Searching out and creating- Small Town Cool – Hillsboro, IL
So, admittedly I am not good at buying presents… Some people are super good at it. I have a friend that rented out an entire outdoor theatre for a date with his wife. He is good at gifts. NOT me. But I want to get better! I love my wife, and I love it when […]
Read More Christmas shopping terror? -We can help!- Local shop’s “staff picks”.A few years ago my wife Kristen and I bought the building next door to us to keep it from caving in and inheriting a pile of rubble. It was an overwhelming project to say the least, but we could see some potential, and we loved the tin ceiling, the brick, and the shape of […]
Read More From Hell Hole to Hip hangout!- A Hillsboro reno and new life for a building at the end of it’s rope.We’ve all seen them. The big silver 70’s Delorean of the camper world. A few of us have thought, “Hey we should get one of those and fix it up.” Some have chased a lead or two down, and even fewer have made the plunge. Early in the year a friend of ours asked me […]
Read More A Small Town Airstream “Renovation Adventure”Ever since my family has been around the Hillsboro area, the Eisentraut Theatre has been a big part of the vibrancy of downtown. Day and night people are coming through, enjoying themselves and talking with everybody that’s working the counter. (There’s usually a few off the clock still hanging around too.) It’s been quite a […]
Read More DREAM THEATRE- The Orpheum gets a throwback-style renovation.Here’s a fast motion video of Isaac Reynolds and I painting his mural on a back street in Hillsboro over two nights-
Read More “THE BIRDS”-Gunning Street Mural-Isaac ReynoldsI got a call a few months ago from John and Kendra Wright. If you don’t know about them yet, they are the brave and energetic souls who bought the Red Rooster Hotel here in Hillsboro last year. John had recently retired from Apple (yes, that one). Kendra and he had toyed around with the […]
Read More The Red Rooster Gets a Face-lift!For friends, family, and Hillsboro natives near and far here are a few shots from our opening weekend at Hillsboro’s new record store (and soon recording studio!) -photography by Matt Sands. It was really rewarding to have people coming in asking for all kinds of different music, telling stories, drinking coffee, and enjoying themselves together. […]
Read More Opening Weekend at The Gold Pan Records & Recording in Hillsboro!The beginning. This is really my favorite part of these old building renovations, the part where the building starts to tell you what to do… So despite the insane cold the last few weeks we’ve got a bit of gutting, cleaning, and searching for architectural details to save. A very long road ahead but some […]
Read More Digging for tin- 1st update on big blue!Woot Woot! Kristen and I decided to go for this crazy project in December this year. I hope you are all as excited as us to see some big changes on this old place. Gulp… Merry Christmas Kristen! Here we go again!
Read More Before! ( A new adventure for 2018!)