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April 29, 2005
A Penny for Your Thoughts: Mariemont's U.S. Bank
For Shawn Heiderhoff, people living in Iowa are very similar to people living in Ohio.
“Only, there are just more of them here,” he said.
Heiderhoff, who grew up in western Iowa and graduated with a double-major from Iowa State, has been the Mariemont branch manager for U.S. Bank since December and he enjoys working with people.
Thus said, Cincinnati is a good fit for him because, well, there are more people to work with.
U.S. Bank has the oldest charter in the United States. Many people will recognize its erstwhile name, Star Bank, which it shed 10 years ago. The bank is now located in 24 states nationally.
“We offer a lot of services a bigger bank offers but with the feel, friendliness and service of a smaller bank,” Heiderhoff said.
Like most banks, the Mariemont branch offers a wide variety of financial services, ranging from savings and checking accounts to funds and bonds to personal and business loans. Being a small branch in a small community, though, U.S. Bank also enjoys doing business with many of the village businesses.
“We have many local businesses who have accounts with us. It is convenient for them and we enjoy helping them,” he said.
Located at 6940 Madisonville Road, adjacent to The Villager and across the street from the Best Western Mariemont inn, Heiderhoff said he wants the bank to become more community-oriented by possibly helping host some local activities and events.
“We are presently working to make some new and good changes. Right now we have a great staff who also enjoys serving the people ... but we would like to do more for the community,” such as holding business meetings for the locals, offering help with village events and bringing in speakers to discuss financial topics. “We want to get the ball moving on that.”
The Mariemont U.S. Bank is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday thru Thursday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call 272-5309.
Posted by johnston at 01:10 AM
April 28, 2005
New village business: Pilates Studio Training Coreters
Anna Burkett-Trabbi admits that several years ago she had bad posture, her stomach was weak and that she needed to do something to get into shape.
What Anna needed was to take a proactive approach to turning her life around and improving her fitness. She decided to start exercising utilizing the Pilates routine.
“I absolutely loved it. So, I decided to get certified,” Burkett-Trabbi said. She has been teaching Pilates for four years. She has also taught at the Pendleton Pilates and the Cincinnati Sports Mall.
Now she has taken her knowledge and fitness expertise to another level and opened a Pilates Studio called “Training Coreters” located on the second floor of The Strand in Mariemont.
“The program is amazing. It is something that has been around since the 1920s but only hit the mainstream until recently,” she said. “I have spoken to many people who were suffering from back problems who say they feel so much better now.”
Pilates focuses on an individual’s core muscles a.k.a. the abs, gluts and back, by working them through a series of stretching and flexing. Similar to yoga, there is much deep breathing incorporated with the exercise, which is conducted on a machine called a “reformer”.
“This will especially help people with back problems ... it will remedy those problems right away,” she said. “People with these back problems, aches and pains will feel rejuvenated when finished.”
According to Burkett-Trabbi, the abdominal muscles are the most important muscles in the human body. The abs are in direct connection with the back muscles and the hamstrings (muscles located at the back of the upper legs). The cause for many back problems is due to weak abdominal muscles and tight hamstrings; Pilates aims to strengthen those abs and stimulate for flexibility in the surrounding muscles.
Workouts are one-hour each session with a group. Prior to being included in group sessions, people must first take four private sessions to become acclimated to the machine.
Pilates Studio Coreters Training is now open but will be having an official grand-opening Friday, June 3, and is open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information on becoming a member, call 271-8500 or visit the studio at 6834 Wooster Pike.
Posted by johnston at 07:44 PM
April 24, 2005
Sign up today for Top Drawer opportunities
It will be a busy spring and summer at The Top Drawer, Mariemont’s needlepoint and canvassing store. For more information on each of the following needlepoint opportunities, visit the shop at 6880 Wooster Pike or call 271-1037. The store is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday thru Saturday.
June 6-30: A trunk show from The Artist Collection featuring designs by Heart Strings, Mile High Princess and Shear Creations. All the pieces have holiday themes, including witches, angels and Santas.
Heart Strings Curly Top Santa Class: National author and teachers SuZy Murphy will be at the shop to teach the class from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15. It will provide a great opportunity to use some of Murphy’s stitches that are featured in here books (“SuZy Small Stitches,” “SuZy Darn Stitches,” “SuZy’s SupriZe Stitches” and “SuZy’s Light Stitches”). Cost for the event is $120.
