News

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This year marks the 5th anniversary of the DVF Awards. The DVF Awards were created in 2010 by Diane von Furstenberg and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation to honor and support extraordinary women who have had the courage to fight, the power to survive and the leadership to inspire. Women who have transformed the lives of others through their commitment, resources and visibility.

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The REVOLVE Guidebook is a collection of resources to support Detroit’s Retail Evolution. Whether you are starting a business, installing a public art project, restoring a building, or promoting a neighborhood, this is your one-stop shop for practical how-to information regarding the revitalization of Detroit’s neighborhood business districts.

The guidebook is designed for a broad audience of entrepreneurs, artists, community organizations, and building owners with the common goal of activating vacant space. It is oriented to help stakeholders work together and take action. Included are checklists, flow-charts, permits, and much more in easy-to-understand, ready-to-use formats.

Some of the information may not be  applicable to you. However, we believe that good things happen faster when we work together and have a mutual understanding of the to-do list. The guidebook is developed specifically for Detroit. However, much of the information is transferable to other cities or applications of urban revitalization.

Finally, there is no “one way” to do this. Every neighborhood requires a unique approach. This guidebook tells you how we facilitate Retail Evolution at REVOLVE. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with these resources and do things in your own way. We also realize that things evolve. Consider this a living document. We encourage you to share your feedback and lessons learned to improve this guide by emailing us at [email protected].

We ask just one thing of you: Be revolutionary. 

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At 95, photographer Bill Rauhauser is something of a legend in the Detroit arts community. He’s spent more than 60 years taking beautiful street images that reflect the vibrancy and history of the city’s past. In January, Rauhauser was named the 2014 Kresge Eminent Artist, an honor that comes with a $50,000 prize. Later this year, Kresge will publish a monograph of Rauhauser’s career.

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Inside a sleek, modern storefront, a collection of Japanese tea pots shines in the February sunlight. Towels create a collage across one wall. And mobiles with bright, bold geometric shapes dangle from the ceiling.

A Brooklyn boutique? Try Nora on Cass Avenue right in Midtown Detroit.

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On the No. 34 bus heading out to the suburbs of Detroit, most of the structures are abandoned. But there are people at every stop, still living in the neighborhoods and still trying to get on with their lives during the city's financial troubles and recovery.

Lifelong Detroiter Fred Kidd, a rider on the No. 34, works at a car parts manufacturing plant in another one of Detroit's suburbs. This bus does not make it all the way to the suburbs; it stops at the city line.

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A nearly 27-acre urban farm that will provide produce for Detroit public school students’ meals is planned at a former high school as part of the district’s efforts to reuse empty buildings instead of tearing them down.

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To repurpose all of the vacant land in Detroit, many have called for large-scale urban farming. Now Carolyn and Scott Lowell, owners of the Traffic Jam & Snug and numerous apartments in Midtown, are bringing one of the pillars of the agricultural age to the Motor City — a family-owned dairy barn from the west side of Michigan.

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Once famed for motors, Motown and Eminem, Detroit has more recently gained a reputation for bankruptcy and urban decay. But look beyond the empty buildings and there is an alternate Detroit appearing - one buoyed by the creative energy of an art- and culture-fuelled renaissance. In its wake, inventive restaurateurs are emerging to feed the hungry crowds who are flooding back to the city.

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The DNR has spent the winter working on some of the more urgent/embarrassing issues on Belle Isle. Dead or diseased trees have been removed, bathrooms are being repaired, and security has been increased—presumably to ward off whatever odd criminals might re-vandalize park bathrooms. 

But the DNR will soon go beyond the basic projects to begin implementing their overall vision for the park. According to Local 4, historic renovations are headed for two of the island's oldest buildings.

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Jacques Driscoll, the owner of Corktown’s instant classic Green Dot Stables, is hoping to strike gold again with a Japanese fusion restaurant called Johnny’s Noodle King.

The 40-seat restaurant is located at 2601 Fort St. in the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge.

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Detroit’s national reputation can pretty much be summed up by the three C’s: crime, corruption, and cars. And people aren’t even so sure about that last one anymore. Yes, sadly, the rest of the world doesn’t always look upon us with favor, and as any Detroiter who’s traveled abroad or entertained visitors knows, our fair city requires a bit more explaining than most as to why things are the way they are. So here’s a collection of Detroit’s "distinguishing" characteristics that you’re likely to address whenever you’re playing host.

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Michigan Corps and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, in partnership with local business and philanthropic partners, has announced the 2014 Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge.
 
