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Sustainable Connections creates identity
Sustainable Connections recently introduced its new brand identity and logo. Local firm and Sustainable Connections member Shew Design worked with the organization to develop a logo that more accurately represented Sustainable Connections today. The logo is meant to emphasize connections and the three-pronged nature of the organization: the focus on local economy, local environment and local community.
Programs developed by Sustainable Connections include the Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local campaign, Sustainable Design for environmentally friendly building, Food to Bank On!, the sustainable practices program, the Entrepreneurship and a Local Living Economy conference and many more.

Bellingham team wins Green Apple design award
A design team including Bellingham electrical engineer Celt Shira, Seattle architect Aninditra Mitra and Seattle structural engineer Aaron Piambico recently received an award from the city of New York for their submission to the Greening NYC design contest.
Of the 65 entries, the team received an honorable mention out of five first place winners and five honorable mentions for their design to renovate a 1960s era high-rise glass office tower.

Financial consultants move to Bellingham office
The Hemingson Hemingson Investment Group of Piper Jaffray has united with the Piper Jaffray & Co.’s Bellingham office. The group, which was previously located in the Lynden office of Piper Jaffray, has worked as a financial advising firm in Whatcom County for the last 22 years.

Donette Studio building wins awards
The Donette Studio building on Hannegan Road in Bellingham won a design award from Star Building Systems at the 2003 national sales convention in Savanna, Ga.
The project designed and built by Faber Brothers Construction also recently won an honorable mention in the Metal Building category in Metal Construction Association’s 2004 design awards competition. The 15,000 square foot steel construction building is home to Donette Photo Studios and three other lease tenants.

Design finalists announced for new Bellingham museum
A national competition for a new building for Bellingham’s new art and children’s museum was officially launched last month.
Selecting from a field of nearly 50 firms, the finalist for the project include: Arthur Erickson and Associates and Nick Milkovich Architects from Vancouver, B.C., Cambridge Seven Associates from Cambridge, Mass., and Donnally Architects, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects and Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture from Seattle.
After each team presents their vision for the design of the museum, a competition jury comprised of museum architects, urban designers, exhibit designers, landscape architects and representatives from the museum, district and community will recommend a winning scheme to the city of Bellingham.

Binary Recording Studio celebrates 15 years
Binary Recording Studio, established in 1989, has provided recording services for commercial businesses and local musicians for the last 15 years.
The studio offers audio recording, audio/video editing, sound effects and voice over, DVD authoring and on-location recording.
Recently, Binary did audio work on the feature film “Beat Angel” by Bellingham director Randy Allred, which was awarded the 2004 Special Prize of the Festival at this year’s 18th Annual Wine County Films in Napa.

Local entrepreneurs open kitchen store
The upstairs space vacated by Fairhaven’s Village Books will soon house Pacific Chef, Tools for the Serious Cook, a kitchen store featuring everything from unique and functional kitchen gadgets and appliances to dining decor.
“We’ve got Emil Henry French bakeware, Dean & Deluca spices, De Meyer 7-ply stainless steel cookware and the Oprah recommended Lamsen knives,” said Vicki Rogers, co-owner of the store.
Bellingham entrepreneurs Vicki Rogers, owner of the Inside Passage and Halibut Henry’s, and Ray Dunn, founder of The Colophon Café, are co-founding what they describe as their dream kitchen store.
In addition, the store will house wines from around the world, a fusion of Asian, French and American cookware and tabletop for the eclectic Northwest household.
The partners plan to add a cooking school in the first phase of expansion.

Jelita Arts opens in Bay Street Village
Offering unique gifts to Whatcom County, Jelita Arts opened in downtown Bellingham’s Bay Street Village last month.
“We offer distinctive gifts from around the world,” owner Julia Clauset said.
Clauset’s art nouveau-inspired designs are featured on jackets, vests, porcelain, tiles and glass she’s hand painted, a skill she’s been refining for the last 10 years.

Computer business moves to Fairhaven
Whatcomputers, a three-year-old business offering computer sales and repairs, has moved to Sycamore Square in Fairhaven. Warren Levine owns it.
The computer sales and repair business specializes in building custom-made computers to meet the needs of both home users and small companies.