July 2-23: Painted Pony Designs Trunk Show will feature angels with charms, nativity and other holiday canvases.
Saturday, July 16: The Snowman Class. Learn how to use various stitches and threads to bring Santa to life on a canvas. Class size is limited. Cost for the class is $115.
Posted by johnston at 03:13 PM
April 21, 2005
Make time on May 7 for the Grand Strand
It’s time for Mariemont villagers to familiarize themselves with the various local organizations - and also time for those organizations to extend a handshake to the residents.
For the first time an organized “Grand Strand” event will take place within the village, where village organizations like the Girl Scouts, Kiwanis and Mariemont Area Chamber of Commerce will be setting up tables so visitors can meet active members, inquire what the organization does for the community and how to become a new member.
“The occasion offers an opportunity for the organizations to increase awareness of activities and goals, increase memberships, sell club related items and tickets, and create fund-raising items such as raffle or silent auction items, services, or Mother’s Day related gift items,” event coordinator Jane McDonald said.
The Grand Strand event will be from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday, May 7, located at the patio adjacent Starbucks and the Dilly Deli.
Numerous tables will be set up on the circumference of the patio. People will have the opportunity to walk to each table and peruse all the information and converse with the members.
“It is a great way for people to find out what exists in the village,” McDonald said.
Pool and tennis passes will be on sale. Since the event is the day before Mother’s Day, shopping, gifts, raffles and certificates will be available.
For example, the Mariemont Community Church Youth group will be seeking donations to fund a mission trip overseas; in turn, donators will be given a coupon whereupon the church youth group will literally come to their home and help plant annual flowers.
Fourteen organizations will be represented at the Grand Strand event: The Garden Club, Mariemont Preservation Foundation, Marielders, Mariemont Area Chamber of Commerce (who will also be representing numerous village businesses), Girl Scouts, Kiwanis, Winners Walk Tall, American Legion, The Mariemont Players, Daughters of the American Revolution, Masonic Lodge, and the Mariemont Community Church Youth.
The event is free and will take place rain or shine.
Posted by johnston at 01:07 PM
Choose Your Flavor at the Dilly Deli
The wine list ranges from Shafers, Leaping Lizard, Ty Caton and Toasted Herd to Bishop’s Peak, Iron Horse, Conundrum and Cha Cha. Throw in bottles of Barefoot, Erik’s, The Red Toad Hollow and Red Dirt Red and you have only begun to skim the surface of the vast array of wines available at the Dilly Deli.
A customer would have an easier time mapping the stars in the night sky than conducting an inventory on all the brands of beer also on sale.
So it is no coincidence that the Dilly Deli was named amongst the Top 50 beer bars in the country by BeerAdvocate.com, the only establishment in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana to be recognized.
But to call the Mariemont business a “bar” is a misnomer; it is actually an aggregate of a beer, wine, retail store and restaurant, catering to all people of all ages.
“The Dilly Deli is able to draw people to its uniqueness and garners us the recognition of having a good reputation with the customers,” Chuck Warinner, who along with his wife, Robbie, own the establishment, said.
Located 6818 Wooster Pike and adjacent the patio of The Strand, the Dilly Deli was among the first tenants to set up shop in the renovated building in 1996. Approximately 16 months ago Chuck and Robbie added the wine room which now has an ingress and egress facing Wooster Pike. It has been in business in Cincinnati for almost 20 years.
Asked what the best wine available at the Dilly Deli is, both owners shrug their shoulders.
“They all appeal to different people,” Chuck said, adding there many variables involved in a person’s opinion of a good wine and a finer wine. “Basically, it may depend on what type of day it is, the company you are with, the meal you are eating, the weather, your mood ... and so on.”
Ultimately, no matter how confident a person is on their cognizance of wine and its finer qualities, the learning process never ceases.
“We deal with over 20 wine and beer representatives a week. The education is continuous,” Robbie said.
“You can never say you know all there is to know about wine because it changes every year,” Chuck adds.
Like many people with a thirst for becoming a wine conneoisseur, Chuck and Robbie had to start from the beginning.
The two of them did not possess any prior knowledge of wine until they became business owners.
"We just had to start asking questions, studying, tasting, experimenting ..." Chuck said.
The two of them met in college and dated five years before marrying. Chuck was studying to become an engineer and wanted to pursue a career working with the river industry.
"The river industry was undergoing huge recession. I compare my situation to that of an aspiring actor living in Los Angeles," he said, "working in various restaurants just to pay the bills."
