Searching out and creating- Small Town Cool – Hillsboro, IL
By Brian Lee We live in a very small town. I believe that in order to grow in a small place you need to set challenges for yourself in order to grow as a person. This year I’ve challenged myself in a particular way. my Furniture fight- As a job I do two things; I […]
Read More Furniture fight-Challenging myself to grow in a small townA sticker on a new door in the small town of Hillsboro, IL reads the open hours. Simple and cute, the sticker is one of the last details of a journey Dylan Richter and his wife Katie Homa have taken to open their fun new candy shop “the Sweet Spot”. Nine years ago Dylan joined […]
Read More Candy surprise!-A very sweet candy spot opens in Hillsboro, ilJanuary 2018, almost 5 years ago, my wife Kristen and I bought this abandoned building in Hillsboro, IL. I’m not sure I could have imagined the amount of work it would take to get here, between loans, stress, dirt, dumpsters of debris, lots of hard work, donations of building materials and help from lots of […]
Read More A little bit of big city in small town Hillsboro, IL.The old back room recording space in Gold Pan records is getting a new pop-up shop opening tomorrow! Ever since the recording studio moved out earlier this year the guys at Gold Pan Records have been trying to figure out a cool way to use the back tracking room. Jamie Sarsany, who runs The Refinery […]
Read More Surprise POP-UP-by The Refinery vintage!There are so many projects going on downtown Hillsboro this year! Although these photos are from before the pandemic, I thought it would be a great reminder of all the stuff getting done and all the positive energy we’ve got in this special place. This was a work day on the old Greasies building. Here […]
Read More Work days!-Shots from a group effort last year.Finishing something. Such a rare and good feeling! While I’m technically only 3/4 done with “Big Green” (our overwhelming, exciting, and marathon-long renovation project in the small town of Hillsboro, IL) it feels incredible to be done with one of the upstairs apartments this month. I love pictures for what they give us on a […]
Read More “Big Green” hits a renovation milestone!-and I get a little sappy…It’s Alive 2. The wolf is back! While cruising Hillsboro, IL, “cool wolf” finds the magical keys to the city. He has one day to do what he wants inside any door he wants to open.. Produced and filmed by Brian Lee and Matt Sands for Small Town Cool and The Gold Pan records. Music […]
Read More It’s Alive 2!This may be a very confusing post if you don’t read it! Ha Ha. -This week I asked a few downtown buddies if they had any plywood scraps to spare, and they did. As I’m using them up, these (see photo) worked out to look like little frames for one of the pop-up shops from […]
Read More #Usingupscraps!Credits- Produced by Small Town Cool and The Gold Pan, Music-The Young Eyes, recorded, mixed and mastered at “the chapel”, by Ryan Paul Young“ Written and directed by- Brian Lee Story by Brian Lee, Matt Sand and Eric Adrian Lee Title and T-shirt design by Eric Adrian Lee Thanks- Jeff Eisentraut- for the Carmen Ghia. […]
Read More It’s Alive!-A Werewolf in Hillsboro.It was at age 12 that Jenna Holtshulte first visited “Giggles”, a mom and pop gift shop in Decatur, IL. It was the first time she realized that a person could actually run a small, personalized store as a profession. The quirky, creative shop was a spark that helped Jenna (and husband Alex) start the […]
Read More New Kids on the Block-Blackboard Mercantile’s new- school gift shop
Small Town Cool. 