“Last year’s first Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge demonstrated a depth and breadth of entrepreneurial talent and social innovation happening at the local level across our state,” said MEDC President and CEO Michael Finney today at a press conference at TechTown Detroit.“We are looking, again this year, to bring the entrepreneurial mindset to bear on pressing social issues and putting a focus on ideas, action plans and energy into new ways to enhance quality of life in communities around our state and in particular, in Detroit and Flint.”
 
The Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge invites individuals and teams to submit plans for an emerging idea or existing venture with a sustainable solution to a clearly defined social problem in areas including, but not limited to, chronic unemployment, health and nutrition, the environment, urban revitalization, and education. Participants will compete for more than $60,000 in prizes. Competition finalists will be granted admission to Michigan Corps’ Impact Investment Fellowship, a four-month training institute to ready top social entrepreneurs for investment at and above the $50,000 level.
 
Beginning today, March 6, social entrepreneurs from across the state are invited to register for the competition. Applicants will be eligible to attend online classes, neighborhood tours, and networking events to support the development of their submission before the May 30, 2014 deadline. A statewide Social Entrepreneurship Showcase & Summit Event will take place in June to announce winners and celebrate social innovation across Michigan.
 
The Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge was launched in 2013 as a new strategy to discover and support the best innovative minds to design sustainable solutions to the state’s pressing social challenges. In its first year, the Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge attracted nearly 300 submissions and more than $1million in new financial commitments to invest in competition winners – grassroots entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to address joblessness, environmental issues, urban revitalization and more. To learn more about last year’s winners, visit here.
 
“The Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge offers a unique model to unleash one of our state’s most powerful assets – entrepreneurial citizens with credible solutions to address critical needs in our communities,” said Michigan Corps Executive Director Elizabeth Garlow, who leads the program.  

In its second year, the Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge will offer prize tracks and networking programs specific to entrepreneurs seeking to launch or grow social ventures in the Detroit and Flint areas. 
 
The 2014 Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge will feature prize tracks that include a combination of cash prizes, consultation services, and start-up resources. Lead program supporters include the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and New Economy Initiative.  Prize sponsors include Consumers Energy, THAW, PNC Bank, Mission Throttle, Michigan Women’s Foundation, and St. John Providence Health System.  Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, TechTown Detroit, Non-Profit Enterprise at Work, and D:hive will provide in-kind prize packages that include consultation services, training programs and collaborative work space.
 
“Participating in the Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge gave our work new visibility, access to incredibly supportive resources and relationships, and helped us really take things to the next level,” said Noam Kimelman, Co-founder of Fresh Corner Café, a mission-driven fresh food delivery and catering company formed in response to the troubling lack of access to high-quality healthy foods in Detroit, and the 2013 top prize winner.
 
To learn more and register for the competition, visit http://michigancorps.org/TheChallenge.  All media inquiries should be directed to Elizabeth Garlow at [email protected] or 248-508-7898.
 
Michigan Corps is a private non-profit organization that leads programs to discover, support and scale social innovation across the state. Michigan Corps believes that our communities are strengthened principally by networks of social-minded entrepreneurs and engaged citizens that are connected with one another and the resources to help make Michigan a better, vibrant place to live.  For More information, visit www.michigancorps.org
 
Pure Michigan is a brand representing business, talent and tourism initiatives across Michigan. These efforts are driven by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which serves as the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business growth, jobs and opportunity with a focus on helping grow Michigan’s economy. 
 
For more on the MEDC and its initiatives, visit michiganbusiness.org. For Michigan travel news, updates and information, visit michigan.org.

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Understatement alert: you probably won't find Detroit on too many travel destination short lists. Bold statement alert: missing out on the Motor City means depriving yourself of a singular representation of the American experience. While daily headlines seem to dwell exclusively on decay, bankruptcy, and the possible placement of Robocop statues, the reality on the ground is there's plenty to impress even the pickiest of travelers (though no Robocop statue, yet). Here are 10 reasons to start planning that visit.

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Detroit’s local watch brand, Shinola, has now gifted Detroit with four clocks within the city limits. The new brand known for its Detroit-built watches, bicycles, paper products, shoe polish, and leather goods unveiled the first of four Shinola City Clocks on Friday. Installed at landmarks across greater downtown Detroit, the company chose a day just before Daylight Saving Time 2014 was to begin to make the announcement.

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Creative, ambitious, independent-yet-also-community-minded, oh my! This "Girl's Guide to Detroit" might make anyone who isn't a Detroit resident or a woman mighty jealous. In fact, if you're a man in Tampa, I'm not sure it's even safe to see this.

Best parts? The women you'll meet at 3:00 reveal one of the secrets to all this magic starting at 5:30. The rad girl in the opening minute comes back at 8:00 with some pretty profound thoughts on being female.

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