Working in restaurants was the foundation that would lead to a revised vocation.
"When this business went up for sale, the two of us decided to purchase," Chuck said. "I guess you can say we were embarked on a certain course."
DYK: The most expensive bottle of wine presently available at the Dilly Deli is regular-sized bottle of “100 Acre Cabernet” for $269.
Robbie said she and Chuck take pride in the fact that every bottle of wine sold at the Dilly Deli is marked up only $4 from its retail price.
DyalsoK: The absolutely most expensive bottle of wine you can purchase from the Dilly Deli is “Domain Romacee-Centi” for $3,300. That bottle of wine, however, is not located within the store; it must be ordered.
With the advent of Spring and Summer’s warm weather, the patio outside the Dilly Deli will be open Wednesday, April 27. There is also live music every Friday and Saturday, ranging from jazz to folk to Celtic and anywhere from solo performances to four-piece ensembles.
For more information on the Dilly Deli, visit their Web site at dillydeli.com or call 561-5233 for more details.
Posted by johnston at 12:38 AM
April 16, 2005
The key to artistry is in your Top Drawer
The ladies of The Top Drawer recently completed the needlepoint design work on four custom stools and two armchairs that now reside within the Governor’s house.
Hope Taft, wife of Gov. Bob Taft, brought the six pieces of furniture to the needlepoint store and wanted the ladies to pinpoint their creativity and artistic ability into the cushions. The Tafts are natives of Cincinnati and Hope wanted her friends at The Top Drawer to be the ones to tackle the arduous and meticulous work.
“We put a lot of Ohio symbolism into the furniture - lots of Ohio wildflowers and birds,” Top Drawer owner Sandy McKee said. “Hope Taft even came down and helped stitch the items.”
The project took several months to complete; one of the chair-back cushions required eight months of work.
The furniture is one of the most intriguing projects McKee said she and her employees have ever done.
“We even signed our names on the bottoms of the chairs, along with the date and year,” employee Denny Grawe said.
The Top Drawer, located 6880 Wooster Pike, specializes in exquisite hand-painted and needlepoint canvasses. The canvasses are then made into pillows, purses, ornaments and various other items.
Whether a novice or a maestro in the craft of needlepoint work, The Top Drawer offers classes for anyone who wants to learn ... or learn more. And it doesn’t matter where you live or how long it takes for you to get to the store - the ladies will teach you.
The Top Drawer has clientele that comes from Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis and other places that are miles and miles away.
Just last week a lady from Atlanta called the store to make sure it would be open this week because she was coming to Mariemont to purchase some needlepoint materials.
“One thing about our art is needlepointers seek out needlepoint shops,” McKee said. “Ours is one of the few needlepoint shops in the country.”
For more information regarding the store or when classes begin, call 271-6691 or visit www.topdrawer-needlepoint.com
The store is open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Posted by johnston at 04:43 PM
April 12, 2005
A trim and a shave, the old way
Here’s a variation of a common opening dialogue Ron Salzano hears standing behind the barber’s chair:
“Take a little off the top, and a little on the sides; give it a short trim, but not too short, though. Actually, I got it cut short about a month ago and I liked how it looked, so something like that.”
“Being a barber, I know how to explain what I want,” Salzano admits, “but many people have a hard time explaining how they want their hair cut. So, I have to create a picture from the customer’s words.”
And he has mastered the art of getting the picture close to perfect.
Salzano has owned the Mariemont Barber Shop, located at 6880 Wooster Pike, since 1980.
Understanding the nostalgic milieu of the American “barbershop” has been on a decline, particularly with the intervention and widespread acceptance of the beauty salon - not just by women but by men also - Salzano has catered to the changing of the times while maintaining the old-fashioned integrity of the trade.
“Men come in here and feel relaxed. A lot of men don’t go to salons because they feel intimidated,” he says.
The village locale is a full-service barbershop, not only offering hair cuts but also shaves, facials, good conversation, sports TV for the fan and cartoons for the child.
Salzano graduated high school in 1966 and he harbored absolutely no notion of cutting hair for a living. He and three buddies had decided they were going to join the navy.
His brother was a barber, though, and introduced Salzano to a teacher at Cincinnati Barber College.
“My brother talked me into talking to Mr. Green (the teacher) because more importantly I needed to get a job,” he said.
The two went out to lunch and discussed the possibilities of enrolling in school and learning the trade.
