Brands In The City

First and foremost I would like to say thanks for stopping by, this is my first post, and pretty much the debut of my blog and the launch of my website promoting not only my company but also promoting the residents and visitors to see the beauty of poetntial of the great downtown area of Birmingham. So, enjoy.

Living in in Downtown Birmingham, I see my share of unusual things, but I have to say I love it. The eclecticism (If that's a word at all) of the people, the mixture of cultures, and the infusion of art and dining. It's outlets like these that beats the suburbs anyday.

How many of you stroll downtown? Do you take in the uniqueness and the potential of the area? I walk my dog there just about everyday, and each day I find something new and interesting to admire. Just a year ago, I was one of your local critics who sowre up and down there was hardly anything that made downtown attractive, and little or nothing to do in Birmingham period. Moving closer to the downtown, I've been heavily enlightened by what the city has to offer.

My day-outside of work-usually begins with a stroll down fifth headed towards first-avenue. I stop by the bank to withdraw a little cash, then my next stop is heading to my favorite little cafe "Java & Jams". They serve up a mean double shot expresso, great turkey clubs, and chicken salad sandwiches around lunch time. With great music, good food, and the best smoothies I've ever tasted, this place is number one on my list of places to stop by downtown. [Check out their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/javaandjams]

I usually spend a few hours taking back a nice cold brewski before I depart, then it's off to my next spot. Honestly, I never know where I'm going to end up; the thing that's great about downtown is that going into it, there's not expectation of anything for me, I just sort of stumble across the crowning jewels of the place.

Just yesterday, I was taking a casual stroll up twentieth, I had just finished a bottle of "Fu-Fu Berry Jones Soda" [You should add those to your grocery list] and I spotted an off-beat boutique shop next-door to "Bon-Ton Hatters" I believe, anyhow, the storefront struck me by surprise, not because of any fancy marketing or designs; it was their music. I just so happen to be drawn in by music , especially the kind that stands alone. I absolutely love it! The name of this store is "Sojourns Art House", it's a fair trade store, which means all of the items being sold are one-of-a-kind handcrafted items from people trying to escape poverty in third-world countries. [The really cool thing about the store is that you can shop online and browse the art that these people have created http://adventureartpeace.com/].

There's a nice young lady that manages the store while the owner is away in other countries scouting for more art and accessories to be sold. She tells me the owner started an organization to help these foreign people provide themselves with some income and honestly I think it's a magnanamous gesture. This brings up another side of downtown that I love; I've not been to every store quite yet, but every one that I have been to, has an endearing story. [I see potential for sponsoring charity auctions, we'll see what we can work out].

My day downtown normally ends with a quick round-trip, viewing the cityscape, taking some pictures , then it's back to my loft where I write about my findings. [Keep a heads up on more hidden gems]