by Nicole Sankowski | Sep 1, 2019 | Blog
By Kelly Pollock, feature writer for the Buzz Cafe
After eighteen months at 11 Harrison Street in the Oak Park Arts District, Stacy Fifer is expanding L’Institut français d’Oak Park with an additional classroom just two doors down at number 17. Her French language school for adult and mature teen learners offers beginning and intermediate conversation and grammar classes as well as classes in French culture and literature. There are three ten-week sessions each academic year (fall, winter, and spring) and shorter review sessions in the summer. Classes meet once a week for one hour with day and evening options available.
Stacy first studied French in high school but didn’t decide to make it her life’s work until she was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois and realized that teaching French at the college level was a viable career path. “My love of French and my passion for social justice and human rights came together and that’s how I became a Sub-Saharan African Francophone literature specialist.”
After earning her Ph.D., Stacy taught for fifteen years at different universities. Her most recent position was at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but the uncertainly that came with being a non-tenure-track professor was too stressful. “I loved teaching and it was really the only thing that I wanted to do so I had to figure out how to make my own language school work.”
Stacy offered her first class three years ago and enrolled just two students. Since then she has relocated twice and now enrolls over 100 students each session. Stacy is quick to offer praise for those people who helped her launch her business, especially her landlords Karen and Peter Morava of Careful Peach Boutique. “They took classes with me and have done a lot to support me. I really look up to them as business owners.”
Stacy loves the energy of the Arts District and the opportunities it gives her students for shopping, eating, and socializing. “I like that my students have all these places to go when they leave class. And I think that my being here is good for the Arts District because L’Institut is bringing 100 people to the area each week. It’s great for all of us.”
When Stacy started L’Institut, she based the classes on the format of a university language department, but she has had to adapt the curriculum to accommodate busy adults. “I figured out pretty early on that people can only come for an hour a week. What people really want to be able to do is to communicate. So that’s what we focus on in class.”
Completing the seven classes that L’Institut offers in Beginning French Conversation is the equivalent of taking 1-1½ years of college-level French. “I’ve been able to add classes every session to grow my offerings with my students. This fall will be the first time that I will finish a beginning level textbook by teaching French VII to people who started with me in French I.”
Some of Stacy’s favorite classroom experiences have been the ones with multigenerational students. “Two years ago, my seventh-grade daughter and two of her friends started taking classes with me. That class also had a woman who was 75 years old and several professional adults. It was so much fun.” According to Stacy, studies have shown that learning a language can ward off dementia as people age. “So it’s never too late to start and it’s good for your brain,” she says.
In addition to classes, L’Institut offers a weekly Conversation Café on Thursday evenings at Léa in Downtown Oak Park. “I love the community that has developed at Conversation Café. Students attend but there are also people who come who are already French speakers. People have dinner or dessert or just a glass of wine. It’s a nice atmosphere.” There is a $5 drop-in fee or a punch card good for ten visits is available for $30.
The fall session at L’Institut runs from September 16 to November 23. An open house on September 10 from 5pm-8pm is a chance for the public to meet the instructors and see the classroom space. “There will be wine and cheese and a chance to win 20% off tuition,” says Stacy.
For more information about L’Institut français d’Oak Park, contact Stacy Fifer at [email protected].
by Nicole Sankowski | Aug 28, 2019 | Blog
by Nicole Sankowski | Aug 5, 2019 | Blog
By Kelly Pollock, feature writer for Buzz Cafe
Growing up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Chad Keast loved percussion and considered studying music performance in college but didn’t think he had the required discipline. Instead, after studying accounting at a technical college, he decided to go to hair school. Chad went on to work for the largest chain of Aveda Concept Salons and then to train all over the world learning different methods of haircutting. In 2011, he began working for the founder of Aveda, Horst Rechelbacher, in his second start-up company Intelligent Nutrients which was the first hair care line to receive USDA organic certification. It was a transformative experience and one that continues to influence him.
“Horst was the greatest mentor that I have ever had in my life. He taught me that sharing with other people helps you to figure out who you want to be. I learned to be open to possibilities to better myself and in turn to better the people around me. As a result, I feel like I’m in a constant process of self-development.”