Ceramics studio opens in Sunset Square
Paint, Glaze & Fire, a paint-it-yourself ceramics studio, opened in early October in Bellingham’s Sunset Square. The studio offers people of all ages an affordable entertainment option that results in gifts, keepsakes or dinnerware, said owners Greg and Merrian Thames.
“We want this to be a place where you can take your children and make things together,” Greg said.
Paint, Glaze & Fire offers more than 200 different ceramic pieces, such as plates, goblets, bowls, animals and pet dishes.

Regence offers saving accounts
Regence Blue Shield has teamed with Wells Fargo to offer health savings accounts. The accounts are paired with a high deductible, major medical in insurance plan to create a new way to pay for medical services. The savings plans are tax-deductible and interest earning and balances can be rolled over from year to year. Funds can be used to cover deductibles, copayments and other medical expenses. Account holders can eventually investigate investment and retirement planning options with the running balance in their accounts.
Visit http://www.wa.regence.com for more information.

Gift shop opens in Fairhaven
Embroidery Stylist is a new Fairhaven business offering personalized teddy bears and clothing for children from birth to age four. Maria Port, the owner of the enterprise, makes the bears from scratch and can embroider special accents as requested by customers.
Port has three years’ experience as a professional embroiderer. She also ran a day care center in Alaska for 20 years.

Walker’s opens third store
Walker’s Healthy Pet, with a Bellingham location in Barkley Village, has opened a third location in Smokey Point. The new store is in the Safeway complex. Walker’s Healthy Pet sells pet food made with human grade ingredients, nutritional consultations and other pet supplies.

Unemployment down sharply in state
Unemployment fell sharply in Washington State in September. The rate stood at 5.6 percent, down from 6.2 percent. The drop was the biggest month-to-month drop since 1978.
“After hovering at or above six percent since March of 2001, Washington’s September unemplopyment rate is now just two-tenths of a percentage point above the national rate,” said Sylvia P. Mundy, employment security commissioner.
In Bellingham, which includes all of Whatcom County, September unemployment stood at 4.7 percent, down from 5.2 percent in August. However, Bellingham also saw a steep drop in the labor force, or the number of people looking for a job. The August stood at just over 92,000, while the September figure was just under 89,000. Such a drop in the labor force can influence unemployment rates without saying anything significant about the economy.

