Valley. Working together with Habitat for Humanity has been a valuable part of us reaching our goal of building strong communities and it is always a pleasure working with an organization that shares our values. The seven conjoined townhomes are fully accessible for people of all abilities and EarthCraft and Energy-Star certified.
Speech and Language Center
The Speech and Language Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia came to us with a very particular problem. The client needed to grow the functional space of the building while only being able to add a few feet to two sides of the building. We worked closely with the client and the builder to expand the space and were able to successfully deliver the right solution for this business to continue to grow and thrive. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Eastern Mennonite School
The Eastern Mennonite School in Harrisonburg, Virginia was a renovation project aimed at converting a three-story office building into an elementary school. The project focused specifically on sustainable practices and creation care, which was important to our non-profit client. We worked together with the teachers, administration, and students at the school to create a space that would enhance the learning environment.
When engaging a client in the design process it is important for us to make sure they feel heard and know we are here to support them and what they want for the future of their space. We encourage all potential, current, and past clients to engage in conversations with us about what they want for themselves, and their communities, and how we can help them get there. Being in constant conversation with the people we serve is important to us, and we also can do community presentations to share our wealth of knowledge and help advance people’s community building. Including the community in the design process is an invaluable learning opportunity and allows for a greater capacity to make meaningful changes with architecture. Using design as an act of service looks like giving tools to people who do not have them and listening to their wants and needs.
Recently Harrisonburg has been getting national press for what we already know about our community: it’s an amazing place to live, work, and play. We love Harrisonburg, we absolutely love Harrisonburg downtown, and we know that you will too. As hype for ESPN College Game Day at JMU covers the town this weekend due to an undefeated JMU Dukes football team (we are also celebrating JMU’s #24 in the country basketball team), we are seeing so much hype for our friendly city. Recently, Southern Living Magazine wrote a love letter about the place where author Tara Massouleh McCay says “she could live.”
The beauty of our city is that we know each other and want to see each other do well, thrive, have fun. We are the Friendly City in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, surrounded by nature’s beauty and close enough to the bigger cities that we have access to what we don’t have in just a short drive (and still the ability to come back home the same day). If you have not visited our city, whether you are here for football, hiking, food, or just fun – here are some of the places and things you should know about that the national magazines and out of towner reports have not told you. Visit the Harrisonburg Farmer’s Market on a Saturday morning, ask David Sutton with Port Farm about his plants, cutting boards, and rolling pins. Mention that you would love to hear more about his Dad and the Chesapeake Western Depot. Go see Nico at Mill Song Bakery and get a lunchbox loaf (maybe get two because it will not last long once you taste it). If you want the bread to disappear even faster, stop by to see Mike at Hott Apiary for some local honey. Pick up some flowers from Mary Jo’s Flowers and give them to someone you love – they will love them.
We have the best Children’s museum,Explore More Discovery Museum, for young innovators, creators, and investigators. You can be a news reporter, car mechanic, doctor, dentist, scientist, actor. veterinarian, farmer, or builder. There is a maker space, airplane, ambulance, and stock market all inside the building. There are scheduled activities, classes, and even a Lego league available. The work that Lisa, Melanie, Marcia, Caroline, Kelly and their team do to make this the best museum possible is inspiring. Visit and see this amazing facility when you are downtown – shop in their store to help support them or just make a donation online to allow them to continue to grow this amazing community resource.
A must visit is to go see Mira at Rocktown Kitchen for lunch. Get the Fried Chicken sandwich (or the wedge salmon salad, or the burger, or the BBQ – everything that Chef Kristo creates is amazing). If you decide that you must return for dinner, you will probably need to reserve a seat while you are there for lunch. Word is out about how good it is to eat there. If Rocktown is too busy or not on your way, stop at Texas Inn for a Cheesy and say hi to Angie or pop across the street to one of Aaron’s places and get some fried mac and cheese at Billy Jack’s or Jack Brown’s for an Elvis (one of the best burgers you will ever experience).
You don’t want to miss Ten Thousand Villages for their amazing creations from around the world and stop in Agora Market to see what Heartworn Vintage has found that will have your vintage heart thumping.
If you have someone that likes stickers, keychains, wall hangings, pens, candles, or jewelry, you have to stop by The Lady Jane to see what Sara has stocked for the holidays. The store is FULL of amazing finds. I always stuff the stockings at Christmas with the awesome things she has procured for the shop. This is also the shop where I find Ros O’Brien’s natured inspired ceramics. Her creations are beautiful and always a popular gift from Christmas ornaments to coffee cups.
As you continue up main street, drop in Oasis Fine Art and Craft to talk with Barbara and the other artists about their creations. You will want to see what Delaney has painted and let your young artists make something in the Kid’s Corner.
Then there is north downtown and all the shops and restaurants you should visit, the amazing team at HDR that works on programs and events for downtown, and of course my favorite place in all of downtown – The Depot. Come visit, see our art gallery, explore our historic artifacts, or get a building designed.
Last Thursday our Harrisonburg team attended the Big Brothers Big Sisters luncheon, “Bigger Together: A Community Celebration of Mentoring.” It was a wonderful time to meet other leaders in the community and hear from Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) mentors. Speakers shared about their time mentoring youth in the community, and a theme that came through was that mentors were pleasantly surprised to be greatly impacted by the youth that they were paired with. Often, their relationships last past the program with a great respect for each other and a want to continue making meaningful connections.
A central theme of the luncheon was “It Takes Little to Be Big.” This simple fact was a good reminder and impactful to our team members. The speaker emphasized that it’s often not the grandiose or “big” moments that are impactful, but the seemingly small actions. A high-five, laugh together, 15 minutes supporting studying, cheering each other on, providing a listening ear, and the list goes on. Asha reflected, “I am often surprised to be going about my day and have a little voice of something someone said once go through my head. These small things impact me greatly, sometimes in negative ways, but often in positive ways. Or at least they provide me with a laugh. I was glad to be reminded of all the small things that we do that we may never know positively impact each other.”
It is always a pleasure to support such an incredible organization, and we are so grateful for all that they do to bring the community together and support youth. Consider joining the mentorship program or volunteering in other ways. Remember that you don’t have to commit to doing something huge, because sometimes it only takes a little to be big. To read more about the programs through BBBS, visit: https://www.bbbshr.org/programs/.
