FASHION FOR GOOD: Umano, a locally based brand co-founded by brothers Jonathan and Alex Torrey in 2011, recently competed against nine other finalists in Nashville’s startup competition Pandoland. The brothers had five minutes to pitch their company’s concept to a panel of venture capitalists and earned a tremendous $100,000 top prize after negotiating live on stage. Though their products are currently sold through umano.com, Bloomingdale’s and other select specialty retailers nationwide, the company has relied solely on personal investments by the founders, family and friends to operate up until this point. In addition to scoring at Pandoland, umano also recently closed out a successful Kickstarter campaign, exceeding its original goal with over $30,000 pledged.
Inspired by the raw confidence of children’s imaginative doodles, the brothers launched umano in order to transform basic T-shirts into walking canvases depicting children’s works of art. Their collection emphasizes a simple aesthetic and understated confidence, combining playful designs with their ultra-soft, signature “omobono” fabric. With every product purchased, umano donates a backpack full of school supplies as part of its “fashion for good” mantra. Currently, the company has partnerships with schools in Georgia, New York, California, Mexico, Peru and Haiti.
RESULTS ARE IN: Here’s hoping you took a break from watching bands on the main stage of AthFest to peruse the festival’s open-air artist market, where 70 or so regional artists lined up to sell everything from paintings, photography, clothing, jewelry, ceramics, woodworking and more. Though the market has much more of a collaborative than a competitive spirit among artists, a panel of jurors honor a handful of vendors with cash awards each year.
A $500 “Best in Show” award was given to mixed media artist John Fesken, and painter Justin Vowell received $250 for second place. Honorable mention awards of $100 were given to Jelly Co. for “Best Booth,” Will Eskridge for “Best Visual,” J. Vaz Pottery for “Best Handcrafted,” Gypsy Raku for “Best Accessory” and Ecomaniac Sustainable Jewelry for “Best Jewelry.”
PUBLIC ART: The Athens Cultural Affairs Commission recently announced the names of four local nonprofit arts organizations that will each receive a $1,200 Merit Award for Excellence in Public Arts. After reviewing a pool of 65 arts-based groups that call Athens-Clarke County home, the ACAC made the decision based on the recipients’ commitment to providing enriching experiences, educational programs and scholarships to new audiences within the community.
The Athens Folk Music and Dance Society will use its award towards its Hoot variety shows, contra dances, annual North Georgia Folk Festival and musical outreach to senior and assisted living facilities. The grants will assist the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art in funding visual art exhibitions and educational workshops, as well Canopy Studio in providing scholarships and public aerial arts classes. The Young Designers Sewing Program will use its award to purchase materials for young women to design one-of-a-kind garments.
The Merit Awards for Excellence in Public Arts are a new effort to increase the commission’s visibility, and it is hoped that they will motivate other arts-related nonprofits to emphasize their community outreach activities. The ACAC intends to make the awards an annual program, with the number and amount of awards dependent on the funding available at the end of the county’s fiscal year.
SO MANY MARKETS: Indie South Fair and The Broad Collective are combining forces to present a new monthly series of markets, the Indie South Fair Pop-Up. Every third Sunday of the month from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. beginning on Sunday, July 19, 20 or so local artists, makers and craftsmen will gather at BROAD 9A, located in the Chase Street Warehouses at 160 Tracy St. The market will include music curated by a DJ and a jump house for kids, and vendors will be different each month to ensure that there’s always something new to find. The partnership is symbiotic; artists without a brick and mortar storefront get a weatherproof venue to interact directly with their customers, and The Broad Collective receives visitors who will likely be very interested in the organization’s other services and events. Email indiesouthfair@gmail.com to participate as a vendor.
Indie South will also present its little-sister market, the Eclectic Bazaar, at Creature Comforts on Saturday, Aug. 15, and again in Little Five Points in Atlanta on Saturday, Sept. 26. While still offering art and handcrafted items, the Eclectic Bazaar’s main distinction from other pop-up markets is its focus on vintage clothing, collectibles, records and antiques.
Back to Cool, Indie South’s annual outdoor mini-fest, is slated for Saturday, Sept. 12 from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. at the 660 N. Chase St. lot, and vendors can still apply online through Monday, July 13. Applications for the Holiday Hooray—the grand slam winter artist market on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6, also on Chase Street—will go online Monday, Aug. 17 with special early bird rates available during the first two weeks. Visit indiesouthfair.com for applications.
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