Sustainable Connections creates identity Sustainable Connections recently introduced its new brand identity and logo. Local firm and Sustainable Connections member Shew Design worked with the organization to develop a logo that more accurately represented Sustainable Connections today. The logo is meant to emphasize connections and the three-pronged nature of the organization: the focus on local economy, local environment and local community. Programs developed by Sustainable Connections include the Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local campaign, Sustainable Design for environmentally friendly building, Food to Bank On!, the sustainable practices program, the Entrepreneurship and a Local Living Economy conference and many more. Bellingham team wins Green Apple design award A design team including Bellingham electrical engineer Celt Shira, Seattle architect Aninditra Mitra and Seattle structural engineer Aaron Piambico recently received an award from the city of New York for their submission to the Greening NYC design contest. Of the 65 entries, the team received an honorable mention out of five first place winners and five honorable mentions for their design to renovate a 1960s era high-rise glass office tower. Financial consultants move to Bellingham office The Hemingson Hemingson Investment Group of Piper Jaffray has united with the Piper Jaffray & Co.’s Bellingham office. The group, which was previously located in the Lynden office of Piper Jaffray, has worked as a financial advising firm in Whatcom County for the last 22 years. Donette Studio building wins awards The Donette Studio building on Hannegan Road in Bellingham won a design award from Star Building Systems at the 2003 national sales convention in Savanna, Ga. The project designed and built by Faber Brothers Construction also recently won an honorable mention in the Metal Building category in Metal Construction Association’s 2004 design awards competition. The 15,000 square foot steel construction building is home to Donette Photo Studios and three other lease tenants. Design finalists announced for new Bellingham museum A national competition for a new building for Bellingham’s new art and children’s museum was officially launched last month. Selecting from a field of nearly 50 firms, the finalist for the project include: Arthur Erickson and Associates and Nick Milkovich Architects from Vancouver, B.C., Cambridge Seven Associates from Cambridge, Mass., and Donnally Architects, Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects and Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture from Seattle. After each team presents their vision for the design of the museum, a competition jury comprised of museum architects, urban designers, exhibit designers, landscape architects and representatives from the museum, district and community will recommend a winning scheme to the city of Bellingham. Binary Recording Studio celebrates 15 years Binary Recording Studio, established in 1989, has provided recording services for commercial businesses and local musicians for the last 15 years. The studio offers audio recording, audio/video editing, sound effects and voice over, DVD authoring and on-location recording. Recently, Binary did audio work on the feature film “Beat Angel” by Bellingham director Randy Allred, which was awarded the 2004 Special Prize of the Festival at this year’s 18th Annual Wine County Films in Napa. Local entrepreneurs open kitchen store The upstairs space vacated by Fairhaven’s Village Books will soon house Pacific Chef, Tools for the Serious Cook, a kitchen store featuring everything from unique and functional kitchen gadgets and appliances to dining decor. “We’ve got Emil Henry French bakeware, Dean & Deluca spices, De Meyer 7-ply stainless steel cookware and the Oprah recommended Lamsen knives,” said Vicki Rogers, co-owner of the store. Bellingham entrepreneurs Vicki Rogers, owner of the Inside Passage and Halibut Henry’s, and Ray Dunn, founder of The Colophon Café, are co-founding what they describe as their dream kitchen store. In addition, the store will house wines from around the world, a fusion of Asian, French and American cookware and tabletop for the eclectic Northwest household. The partners plan to add a cooking school in the first phase of expansion. Jelita Arts opens in Bay Street Village Offering unique gifts to Whatcom County, Jelita Arts opened in downtown Bellingham’s Bay Street Village last month. “We offer distinctive gifts from around the world,” owner Julia Clauset said. Clauset’s art nouveau-inspired designs are featured on jackets, vests, porcelain, tiles and glass she’s hand painted, a skill she’s been refining for the last 10 years. Computer business moves to Fairhaven Whatcomputers, a three-year-old business offering computer sales and repairs, has moved to Sycamore Square in Fairhaven. Warren Levine owns it. The computer sales and repair business specializes in building custom-made computers to meet the needs of both home users and small companies. Ceramics studio opens in Sunset Square Paint, Glaze & Fire, a paint-it-yourself ceramics studio, opened in early October in Bellingham’s Sunset Square. The studio offers people of all ages an affordable entertainment option that results in gifts, keepsakes or dinnerware, said owners Greg and Merrian Thames. “We want this to be a place where you can take your children and make things together,” Greg said. Paint, Glaze & Fire offers more than 200 different ceramic pieces, such as plates, goblets, bowls, animals and pet dishes. Regence offers saving accounts Regence Blue Shield has teamed with Wells Fargo to offer health savings accounts. The accounts are paired with a high deductible, major medical in insurance plan to create a new way to pay for medical services. The savings plans are tax-deductible and interest earning and balances can be rolled over from year to year. Funds can be used to cover deductibles, copayments and other medical expenses. Account holders can eventually investigate investment and retirement planning options with the running balance in their accounts. Visit http://www.wa.regence.com for more information. Gift shop opens in Fairhaven Embroidery Stylist is a new Fairhaven business offering personalized teddy bears and clothing for children from birth to age four. Maria Port, the owner of the enterprise, makes the bears from scratch and can embroider special accents as requested by customers. Port has three years’ experience as a professional embroiderer. She also ran a day care center in Alaska for 20 years. Walker’s opens third store Walker’s Healthy Pet, with a Bellingham location in Barkley Village, has opened a third location in Smokey Point. The new store is in the Safeway complex. Walker’s Healthy Pet sells pet food made with human grade ingredients, nutritional consultations and other pet supplies. Unemployment down sharply in state Unemployment fell sharply in Washington State in September. The rate stood at 5.6 percent, down from 6.2 percent. The drop was the biggest month-to-month drop since 1978. “After hovering at or above six percent since March of 2001, Washington’s September unemplopyment rate is now just two-tenths of a percentage point above the national rate,” said Sylvia P. Mundy, employment security commissioner. In Bellingham, which includes all of Whatcom County, September unemployment stood at 4.7 percent, down from 5.2 percent in August. However, Bellingham also saw a steep drop in the labor force, or the number of people looking for a job. The August stood at just over 92,000, while the September figure was just under 89,000. Such a drop in the labor force can influence unemployment rates without saying anything significant about the economy.
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