African couture
San Luis Obispo now has some Ethiopian flair in its wardrobe of downtown boutiques. The newly opened storefront at 1065 Higuera St. is the first retail location for Vancouver, Wash.-based Konjo Ababa, which designs and imports high-end, fair-trade handbags from Ethiopia. Owner and founder Thomas Meister is a former fashion model and photographer who went Read More →
Business of culture
It’s been open for just over a year, and already Live Culture in Santa Barbara has its eye set on the national stage. Owner-operators Darin Fiechter, Sierra Falso and Rebecca Klarich opened the chic eatery, wine bar and music venue in the Paso Nuevo mall last March. Now they say they’re ready to take the Read More →
When thinking small pays off
Even with the real estate market in the slumps, one small Santa Barbara construction company is holding its own by focusing on small projects larger firms won’t touch. Projects by Giffin & Crane is a women-run construction business and a division of Giffin & Crane General Contractors, a firm locally renowned for building many of Read More →
Impact Radius scores $6M
A Santa Barbara firm has just garnered a $6 million investment to see if it can shake up the broadcast, radio and print advertising world the same way its leaders shook up the online advertising world. Impact Radius has rolled out a new online platform for advertisers and media firms to buy and sell performance-based Read More →
Pizzeria goes online to save itself
Lou Torres isn’t on Facebook, but as of Jan. 13 he had 6,116 supporters of his failing restaurant on the social networking site. Torres owns Deano’s Pizzarama in Santa Barbara, a 50-year-old landmark heading for closure in the face of an ugly economy and tough competition. He owes his landlord two months in back rent Read More →
Getting better with time
Walking into the Liquor and Wine Grotto in Montecito is like stepping into a mom-and-pop store one would expect to find in Italy. The store has stone floors, vine-covered walls and racks stocked with wines and liquors of every age, origin and price. The front entrance itself resembles a large, wooden wine barrel and lights Read More →
Tech firms get a boost from small business
The economic slump has many small businesses scrambling to cut costs, but as a direct result one group of businesses is getting a boost: information technology firms. As small businesses look for ways to streamline their budgets, tri-county IT firms are seeing a wave of new clients — if they offer the right products and Read More →