It was this openness to possibility that prompted Chad and his partner Casey Gustafson to relocate to Oak Park in February for Casey’s job. As Chad stated, “After twenty years in Minneapolis, it was a little like being pushed out of the nest. But there is nothing more liberating than picking up and moving to a new city.” They were immediately taken with the community, and six months later, they continue to love the ease of living just a few blocks from Downtown Oak Park and the Green Line. “I can walk to Sugar Beet, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Target, and I can get anywhere in Chicago in 45 minutes.”
Unable to find a salon in the area that felt like a good fit, and despite never having been a business owner and not yet having a clientele, Chad decided to take the leap and open his own salon. He is in the midst of transforming the storefront at 31 Harrison Street from Kathy Reller Designs to Chad Keast Hair. “I love the energy of the space, and the Oak Park Arts District is a great fit for me. I was a member of different arts organizations in the Twin Cities, and I’ve always been inspired by art, sculpture, and photography.”
Chad is passionate about being “the cleanest salon space in existence” and uses all organic products from three different lines—Intelligent Nutrients, Organic Chemistry, and Innersense Organic Beauty. “I try to find the best thing possible and disclose all the ingredients,” says Chad. He would eventually like to add makeup and an apothecary that would enable him to custom blend essential oils.
Another way Chad is reducing his salon’s waste footprint is his association with Green Circle Salons which is a company that enables the beauty industry to repurpose or recycle everything used in their businesses. If something can’t be recycled locally, then it is sent to them and disposed of responsibility; even cut hair is made into oil spill pillows.
Education is another of Chad’s passions. He has a curious mind and is a lifelong learner and is also a teacher. Chad believes, “Teaching is the ultimate form of being a student because when you share information with other people it reinforces your own knowledge.” While Chad often teaches other stylists, he also wants to be a resource for the community. He plans to hold workshops and be an advocate for using cleaner beauty products. “Wellness is so important. I want to make it fun and accessible.”
Chad’s clients are like his family, and after twenty years in Minneapolis he couldn’t just walk away. To accommodate these long-term relationships, Chad plans to spend one week out of every five in Minneapolis. His calendar is set through the end of 2020. “Customer service is my number one thing. My goal is to take care of people and to provide them with a special and exceptional experience. I want every client to feel like they’re my only client.”
Chad Keast Hair will typically be open Tuesday through Saturday. Contact Chad directly for an appointment at 612-209-6146 or [email protected].
chadkeast.com
by Nicole Sankowski | Jul 8, 2019 | Arts Camps, Blog
by Kelly Pollock, feature writer Buzz Cafe
Gigi Hudson discovered her passion for acting in college and has been teaching theatre for almost thirty years. This year, she is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of The Actors Garden which originally launched out of space shared with Musikgarten on Harrison Street which was generously offered by Amy Pappageorge. Four years ago, she moved to her current location at 909 S. Lombard Avenue in the Oak Park Arts District. Gigi chose the name of her business partly to pay homage to Musikgarten but mostly because her philosophy is that, “It’s about the process not about the product.” As Gigi states, “It’s not my goal to produce Broadway actors but to develop audience members who understand what it takes to put a production together. It’s about planting the seeds of interest.”
While The Actors Garden offers classes and workshops throughout the year for both adults and children, it is the summer camp that really helps to lay that foundation. A unique aspect of the program is that the productions are original works by Gigi’s husband, Dave Hudson, who is an award-winning musical writer. When she started working with children, Gigi produced the “junior” versions of Broadway musicals. But she was frustrated that she couldn’t find shows that “didn’t talk down to kids.” And she wanted to “spread the wealth on stage” rather than focusing on just a few lead roles. Dave was already writing for adults and offered to have a go at writing for children.
Now thanks to their collaboration, The Actors Garden summer camp rotates through seven different musicals that have been written by Dave and are customized to Gigi’s needs. “The seven-year rotation is perfect for us because our campers range in age from 8-15 so that’s the typical length of time that they spend in our program.” And each child has an opportunity to speak, to sing, and to dance. “They all have a moment in the spotlight,” says Gigi.
The summer camp is a huge undertaking with a staff of thirty made up of counselors and professional guest artists. Although The Actors Garden studio is on Lombard, the camp takes place at Dominican University. Seventy-five campers register for each of the two sessions. Camp runs Monday through Friday from 9-3 for four weeks and is followed by a weekend of six performances. Each production is triple-cast so that each camper performs twice over the weekend.
