A retrospective looking at all the Speakers Bureau films we have developed for the Detroit Creative Corridor Center. Go go gadget creative economy Detroit!

Bethany Shorb, Cyberoptix Tie Lab:

Rola Nashef, Gas Afterhours Productions:

Tim Smith, Skidmore Studio:

 Bethany Betzler and Matt Clayson, The Detroit Creative Corridor Center:

Chazz Miller, Public Art Workz:

Dan Kinkead and Melissa Ditmer, Hamilton Anderson Associates:

Philip Lauri, DETROIT LIVES!:

Josh Dahlberg, Blank Artists:

Jeevak Badve, American Specialty Cars:

Noah Stephens, The People of Detroit Photodocumentary:

WillDo Designs:

Oliver Ragsdale Jr., Carr Cultural Arts Center:

Patrick Thompson, Patrick Thompson Design:

Well, when it rains it pours.

On Wednesday we released our first work for a client in the form of the DC3′s new initiative called the Speakers Bureau. A very big deal to us indeed.

Today, we can officially declare the premiere date for After the Factory, the documentary we have been working on since last January. In fact, in an odd coincidence, on this day last year I received the first email from Michal in Lodz, which planted the seed for what would eventually be our most ambitious project to date. It started with a quick idea and grew in to a whole operation, attracting an entire crew, spending a month in Europe, crafting an organizational partnership in Poland with Topografie Association, even garnering 163 financial backers via Kickstarter. And now, the film will premiere at a beautiful historical theatre in Detroit.

We are absolutely honored and pumped to announce that the film will premiere at the Detroit Institute of Art’s Detroit Film Theatre on February 2, 2012. 7pm. The info page on the DIA website can be viewed here, and tickets can be purchased here.

All that said, it seems proper to reveal the trailer for the film. Voila:

One step further, please head over to the film’s website (afterthefactoryfilm.com) and hit the “Like” button to help us spread the word to your friends. And please, by all means, join us at the DFT for the premiere. We are so excited.

A special thanks to Steven Oliver and Andrew Jenson, the director of photography and editor for the film, respectively. Without these two gentleman, the film would not be here. They believed in it from day one, and have been an instrumental part of making it the work of art that it is.

Hot off the presses, check out our time lapse video of the first MANTRACITY Mural. This baby is located at Brush and Milwaukee in Detroit. There is a really long list of folks that were involved in arranging this mural, coming up with the concept, paying for it, designing it, painting it, doing the video, providing the music…. and on and on and on. Those folks are, in no order of importance:

Organizational Partners – Public Art Workz, Motor City Blight Busters
Concept – Travis Wright
Design – Philip Lauri, Nick Jaroch
Painting – Chazz Miller, Philip Lauri, Nick Jaroch, Dom Bisquiat
Music – Ish and Artwork
Film – Sean Redenz
Financial Support – Patrick Thompson, Courtney Roschek, Chris Damico

Stay tuned for more MANTRACITY murals around town!

The IDEA Conference in New York has become something of a household name ala TED talks and the like. This year, Advertising Age and Crain’s teamed up to produce one in Detroit. The results couldn’t have been any better. A powerhouse lineup of speakers discussed the relationship between their ideas and success, and to top it off, five Detroiters submitted their ideas for the city and were awarded with recognition at the event and a $1,500 check to move it forward.

First, the speakers. Eric Ryan, founder of Method Soap says “Don’t start a business, start a cause.” His soap company makes household cleaners and hand soaps that are non-toxic, something very different from other company’s products. They use their innovative role in the industry to begin phasing out the harmful chemicals that currently exist in other products. David Morrow, founder of Warrior Sports, headquartered in Warren, says “Have the courage to follow your passion and just do it.” His company, now a $100 million enterprise, started as a father/son effort to just make David’s lacrosse team’s sticks. Pretty cool. Josh Linker, of ePrize fame and most recently the force behind Detroit Venture Partners, took the stage with a storm. His message: “Be creative.” Linkner says we learn to follow the directions instead of using our imaginations. But then, interestingly enough, our imaginations are what get rewarded in business and the workplace. So, awaken your curiousity he says, bring on the everyday creativity and break down the imaginative barriers that stall success.

These three gentleman aside, easily one of the most impressive speakers of the day was Veronika Scott, a Product Design student at CCS responsible for the Empowerment Plan. Her school project to design a coat that keeps the homeless warm and then doubles as a sleeping bag at night has turned in to a global sensation, with media outlets all over the world covering her work (see one of the coats here). The Empowerment Plan is the portion of her efforts where she pays local people a living wage to produce the jackets. The results? Three employees at this point, one that is now able to pay rent on a house and give her daughter proper childcare while simultaneously feeling immensely invested in a great cause. Very, very inspiring work.

To top it all off, one of the five user-submitted ideas awarded throughout the course of the day is a program titled “Do it in Detroit” that I have been developing with Travis Wright of Metro Times fame. Our goal? Facing the fact that 48% of Michigan’s college students leave the state, we want to hit schools in the state and region with an achingly hip multimedia presentation discussing the opportunities that exist in Detroit for young entrepreneurs, artists and urban planners. Right now, young people are getting the wrong story about the city, and sure, while this place may not be for everyone, it presents an intoxicating blend of opportunities for the right self-started, ambitious people. Detroit is a city for builders, and we want to get on the road to tell that story. It’s happening. Sooner than you think. Stay tuned.

Monocle is a global publication discussing international affairs, business, culture and design. They recently came to Detroit to film a piece on DETROIT LIVES! for a segment they produce on Bloomberg TV (AT&T U-Verse Channel 222, Comcast 178, DirecTV 353, Dish Network 203). All in all, the piece is great, sandwiched between reports on arts and culture from Munich, Berlin and Tokyo– not too shabby being in the mix with those powerhouses. The piece discusses DL!’s efforts as a new type of socially driven creative company to create momentum through our clothing line, public art and community engagement. The piece will air again on Bloomberg’s cable station on Saturday, February 26. Check local listings for the time as it plays a few times throughout the day. Alternatively, by clicking the image below you can see the segment. The Detroit bit appears just after the 1-minute mark at 1:10.

One step further on the topic of press coverage, Ann Arbor’s SHEI magazine did a piece on DL! discussing future plans five and ten years down the road, what’s going to move the city forward and what makes Detroit a fun place to work in. Check out the article here.

The good folks at I AM YOUNG DETROIT did a nice write up on DL! this morning. Check it out here.