Buffalo Rising Online

Christa Glennie Seychew

CityMade is a corporation that is all about Buffalo. What started out a few years ago as a prosperous, moderately sized purveyor of Buffalo-themed gift baskets has blossomed into a full-scale distribution center located in one of Buffalo's industrial parks.

The beautifully packaged Buffalo-themed baskets are still flying out the door. Not only are they available for purchase on their easy-to-use website, they are also distributed in all of Wegmans WNY stores. The yummy contents include our much loved Anchor Bar wing sauce, PJ's Loganberry drink, Weber's mustard, as well as many others. Among the many other things they offer are items like art, music, books, apparel, UB care packages and products featuring the Bu…

Anna Miller

Another business displaced as a result of the proposed hotel at Elmwood and Forest has found a happy new home ,Aei this time on the happening Hertel Avenue. Six Nations Native-American Gift Shop has settled into a fitting new storefront near Commonwealth, creating a refreshing neighborhood strip filled with cultural shops of all kinds. The area is a great destination if you're a shopper looking for an original, quality item you can't find in the busier shopping districts.

Six Nations embraces Native American culture by selling all native crafts, many handmade by Indians throughout Buffalo and its surrounding regions. The shop has a beautiful display of real turquoise jewelry and beadwork, and a very impressive collection of carved a…

queenseyes

Living in Buffalo my entire life I am sorry to say that I have never owned a New Era cap. Today I knew that I would be making a purchase to remember the grand opening of the New Era Buffalo flagship store. My date and I spent a good hour and a half looking through the entire collection of hats. We went from section to section checking out all of the colors and styles before settling on two that we liked. First off we needed a pink Sabres' cap and we weren't sure if we were going to find one. Not only did we find one, we found a bunch of different styles including the new logo and the old-school logo. She chose to go old-school, so we snagged that first and headed off to find one for me.

My selection was a bit more difficult. I was replac…

Anna Miller

The first weekend of December is your chance to delve into the inner world of arts in Buffalo. As part of the sixth annual Artists in Buffalo Holiday Open Studios and Galleries, more than 100 artists and galleries, mostly found throughout Elmwood Village, are opening their doors to the public in an effort to share the work with people near and far. People are invited to see the spaces where art is created, meet the artists, and purchase the art on display.

This special weekend offers the rare opportunity to enter into the artists' studios and homes, and to meet and talk with the creative individuals who live and work in our community. From potters to jewelers, painters to glass blowers, the best artists i…

Anna Miller

The next time you're driving down Hertel, be sure to make a stop at Alladdin Markets, a paradise of middle eastern food, clothing and gifts. The first thing you'll notice, though, looking through the large front windows, is the huge number of hookahs on display. For an item not easily found around the city, the owners have definitely tackled the market. They've got hookahs in an endless array of colors and styles, to fit the personalities of the extremely varied customer base. Think your hookah could use some fish floating in the chamber? They've got it. Want to make it portable, built into a carrying case? Got it. Like the antique look? They've got some old ones too. The hookahs are so varied in make and design - to appeal to both the novice and…

Anna Miller

In a South Buffalo warehouse, sparks flying, I watched as an ordinary strip of metal was transformed into a delicate, curved leaf. As the artist worked instinctually and with precision, it was evident how many times he'd performed this same action - the creation becoming an extension of his own body.

In the 21st Century, Andrew Chambers Jr. has perfected a trade that is often associated more with horse and buggies than home design. He is Buffalo's own blacksmith. And his work proves that even in today's world of instant gratification, there is still room for art - created from long hours, meticulous design, and incessant passion.

Charlie Quill

It looks like Buffalo repat Kathleen Gaffney (center) won't be leaving town any time soon.

Gaffney, formerly Studio Arena Theatre's artistic director, has been named chief executive officer of the organization. The appointment returns Studio Arena, one of the nation's leading regional theatres, to its original management model, with a single visionary as its leader.

Gaffney, a Niagara Falls native, went to work at Studio Arena in April 2006 after returning to Buffalo after many years away (as reported in Buffalo Rising), at the time replacing Gavin Cameron-Webb as artistic director.

queenseyes

How cool is it to be able to walk into a retail shop and surf the world-wide web from the business's front counter? It makes a big difference when smaller stores don't have the ability to carry full lines of products. And if those products come in different sizes and colors, it is often times up to the sales person to describe the options (clearly). Flipping through paper catalogues can be completely frustrating, and even if the right item is identified the ordering process can be very time consuming.

That's why 'room' has built a computer into their showroom. It alleviates the need for needless verbal descriptions that can be tough to relay to customers. And if a customer has seen a certain website that they are excited about, the owners of…