Cynosure: “an object that serves as a focal point of attention or admiration.” The curious term, which sounds like it might only be spoken when pulled from the depths of dictionary, came to Kitchener’s maker scene through exactly that process. Cynosure Jewelry Design Studio found their name when Juan Bohorquez, who co-owns the company with Shannon Kennedy, flipped through the pages of the old Merriam-Webster.

Hanging laundry to dry, leaving the car at home once a week, eating more local food, or making a rain garden are examples of simple actions residents can take to be more climate friendly. This year’s artist in residence is inspiring citizens to document their commitment to the environment by making a personal mosaic.

“I do it because I can, and because I have hope,” says Cathy Farwell, visual artist and the driving force behind Art$Pay, a non-profit that educates artists and citizens alike on the value of creative work. We chatted with Farwell to get a sense of how Art$Pay came to be, and the kind of impact it’s having in Kitchener.

For this installation of the Make it Kitchener blog, we posed some questions to Nik Harron, an Irish born, Kitchener-committed painter and interactive artist. While many have encountered Harron’s art through the festival scene, the community-minded motivations behind his work aren’t always on display.

“There are so many entrepreneurs in this city – pioneers and trailblazers in the food community,” says Jennifer Fletcher, manager at Conestoga College’s department of Applied Research and Entrepreneurship. “We’re trying to foster that skillset, and inspire the next generation to push that entrepreneurial spirit even further.”

One hundred and thirty eight per cent revenue growth seems in juxtaposition to the small, downtown business most are familiar with. But, because of Igloo, a provider of digital workplace solutions, this figure has found a home in Kitchener’s downtown core, and has nowhere to go but up, literally.

It was -17’C on the day I climbed out of bed to make the short, two block jaunt to visit River’s Edge Goat Dairy at their Kitchener Market vendor booth. And while I swathed myself in layers of sweaters and scarves, I was reminded the folks from River’s Edge Goat Dairy made a much longer trek from Arthur much earlier in the day.

Five individuals and one community organization have been recognized as the City of Kitchener’s 2016 recipients of the Mayor’s City Builder Awards for their volunteerism and service to the community. 

“My nana had this piece of hardwood in her kitchen, and painted on it was this beleaguered looking swan and the words ‘a good hostess is like a swan: calm and unruffled above the water but paddling hard underneath.’”

Few spaces are more ordinary or passive than an office-building hallway.  These long, narrow expanses, dotted with the occasional acrylic landscape exist solely to bring you somewhere else.  Night\Shift, Kitchener’s placehacking festival has another idea.