Dallas, TX | A Dallas artist is selling his work out of a vending machine at Good Records: A Dallas artist is selling his work out of a vending machine. Multimedia artist Matthew Brinston has an upcoming solo exhibit in Austin and a residency in France, but he started the year by purchasing a vending machine online. “It’s just an off-the-cuff idea that caught on,” he says. “It’s a nontraditional way to sell art and make it more accessible. Some people get intimidated by the gallery scenario.” Brinston filled the “Vending Vessel” with his prints and small paintings — as well as packs of gum — and put it at a Bishop Arts clothing store. Pleasantly surprised by the response after a few weeks, he recently moved the machine to Good Records. Now that the Greenville Ave. record store is relocating after closing its doors on Sunday, Brinston says he plans to move his vending machine to Dibs on Victory, the Victory Park bar and restaurant opening soon.
Kingston, ON | ‘What keeps me here are the stories.’ Brian Lipsin is busy at work readying his store for its grand reopening. After being closed for seven months, Lipsin is ready to throw open the doors of the record store and receive customers for the first time in 2019 this coming Saturday. Brian’s Record Option was closed unexpectedly in August 2018 after a flood damaged the store, located in the Hub are on Princess Street, and destroyed some of his inventory. The cleanup and rebuild have been tedious, but the work is paying off — the store will be ready in time for Saturday. The flood last year not only halted Lipsin’s business, it also catalyzed an outpouring of love and support from the Kingston community and beyond. Benefit concerts, online crowdfunding campaigns, donations of records, and hundreds of messages of encouragement have gobsmacked Lipsin in the more than half a year his doors have been closed. “People have been good all through this, not just August and September,” he said. “As I said to people, ‘How do I thank you guys? I don’t expect all this.’ Everyone says, ‘Open.’
Charlottesville, VA | Oh, dear! Where to put 40,000 vinyl records when we move? Most of us might wonder where to put our pots, pans and dishes when we move into a new home, but the folks at WTJU 91.1 FM face a unique problem as they move into their new digs between now and March 23. Where do they put their priceless collection of tens of thousands of vinyl records? “We’re up to our eyeballs building shelves for our 40,000 vinyl albums,” said General Manager Nathan Moore of WTJU, the University of Virginia’s public radio station. Amid the shelf-building, Moore found time to construct his own Scandinavian-style desk. “We’re a DIY group,” he said with a laugh. “We have a handful of paid staffers, but the station could not exist without its hundreds of volunteers, including 170 UVA students.”
North Shuswap, BC | Beloved vinyl record collection stolen: Owners would like cherished records taken with trailer returned, no questions asked. The thief or thieves of a trailer from Lee Creek in the North Shuswap stole cherished musical memories of the owners, most likely without knowing or caring. Jim Carter reports that a nine-foot, 2001 grey Pace Maker cargo trailer was stolen sometime between the late evening of Thursday, March 7 and Saturday morning, March 9. Inside it were items with sentimental value: 700 to 1,000 vinyl records. He inherited some, he says, while others were from people getting rid of records who would just say, ‘take them all.’ The clincher, Jim says, is that there were some old 78 RPM records, “probably nothing anybody would want.” His spouse Andrea explains Jim has been an avid collector and lover of music for many years.
Pueblo, CO | Solar Roast spreads wings; expansion into Colorado Springs next up: Solar Roast Coffee co-founder Mike Hartkop jokes that his original vision for the company’s restaurants was perfect — right up to the moment the first customers walked into the first coffee shop. “The first day customers showed up they had a completely different idea for what they wanted to use the space for. So the space we’ve created now is more with the customer in mind. … It’s more of a vision of what the community demands and requires from the space. I never would have made any money if it had been exactly what I wanted,” he says…The main counter is long and stocked end to end and top to bottom with a wide selection of packaged coffees and other drinks and gift items. Just like with the original coffee house, a large supply of new and used vinyl record albums are available for purchase.