“I was not sure about going to barber school, but he told me I would be my own boss, be independent and make a lot of money,” he said. “Well, that sounded good to me.”
Since then Salzano has seen a multitudinous of hair styles come and go - and many come back into style - over the years.
He says the village has also undergone much change, too.
“When I first started working here, I would flip the closing sign, lock the door and there would be nothing to do. Now, the village has a lot of energy, a lot of vitality."
Besides being seen cutting hair in his barbershop, Salzano can also be seen in many a family’s photo album and home movies.
“Yeah, I have been in a lot of photographs, a lot of movies. Parents like to shoot photos or film their child getting their first haircut.
“We like to do first-time haircuts for people’s children,” he says, “and we are pretty good.
“We have a way of making fans out of the kids. We kind of become like their grandpa or uncle,” he laughs.
Alongside Salzano is Brian Peters, who has worked at the shop for eight years.
The most bizarre haircut Salzano has given was to a young woman who had long blond hair. She requested he shave half her head, leaving the hair on the other half of her head at length.
“The youngest person I have ever given a haircut was three-week old baby” he says.
Haircuts and shaves cost $13.50 each. There is the “businessman’s special”, which includes a wash, haircut and scalp massage for $16. The cleansing facial package is also $13.50.
To make an appointment, call 271-7676.
Posted by johnston at 02:47 AM
April 07, 2005
Through the Camera Eye of Robert Flischel
During the early 1980s Robert Flischel received a phone call from TIME magazine asking him to take some photographs of a 100-year old woman who just completed a novel that had taken her 50 years to write.
The woman was only allowing one press conference - in Xenia, Ohio - so there wouldn’t be a second opportunity. Flischel was contemplating whether or not he wanted to accept the job since it was so spontaneous.
“If you are a photographer, then you to do photography,” Flischel said, “you just have to keep plugging away.”
So he made the trip. The piece ran in TIME magazine and was subsequently picked up by LIFE magazine. LIFE added Flischel’s photos to its “Pictures of the Year” edition.
He said that particular shoot resulted in one of the most intriguing he has ever done.
That, and the time he had the opportunity to photograph boxing middle-weight world champion Aaron Prior. He was given five minutes to get whatever photos he needed - with the champ’s bodyguard aiming a gun at him and holding back a Doberman Pincer.
Flischel said it was then he learned the valued ability of shooting photographs fast and capturing the moment.
Flischel is the proprietor of Robert Flischel Photography, located at 6820 Wooster Pike in Mariemont on the second story of The Strand.
He was the second tenant to locate to the new building shortly after it was renovated nearly 10 years ago.
Flischel had been operating his studio on 6th Street in downtown Cincinnati.
“My wife and I would drive out (to Mariemont) a lot and I would see workers working on The Strand. There were these cows out front (sculpted pieces of work) and I thought ‘This would be a great place to relocate, an ideal place for me’.”
“And it has turned out that way.”
The interior of his studio is a vivid, vibrant introspective and retrospective look of Greater Cincinnati, his walls inundated with a myriad of photos ranging from architectural structures, parks, neighborhoods and faces of people which devise “... the fragile fabric of history” that gives the city its character.
He has published several books, including “Perspectives Cincinnati: The Towers Perrin Collection”, “Then and Now: Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky”, “New Bremen”, “An Expression of the Community: Cincinnati Public Schools Legacy of Art”, and “Cincinnati Illuminated: A Photographic Journey”.
Award-winning documentary film writer and director Ken Burns called “An Expression of the Community” “... right on target and just the kind of thing our distracted, diverse cities need.”
Flischel has been photographing since 1971 and bought his first camera from Barry Lefton of Provident Camera. It was a Mamiya Sekor DTL 500 on sale for $129.95. He persuaded his brother Leo to help load the film and went to photograph the Tyler Davidson Fountain, which at the time was celebrating its 100th birthday.
Prior to becoming a photographer, Flischel was doing social work. He didn’t want to pursue a career in social work any further and decided he would purchase a camera.
“I got a government grant to document other artists who were also receiving government grants. Thirty-two years later, two stops on my photographic journey remain constant ... Fountain Square and Provident Camera,” he said.
Flischel graduated from Xavier University in 1971. He studied photography under Kazik Pazovski and credits his “clean, direct style” to Pazovski’s influence.
For more information on Robert Flischel, call 271-3113 or e-mail rafphoto@fuse.net
To view some of his work, visit RobertFlischel.com
Posted by johnston at 01:26 AM
April 06, 2005
Heileman & Company the jewel of Mariemont
Heileman has been a familiar and long-standing Cincinnati name in jewelry since 1899.
