The Creative Industries Cluster aka “Parliament” (the group that brings you Pecha Kucha Night Charleston), has been discussing the importance of an economic impact study and strategy for the Charleston region to quantify and justify the creative economy as an economic driver, as well as provide strategies and infrastructure to secure the successful future for all eight categories in the cluster: Performing and Visual Arts, Preservation and Restoration, Cultural Heritage, Architecture and Urban Design, Culinary Arts, Literary Arts and Publishing and Film & Video Arts.

To fund this study, the organization needs to raise $15,000 by June 26 to apply it towards a matching grant program that has a deadline at the end of June. As of June 15, they have raised $11,500. 

Their goal is to get 350 people to donate $10 by June 26. Donations are tax exempt minus any goods or services received. Click here to reach the donation page.

Next Generation Consulting (NGC) has announced its “Next Cities” rankings, and Charleston has been named #2 for Mighty Micros (100,000 – 200,000 population). The “Next Cities” index lists the best places to live and work for young professionals  in three population categories.

NGC has studied the residential and relocation patterns of 20-40 years olds since 1998, and has developed a one-of-a-kind indexing system that evaluates a city based on the assets that are important to next gen workers. According to NGC, the seven indexes of a “Next City” are:  Earning, Learning, Vitality, Around Town, After Hours, Cost of Lifestyle, and Social Capital. 

NEXT CITIES RANKED BY POPULATION
Mighty Micros – Next Cities with Population of 100,000-200,000

1.  Fort Collins, Colorado
2.  Charleston, South Carolina
3.  Eugene, Oregon
4.  Cedar Rapids, Iowa
5.  Springfield, Illinois
6.  Cary, North Carolina
7.  Ann Arbor, Michigan
8.  Sioux Falls, South Dakota
9.  Pueblo, Colorado
10.  Gainesville, Florida
11.  Stamford, Connecticut
12.  Des Moines, Iowa
13.  Spokane, Washington
14.  Syracuse, New York
15.  Huntsville, Alabama
16.  Peoria, Illinois
17.  Springfield, Missouri
18.  Salt Lake City, Utah
19.  Richmond, Virginia
20.  Hampton, Virginia

View the entire list of “Next Cities” here.

According to the Pop-Up Shop Charleston Facebook page, “pop-ups are the epitome of our high-speed, short-attention-span culture. They are restaurants, bars, clubs and shop that spring up in unexpected locations, cause a storm, and disappear just before the fashion crowd moves on to the next big thing.”

Do you cherish the days of record stores? Do you have fond memories of Millenium Music? Want to know the story about how Millenium came to be and evolved into FeedYourPlayer.com, and later AbundaTrade? Check out the June issue of Inc. Magazine to read the story of two Charleston businessmen adapting to the times. 

For 15 years Kent Wagner and business partner, Clayton Woodson, owned Millennium Music on the corner of King and Calhoun Streets. With the music industry going digitel, Millennium was faced with declining sales and launched a new venture called FeedYourPlayer.com in 2006, which offered customers the option to trade used CDs for iPods. FeedYourPlayer was a hit, and Wagner decided that his business would be more successful online. After closing the brick-and-mortar store in 2008, Wagner and Woodson launced AbundaTrade, which allows customers to exchange CDs for electronics like TVs, iPods and camcorders. 

Visit the AbundaTrade website to learn more.

Just a quick note to say how inspiring it was Monday to watch community leaders meet under one roof to help establish a framework for the region’s future. I’m talking elected officials, developers, conservationists and business executives… more than 150 participated in Charleston’s Reality Check, which was put on by the Urban Land Institute.

The goal of the game was to use legos to plot growth in the tri-county area, focusing on infrastructure, population/household growth, commute times and affordable housing. So many of the participants with their own formulated opinions, yet by the end of the day all were committed to core values:

“the desire to maintain green space; the need for sustainable communities where people can work, live and play without long commutes; the demand for a public transportation system like a light rail to connect outlying areas to Charleston; and the high-priority need to redevelop blighted urban areas and establish affordable housing.”

Charleston is in good hands… and if these leaders hold up to even a small portion of their commitment to the cause, Charleston will only continue to thrive and prosper.

Has anyone ever heard of ’super trees’? I didn’t until recently. Apparently they are “trees that have been genetically engineered to grow faster, produce more wood on less land, thrive in unfamiliar climates and be processed more easily into wood or paper once they are cut down.”

The company behind this science is ArborGen, a biotechnology company in the Lowcountry that plans to grow super trees in local factories. They are hoping to improve the genetic makeup of trees grown for paper, wood or biofuels and conserve the world’s rainforests (which loses a 100,000 acres a day).

Yet another cool company in our area spearheading some leading-edge technology and engineering!

And, from what I understand, the idea is to have robots run these factories one day. Check out recent articles on the company at PopSci.com & Fortune.

Catching a flick anytime soon? Be sure to add Transformers to your list of “must sees”. Ladson-based Force Protection debuted its Buffalo Mine Protected Clearance Vehicle (MPCV) in the summer thriller as a Decepticon named Bonecrusher. Inspired by the design and reputation of the Buffalo as the most advanced mine resistant vehicle in the world, Bonecrusher is a force to be reckoned with.

Force Protection is one of several companies in the Charleston area focused on advanced security, one of the region’s five target industry clusters.

Yesterday one of the largest planes I’ve ever seen in my life soared right over my head while I traveled to work after lunch. I’m still not sure exactly what it was, but it definitely appeared to be some type of cargo carrier. The excitement of the moment made my mind wander… how cool is it that innovators in our own backyards are producing some of the most leading-edge technology for the aerospace industry!

When I got back to work I learned that Vought Aircraft Industries in North Charleston completed their first composite section for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Boeing already has 550 orders for the Dreamliner, making it ‘one of the most successful launches of a new commercial aircraft in history.’

How awesome will it be one day to look up and see the Dreamliner in action… and a lot of it will be credited to the hundreds of ‘dreamers’ right here in the Lowcountry. Knowing that they are out there helping to build world-class planes makes me think about how I could reach my full potential in Charleston!

Today I really am inspired to do more!