Camp sessions involve much more than staging and rehearsing the show. Camp is run like “middle school” with campers rotating between activities every forty minutes. Many activities are theme-based around the current production. This year’s show – “Off to Olympus!” – is a story about Greek gods and goddesses so one activity is a “purpose workshop” with River Forest resident Susan Lucci who is helping the campers to discover what makes them powerful.
For younger children, The Actors Garden started offering a mini camp last year that runs in the mornings for two weeks. Designed for campers ages 4-7, the mini camp runs in “blocks” like the regular camp, and the eight campers put on a short performance for family and friends in the Lombard studio on the final day. This year’s production is “Super Summer: Superhero Squad!” and there are a few openings left in the second session that begins on July 29.
Gigi says that she has “the greatest job in the world” and parents are equally enthusiastic about her and The Actors Garden. “Gigi puts the young people first and the theater second. Our daughter has grown into a confident young person willing to risk a little to achieve something even bigger,” says Stephan Benzkofer whose daughter Audrey is a current camper.
Lacey Sikora, whose daughter has “aged out” of camp but is hoping to return as a counselor, says, “After seven summers, my husband and I agree that enrolling Kiki in Gigi’s camp was the single best thing that we have ever done for our daughter. Gigi and her counselors provided something that can be so rare in programming for kids: they see the whole child and help each child grow and be the best that they can be.”
This summer’s performances of “Off to Olympus!” will be the weekends of July 12-14 and August 16-18 at the Dominican University Performing Arts Center. For more information about The Actors Garden, visit their website at www.theactorsgarden.com.
by Nicole Sankowski | Jun 3, 2019 | Blog
By Kelly Pollock, feature writer for the Buzz Cafe
Early in his career, Rene Medina worked as an internal auditor at the headquarters of Allstate Insurance Company in Northbrook. He became familiar with their agencies, and his interest in the insurance industry was piqued. More than twenty years have passed, but Rene has now realized his longtime dream of being self-employed as the owner of Renmar Insurance Agency at 235 Harrison Street in the Oak Park Arts District.
Rene is a CPA with a Masters in Taxation from DePaul University but after almost 30 years working in accounting and finance, he was ready to own his own business and wanted to change careers. When a former co-worker posted on social media that she had recently opened an Allstate agency, Rene’s interest in insurance resurfaced. He asked his friend to “tell me more” and she connected him with an Allstate recruiter. After clearing the initial hurdles of interviews and assessments, Rene passed his insurance licensing exams in Property & Casualty and Life & Health.
Working in insurance offers Rene “good income potential and the opportunity to help a broad spectrum of people.” As he stated, “Customer service is my strength, and insurance is all about helping families to protect their walls, wheels, and wealth.” As an exclusive agent for Allstate, Rene has the full backing of a recognizable brand that is one of the largest insurance providers in the United States. Like all independent contractor agency owners, Rene is provided with marketing and training along with commissions and bonuses for the policies he sells.
Born in Mexico and raised in Chicago, Rene moved to Oak Park seventeen years ago. He and his wife Maria live on the northwest side of town with their young daughters, Ana and Emily. “I wanted to live in a central location with easy access to my family in the city. And Oak Park’s diversity was a huge selling point.” So when Rene needed to find office space for his new business, choosing to open in the Arts District was an easy decision. “People tend to think of Lake Street as Oak Park’s commercial district, but I like the vibrancy of Harrison Street.” Luckily, the space was already built out as an office and only needed “a coat of paint and a sign.”
Since leaving his full-time job at the end of March, it’s been a whirlwind. In addition to getting the office into shape, Rene completed several weeks of Allstate training and hired a staff of licensed sales producers – Dennis Zims, John Cantero, and Lisa Pompa Adams – who all came on board in mid-May. The agency started binding coverage on June 1 and can write policies anywhere within Illinois. They are a bilingual office in English and Spanish.
“We might not be the cheapest insurance,” Rene acknowledged, “But we’re not the most expensive either. We stand behind our product. It’s all about customer service.”
Renmar Insurance Agency is open Monday through Friday from 9-5. The office phone number is 708-622-0800. Rene Medina’s email address is [email protected].