So when the Wanstrath family purchased the business several years ago, they knew they were buying a respected name synonymous with quality that has served Cincinnati residents for a many years.
“We have many villagers who say they had ancestors who shopped at Heileman’s and recognize the name,” Rachel Wanstrath, manager of the Heileman & Company jewelry store located at 6804 Wooster Pike in Mariemont, said.
The store opened next to Starbucks and the Dilly Deli last November. It is one of three stores located in Cincinnati; the other two are in Harper’s Point and the Montgomery Square Shopping Center.
“We really enjoy being here in Mariemont. A lot of our customers live in the area, such as Indian Hill and Terrace Park, so it helps them because they don’t have to travel as far now,” Wanstrath said.
Heileman deals with mostly with “estate” jewelry, which is older jewelry, predominantly art-deco, that was previously owned. Heileman’s own jewelers refurbish the vintage rings, brooches, necklaces, cuff-links, watches and other items, thus maintaining their historic integrity while ensuring their longevity for future owners.
Wanstrath said her family takes pride in knowing their prices are not as flamboyant as other jewelry stores. The company is able to keep their prices lower because all the jewelry work is done in-house.
“And we have people who do all the work; we cut out the middleman,” she said.
All repairs and refurbishing is conducted at the Harper’s Point locale, alleviating costs that would normally be contracted to another entity. The company also makes their own jewelry and can duplicate pieces of jewelry if customers have a photo.
“And anyone who wants to stop in the store and have their jewelry cleaned and checked ... it is free,” she said.
On Mother’s Day, Saturday, May 7, Heileman will be having a sale. For more information, call the store at 561-3310.
Posted by johnston at 11:29 PM
April 03, 2005
Saddle up for the Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is the first Saturday in May and Carlson Wagonlit Travel is offering Champion Sports Tours packages for anyone wanting to see the "Run for the Roses" and enjoy the weekend.
Standard Packages include for $1,625.00 per person:
- Four days and three nights at the Hilton Garden Inn
- Round-trip airport transfers
- Thursday night welcome reception with food and beverage
- Friday night cocktail reception with light snacks
- Hot American Breakfast buffet each morning
- General admission grandstand tickets for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby (sections 125-128). Ticket upgrades available
- Churchill Downs transfers (Friday and Saturday)
- Ticket lanyard
- Special Kentucky Derby gift package
- Professional trip director
- Daily racing form and program
- Hotel taxes
Ticket option upgrades include:
Grandstand
1st floor - sections 122-126 at $150 per ticket
2nd floor - sections 223-225 at $300 per ticket and sections 323-325 for $500 per ticket
Clubhouse
3rd floor - sections 312-313 at $1,300 per ticket; sections 314, 315 and 319 at $1,700 per ticket and sections 316-318 at $1,900 per ticket
Carlson Wagonlit is located 6800 Wooster Pike in Mariemont. For more information, call 272-2887.
Posted by johnston at 05:37 PM
Mother's Day; prom packages by Eva's Esthetica
Two important dates are looming just around the corner.
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 8. And there is prom for all the area high schools - each school district with its own respective date.
Whether it be your mother or your prom date, Eva’s Esthetica is offering glamourous gift packages for women.
Located at 6824 Wooster Pike in Mariemont, on the second floor of The Strand, patrons may purchase gift certificates at the day spa for a number of Mother’s Day and prom packages.
There are four Mother’s Day packages:
#1 - A 30-minute facial, a 15-minute scalp treatment and a 15-minute reflexology massage for $80
#2 - A one-hour facial and a one-hour hand-and-foot massage plus a paraffline treatment for $140
#3 - A one-hour mini-pedicure and mini-facial for $65
#4 - A one-and-a-half hour mini-massage, mini-facial and manicure for $90
Prom packages include:
#1 - A manicure and mini-pedicure for $60
#2 - A manicure and makeup for $60
For the Mother’s Day packages, an extra $10 for each package will include a catered lunch from the Dilly Deli.
Eva’s Esthetica offers a myriad of facials and skin treatments, make-up, waxing, spa therapy treatments and massages. For more information on the packages and other offerings by the day spa, call 527-4770.
The day spa is open Tuesday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Thursday 9 p.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.; it is closed Sunday and Monday.
Posted by johnston at 05:32 PM