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I hope everyone enjoyed seeing the Olympics this
past month. It is so inspiring to see the athletes
compete and hear their stories. It inspires me to get
out and do more skiing. We've still got a full month of
skiing to go and I'm looking forward to more great
days out in the sunshine and snow (or fog). Will you
join me?
| Artist Spotlight - Mark and John Bakula |
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Wooden-Images is a partnership of two brothers,
Mark and John Bakula. They have been doing their
woodwork for more than 26 years, and their work is in
200+ galleries across the country. This year, John and
Mark took on an apprentice, John's son, Aaron Bakula
to help with production. Wooden-Images is located in
the heart of the Rockies in Missoula Montana.
Each piece the Bakulas create has its own distinctive
look. By combining a wide variety of woods and
carefully finishing them, each piece becomes a one of
a kind work of art. They make cutting boards, cribbage
boards and beautiful wooden earrings.
Mark and John pride themselves on meticulous
craftsmanship and attention to detail, and feel it
shows in the beauty and durability of each piece they
make. There are no computers doing any of the work,
just 3 guys and some power tools.
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| Carin's Corner - Form Follows Function |
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I was in a conversation this week about the relevance
of design concepts. One
of the most important for me is form follows function.
Whether you are trying to decide on a type of flooring,
the furniture arrangement in your living room or
designing a new kitchen the decisions and planning
are easier if you think first about the function.
For instance, ask yourself how you use your living
room. Do you entertain? Do you like to sit around the
fireplace? Do you read at night? How many people
use the room on a daily basis? Do children do their
homework here? Is there are TV in the room? Do you
need one seating area or several? By determining the
function, the form unfolds naturally. Once you answer
all these questions the room arrangement begins to
take shape. You know what sorts of lighting you need,
what kind of tables and their heights, how many
people will need to sit in the room and where they
need to sit. By concentrating on the function of your
living room you rule out options and ideas that arent
relevant and the planning process is greatly
simplified. Next time you need to make a design
decision remember that form follows function.
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| Joke of the Month |
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En route to Hawaii, the flight attendant noticed one of
his passengers in the coach section of the airplane
dialing her cell phone. "Excuse me. That can't be on
during the flight," he reminded her. "Besides, we're
over the oceanyou won't get a signal out here."
"That's okay," she said. "I'm just calling my daughter.
She's sitting up in first class."
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Ruth's Ramblings |
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Spring is on the way and this spring, the city of
Whitefish will be reconstructing Central Avenue
between Third and Second Streets. That is our block
and so access to our store and parking may seem a
bit limited. In the first phase of the process, the
construction company did an excellent job in
maintaining access to all the businesses on Third
Street. Also,
Nelson Hardware is graciously offering their back
door as an access point to Central Ave. Therefore, you
can park in the parking lot on the corner of Third and
Central, walk up the alley and go in Nelson's back
door, through their store and out on to Central to
access any of the stores on Central. Construction will
begin on April 5th and continue through early June.
We will be open throughout that time and hope that
you won't be deterred from shopping downtown due to
the construction. We appreciate your continued
support and hope that you'll still shop with us during
the construction phase. I will keep you updated about
construction progress through this newsletter.
The downtown merchants are planning a block party
for Thursday, April 1st to "kick off" the construction. I
don't know the details yet but I'm sure the information
will be coming out soon in the newspaper. If you have
any questions or concerns during the construction
phase, please e-mail or give me a call. I'll be happy to
answer your questions and if I don't know the answer,
I'll make sure to find out what you need/want to know.
The Big Mountain Commercial Association is starting
a brand new event this year. The Winter Brewfest is
being held March 6th from 1:00 to 5:00 pm in the
village of Whitefish Mountain Resort. We've had the
summer Brewfest for years and due to it's success
and support from the Montana breweries, we're
expanding to the winter as well. Tickets are only $15 in
advance and $20 at the door. You receive a
commemorative glass and 10 tokens for beer
tasting. There will be two bands so come join in the
party. The mountain is holding their dummy derby later
the same afternoon so it will be a great combination of
events on the mountain you shouldn't miss. Call 406-
862-3501 for tickets.
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