This weeks blog is by Barb Ebright, COO of Mukha Spa & Mukha Essentials

Ahhh… the Short North!  I’m not even sure where to begin.  I suppose I should start with the fact that it’s not so much the VIEW outside my window but the EXPERIENCE outside my window that I love most about working in the Short North, especially this time of year.

Having always lived in the “burbs”, coming to work everyday in the Short North is such an exciting experience on every level.  The interesting architecture, the amazing art seen everywhere you turn, the outstanding food and drink options right at my fingertips, and everything in-between.  When leaving work, there are few evenings that I walk to my car not thinking about how much I’d like to trade-in my suburban home and lifestyle for a far more interesting way of life in the Short North.  Who knows, maybe some day!

Then there’s working with the amazing talents of Tim Maurer and Sanito Mendoza, owners of Mukha.  It has been a great privilege to work with them the past three years on product development, staff development, and everything in between.   Finding personal beauty is an art, and it’s so exciting to be a part of this very special art form right here in the heart of the Short North.

First class experience… that’s what I see both inside and outside the windows of Mukha.  The people, more than any other aspect of the Short North, are the most rewarding part of the area.  Where else can you greet everyone on the streets - from the business owners to the casual strollers - and feel like you are REALLY part of something special?  Not many places can boast this characteristic.

As a very wise woman once told me many years ago, there is a season for everything.  This is such an exciting season for the Short North, for so many reasons.  I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it all!

Our guest blogger for this week is Lisa Craig Morton, owner of the Victorian Village Guest House

As I sit in the kitchen of my Neil Avenue home and look out on my sun-drenched garden, I am in awe of the wonders brought forth by spring’s rain showers, warm days and cool nights. The garden is exploding with greenery and pops of color. Birds are chirping and chattering in the canopy of hundred year old trees over the yard. This beautiful morning started with tending the garden – planting some new perennials, pinching the spent blooms off yesterday’s flowers, checking the progress of my herbs and tomatoes and seeing what has popped open since yesterday’s assessment! Today I discover that the first hydrangea is blooming and the first tomatoes are starting to take shape on the vine. The peonies (my favorite flower) are starting to fade, the rains of the last few days hastening their decline. In front of the house, the hum of traffic and passers-by up and down Neil Avenue is ever present. But the back yard is like a sanctuary, all lush and green, private and secluded. When people come to stay at our guest house, they are always surprised to find such an oasis in the middle of the city.

Growing up in Columbus, I always wanted to live on Neil Avenue. I was drawn to the interesting architecture, the history of the street and the possibility to be an agent for change in an area that had seen better days. Moving to Victorian Village six years ago was a dream come true as well as a transformational journey. I fell in love all over again with the Short North, an area I had frequented for many years, but was now getting to know on a whole new level. The diversity of the neighborhood and the surrounding businesses were the inspiration I needed to start a business of my own.

There is a sense of community here in the Short North. Having spent most of my life in suburbia and the trenches of Corporate America, I soon realized that the pace was a little different here, the players a little more quirky, the creative energy much more out in the open! It made me want to get involved and share this story with others, both here in central Ohio and those farther beyond. Creating Victorian Village Guest House has allowed me to support the Short North’s growing tourism business and has given me a way to let others “sample” what life could be like here in this walkable, wonderful collection of neighborhoods. It also gave me a new career and a livelihood when my banking job was eliminated in the recession. Standing at the back porch door and looking over the garden, I almost have to pinch myself when I realize that this is now my job!

This is the first guest commentary here at the Short North Blog.  Maria Galloway, owner of pm gallery and current president of the board of the SNBA is kicking us off!

Spring in the Short North

Prop the door open and catch the breeze, the aromas wafting from the restaurants and the roar of motorcycles.  At the corner of Buttles and North High it seems as though everyone is eating Jeni’s ice cream.  A sure sign of spring is the new seasonal flavors like Meyer Lemon Blueberry and Rhubarb Rose’.

Spring fashions adorn the windows at Rowe (in their new expanded space), Ladybird and a bit farther up the street - Undone, Voodoo Denim and Jinny.  The al fresco dining is in full swing with crowds at Union, Haiku, and La Fogata.

I love walking home in the evening this time of year. The lilacs fill the alley with their heady perfume. The daffodils in the park make me smile. The planter beds on High Street are newly planted with petunias, sweet potato vine and grasses. They have a ways to go to fill in, but I enjoy the formal spacing of the freshly planted. In a couple of months they will be lush and full and wild.

This is the time of year when anticipation of the year’s festivals begins. The June Gallery Hop almost always coincides with the downtown Arts Festival. Then in quick succession we have Comfest, the Gay Pride Parade, the DooDah Parade and the July Gallery Hop! Plus weddings in the park, graduations, and fashion photographers using the neighborhood as a backdrop. After the long winter is it so wonderful to see color and bustling activity return to the street.

This is wedding season at pm gallery. We get the anti-registry people. The people who want to get a memorable gift, not just plate #7 out of a 48 piece set. And it must work, because after 30 wedding seasons, we have only had one return. Funny thing is we have a gift registry, too. It is a What You See Is What You Get registry, since we have so many one of a kind items. I photograph the items and put them on our website. It is great for out-of-towners.

The slide into summer has begun. The air conditioner will be on soon and the noise of the street will be muted as we close the door against the heat. The colors will deepen and the days will lengthen. Buttles Avenue is my sundial.  The sun will be setting at the end of the street and the light and heat will fill the gallery. I am in no hurry for that to happen. Spring here, in the Short North, is full of change, evolution and fun. I am enjoying that.