October 2015 Create | NorthBay biz
NorthBay biz

October 2015 Create

  • Norman Rosinski

    • Painted Cellars

     
    When Erika Pigg-Noriega moved to Chico after growing up in Southern California, she was struck with the realization that there was little to do (if you’re not a partying college student, that is). She wanted a fun and relaxing way to connect with friends, and couldn’t find an outlet that suited her style. So she hosted a paint party in her backyard, pairing wine with good company, blank canvases and a bit of creativity.
     
    Soon, she was organizing similar events for friends—then clients. In 2013, Painted Cellars was born. The concept has since expanded to six locations throughout California, including Sonoma County. Events take place at various venues, including restaurants, wineries and galleries.
     
    “Upon arrival, our guests are greeted with a glass of wine,” says Elisa Beiter, executive administrator. “We have paint stations set up with everything they’ll need, and an artist leads the group through the process. It’s a really fun way to socialize and try a new hobby.”
     
    To keep the party intimate, attendance is capped at about 30 people, but with an average of six events per month, there’s always an opportunity to get your friends together for a night out. Beiter says it’s become popular as a date night option, but also “we see a lot of high-end professionals and busy moms, who want to relax and socialize in a fun environment.”
     
    This month, you can find Painted Cellars at Kin (October 10), La Rosa (19 and 26) and Chevy’s (15 and 29).
     
     
     

    Music Makers

     
    Working with ukuleles has been Mike Upton’s passion ever since his father introduced the instrument to him as a child. Growing up, his father would play a variety of musical styles, but he turned to the small, guitar-like instrument most often. Upton turned the familiarity into a career in 2005 when he established Kala Brand Music Company in Petaluma.
     
    “’Kala’ has many meanings, but what stood out to me was the historical component: It’s a prayer for peace and forgiveness,” says Upton. “It was used as the fighting Hawaiian Islands came to a truce.” The meaning is intertwined with Upton’s work philosophy­—happy customers with peaceful minds.
     
    In 2007, Upton had a chance to create a new kind of instrument, the U-BASS. After meeting Owen Holt (who originally came up with the concept of the bass ukulele), Upton created the U-BASS and worked with Holt to build the instruments affordably and spread the word in the ukulele community. The U-BASS is a short-scale, 21-inch bass that produces the same pitches as a standard bass.
     
    The company’s small warehouse home in Petaluma has expanded rapidly. Now, Kala builds 120-plus different ukulele, guitar and bass variations and sells close to 50,000 instruments per month internationally.
     
     
     
     

    Coding Is the New Literacy

     
    In 2013, Mill Valley resident Doug Tarr began teaching some of his fourth-grade son’s friends to code using Scratch and Javascript. Eight weeks later, all 12 of them wanted to keep going—and many other families who’d heard about the program wanted to join. The 12 kids quickly turned into 40, at which point Tarr rented a space in downtown Mill Valley. The program quickly grew from there to hundreds of kids, in both Mill Valley and Greenbrae locations. And so was born the MV Code Club.
     
    “There are so many kids who love tech, games and robotics,” writes Tarr on his website. “These kids tended to work at home with headphones on, away from their friends. We wanted to create a physical space for those kids who love coding and technology and wanted to be around other kids like themselves.”
     
    MV Code Club encourages collaboration and sharing information. Instructors individually track each student, offering help and advice as needed. Some sessions are girls-only, because “It’s really important for girls to see coding and technology as part of their identity at a young age.”
     
     

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