Moving and Storage Business News

The News Review:

- Catalog merchant known for cheek
- ‘High School Musical’ Destined for Stage
- Want a life of leisure? Be a renter
- A trek along future tracks
- Home, sweet home

Catalog merchant known for cheek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription… – Oct 20, 2007
com>Mark HoffmanSheri Werren packages an order recently at Duluth Trading Co. ‘s headquarters in Belleville. One of its popular items is a long-tail T-shirt sold in a “Crack Spackle” gift bucket…
“We felt they could do a very good job of growing it. He had been running both Gempler’s and Duluth from the 130,000-square-foot headquarters that he built in 1997 in a business park in tiny Belleville, about a half hour southwest of Madison. Moving 30,000 Gempler’s products out of the warehouse left plenty of room for Duluth to grow. As Schlecht set out to expand his new business, he got an unexpected boost from nearby Dodgeville: catalog retailer Lands’ End was sold to Sears Roebuck in 2002, and was rocked again a few years later when Sears was acquired by Kmart. A number of managers who left Lands’ End are now at Duluth, including Joan Brown, director of quality. “The point at which Joan joined the company was crucial,” said Hollenstein, who also came from Lands’ End. Brown’s expertise in global sourcing and quality control was essential as Duluth moved from selling 90% other manufacturer’s brands to originating and designing its own Duluth branded products.

‘High School Musical’ Destined for Stage
Washington Post – Oct 20, 2007
So on the Web site of Music Theatre International (which licenses Disney shows) a note went up: “If you’re interested in doing it in your school or in your amateur group, please send us an e-mail. “Disney got 15,000 e-mails, meaning interest was LARGE. At the same time, professional companies began to show interest. So together with Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical, Fickinger devised a plan for professional productions. They chose six theaters (of widely different sizes), which specifically were for children or had strong youth programs. One of the first to do the show was Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars at the mammoth, nearly 4,000-seat Fox Theatre. It put together a production, directed by Jeff Calhoun, which used actors cast in New York and some 25-30 children from the Atlanta area as part of the show…
“I didn’t really finish the film until after I staged my version,” he says. Calhoun said his job was physicalizing the story and songs put together by Simpatico and Louiselle. “The key, or course, is the moving lockers” _ the ubiquitous storage units found in every high school and which form a prominent scenic component of the musical. “The kiss of death for this show would have been automation. As soon as something starts to move by itself or come out of the floor, it would feel overproduced,” the director adds. “For `High School Musical’ to work, you have to have the feeling of `let’s put on a show. ‘ But at the same time, that’s very deceptive because it’s a very big, complicated show made to look very simple by kids just pushing around some locker units.

Want a life of leisure? Be a renter
San Francisco Chronicle – Oct 20, 2007
Incredibly, during the month or so we looked at rental houses, there were two nice two-bedroom houses that were pet friendly. And so instead of two child-free, pet-free adults with jobs and assets being perhaps prime candidates for these homes, we were vying with all of the renters with big dogs who couldn’t even apply for other neighborhood houses. At this point, we made a contingency plan to put all of our stuff in storage and live in a hotel for however long it took us to find a house we liked. We didn’t like this plan much, but we both like to golf and thought we could make it into a living vacation by choosing a hotel across a street from a golf course. This plan sounded more appealing than the idea of moving into 1970. As typically happens when you hope for the best but plan for the worst, one of the pet-friendly houses turned out to be the right one for us. And the longer we are there and the pet odor dissipates, the clearer it becomes that it is really a great house for us, better for us than the house we owned…
At this point, we made a contingency plan to put all of our stuff in storage and live in a hotel for however long it took us to find a house we liked. We didn’t like this plan much, but we both like to golf and thought we could make it into a living vacation by choosing a hotel across a street from a golf course. This plan sounded more appealing than the idea of moving into 1970. As typically happens when you hope for the best but plan for the worst, one of the pet-friendly houses turned out to be the right one for us. And the longer we are there and the pet odor dissipates, the clearer it becomes that it is really a great house for us, better for us than the house we owned. It has no planted garden – but it does have three outdoor spaces ideal for container gardening, and one of the outdoor spaces is practically an outdoor room, on a shaded upstairs deck that overlooks other houses and a driveway yet offers a view of nothing but trees and sky once you take a seat. It has no guest room, but we decided to sleep in the slightly smaller bedroom and turn the bigger one into a multipurpose space (with computer, stereo, books and bed) where company can feel comfortable for a few days.

A trek along future tracks
Rocky Mountain News – Oct 20, 2007
“I was just flabbergasted and thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ It would just cut me in half,” McClurg said, while looking over a site map from RTD. Jones-Heartz has been in this neighborhood since 1909. McClurg went to work there in 1983 and bought the company from Jones’ sons in 1989. The company used to be a few blocks east, just on the other side of Rio Court. But in 1991, RTD’s original light-rail project forced them to move. McClurg is trying to find a way to save his business from having to move again. Jones-Heartz is the only property that will be served by turning Lower Colfax into a cul-de- sac to accommodate the new light-rail bridge…
He has doubts he can find another suitable location for his delicately balanced forming tables and make the move, even with RTD’s help. But he’s decided to get the best deal he can for a new location. RTD has to pay moving and relocation costs for displaced businesses, as well as homeowners. Next to McKeeta, another landowner is fighting RTD. Rick Patten of Quadrant Properties spent time and money acquiring a huge chunk of blighted industrial land here ? the entire 22 acres behind the pet food plant down to 13th Avenue, plus the old Rocky Mountain News newsprint warehouse across Rio Court along the tracks. He wants to put up a mixed- use development of residences and businesses there to kick- start the rebirth of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, one of the city’s oldest. It would capitalize on RTD’s existing 10th and Osage light-rail station as well as Auraria West.

Home, sweet home
Toronto Star – Oct 20, 2007
I just don’t want to live with them into their late 20s and beyond. I can’t wait to be an empty nester. Karen Saltz, Thornhill Moving back in with your parents is a lot like sending your lukewarm pasta back at a restaurant. You feel bad about it but you figure it’s still within your rights. If you’re thinking about returning home, be warned: Your folks are the displeased cooks and you are the penne primavera. Only this time, there won’t be any cheese. Working two jobs, I was enjoying the restful stages of sleep during my university classes…
There are rules: no smoking inside, no drinking to excess, no women sleeping over, no swearing and they must clean their rooms. Generally it works out fine, since one son works nights, the other days. My husband and I enjoy their company. We hope the longer we take care of them, they will take care of us when we’re old. Bernadette Carrega, Mississauga I’m 22 and spent the summer at home after nine months travelling. My mom works at home. I’m a bartender and am out late.