Building Bridges to Small Business May 17, 2015 19:22

Building Bridges to Small Business- Mackinac Island

We tie makers could not be more proud to announce our trip to Mackinac Island for the Mackinac Policy Conference! We'll be heading up with our dear friend and retail partner Rachel from the The Peacock Room, as well as the unbridled hotness that is Sweet Potato Sensations and Rebel Nell.

For immediate release:

Detroit Entrepreneurs Bring Small Businesses to Mackinac Policy Conference

Four pop-up shops to open at Mission Point Resort on May 28

DETROIT – Four successful Detroit-based entrepreneurs will present “Building Bridges to Small Business,” a pop-up shopping experience at the Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island on May 28, 3–7 p.m. Sponsored by Detroit-based IT staffing and business solutions company Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3) and Mackinac Island’s Mission Point Resort, the event will coincide with the 2015 Mackinac Policy Conference.

Rachel Lutz, owner of the Peacock Room in Midtown Detroit, organized the pop-up market to highlight the viability and importance entrepreneurship and small business to the growth and sustainability of Michigan’s business market. Lutz recruited three successful, Detroit-based small businesses to bring their own pop-up shops to Mackinac, including Sweet Potato Sensations, Rebel Nell and Cyberoptix Tie Lab.

S3’s sponsorship reflects the personal commitment of founder, president and CEO Cynthia Pasky to support and profile talent that resides in the City of Detroit.

“The small businesses of today are the big businesses of tomorrow, and when there’s robust civic and institutional support of small business, we remove barriers to retaining talent,” said Pasky. “Small businesses have a real stake in the progress of the communities they serve and are critical to urban revitalization. S3 started out as a small business in Detroit, and now we’ve grown into a $264 million global company that provides over 2,700 jobs.”

Below are details about the four small businesses that will be at Mackinac, each of which will have a vignette of their products:

- The Peacock Room – A fourth-generation Detroit business owner, Rachel Lutz went from unemployment to providing jobs for seven people after establishing the women’s apparel boutique in the Park Shelton building in 2011. Tripling her projected revenue during her first year in business, the success of The Peacock Room allowed Lutz to open a second store within ten months at the Park Shelton.

- Cyberoptix Tie Lab – Bethany Shorb, owner and lead designer, came to Michigan to attend the Cranbrook Academy of Art, and after graduation chose to settle in Detroit, starting Cyberoptix in 2005. Fabricating scarves, ties and other accessories from silk, microfiber, leather and recycled materials, each item is individually hand-stitched and silkscreened to order by Shorb’s studio team. Cyberoptix was named one of the top ten performing handmade artists on Etsy.com, and their items can be found online and at over 250 retail locations.

Sweet Potato Sensations – A second-generation family-owned bakery and restaurant, Sweet Potato Sensations was created in 1987 when Cassandra and Jeffrey Thomas began producing sweet potato cookies at local events in northwest Detroit. Expanding from community kitchens to successful storefronts, Sweet Potato Sensations offers a variety of sweet treats six days a week at their bakery café on Lahser Road in Detroit, as well as local retail outlets. The company has been featured in local and national media, and has provided the dessert course for the largest sit down dinner in America, the Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner for the Detroit Branch NAACP for over a decade. In 2013, Sweet Potato Sensations was admitted to the first Detroit class of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.

Rebel Nell – Co-founders Amy Peterson and Diana Russell started their jewelry company with the sole purpose of employing, educating and empowering disadvantaged women in Detroit. Rebel Nell repurposes broken concrete chips of graffiti, and transforms them into unique, wearable art objects. The company’s stated goal is to help women move from a life of dependence to one of self-reliance, and they have helped several women successfully make the transition from homelessness to financial stability. Working directly with local homeless shelters, they identify women who are ready to overcome barriers to employment through the fruits of their own labor.

“Each of these businesses tells the story of Detroit’s economic revival at the micro level,” said Lutz. "Our businesses have nothing but great things to say about the economic opportunities we've experienced in Michigan. The Chamber is a leader in holding meaningful conversations about our state's economy, and we’re looking forward to partnering to help elevate the important role of small business in those discussions.”

Tie One On: Cyberoptix Blends Art and Imagination in its Lofty Space May 11, 2015 11:30

Thanks so much to Karen Dybis from Corp! Magazine for stopping by our studio the other day!

If your answer was “No,” then you’ve probably never visited Cyberoptix Tie Lab, a Detroit-based company that makes hand-screenprinted neckties, bow ties, scarves and more. One of its slogans goes something like this, “We’ve made hip guys, young and old, finally enjoy dressing up!”

Have you ever walked into someone’s office and wanted to spend all day there? You’d even volunteer as an unpaid assistant to hang around more? To say that founder Bethany Shorb has a following for her creative and unforgettable products is something of an understatement. Cyberoptix ties show up on some pretty impressive collars – some of the guys who have sported her ties include autronaut Jim Lovell, menswear designer Aki Choklat and television star Bill Nye the Science Guy... [Read more at Corp! Magazine]

Out of This World Ties May 10, 2015 10:34

It's always a perfect day in the 'Lab when we receive photos of folks wearing our ties. It's even better when they've been off-planet!!! Former astronaut Jim Lovell (second from the left) is wearing our Saturn V tie!

Mr. Lovell completed his fourth mission as Spacecraft Commander of the Apollo 13 flight, April 11-17, 1970, and became the first man to journey twice to the moon.

Pictured: Gene “Failure is Not an Option” Kranz, Jim Lovell, Luigi Pizzimenti and Fred Haise. This was taken in Garden City, NY at an Apollo 13 anniversary gathering. Photo © Luigi Pizzimenti.

Thanks so much, Bruce, for sharing this with us!

Inspiration is always just around the corner in Detroit’s vibrant and growing ‘maker’ community May 8, 2015 18:39

So glad we could be part of the Model D Maker Lab event last week - thanks to everyone for coming up to the studio, The Henry Ford for organizing the event and Trinosophes for the great coffee!

"Years ago, when it started to become a thing to write about Detroit in positive terms instead of the wretched ones we all got used to, it became clear that the city wouldn’t be saved by giant conglomerations or a mega retailer or even Corporate America.

It would be saved by the makers.

A highlight of the day was going to some of these makers’ shops after the Trinosophes event (and amazing coffee). Seeing the colors, textures and sunlight streaming into the windows of Bethany Shorb’s new workplace there off of Gratiot across the street from the Eastern market area was inspiring to say the least. It’s no wonder that her Cyberoptix Tie (and Scarf!) Lab is filled with new ideas and creations; she lives and breathes Detroit’s creativity from her second-story workspace." [Read more at Detroit Unspun]

Dirtybird x Cyberoptix Collaboration April 16, 2015 13:36

We're so, SO excited to have worked on a collaborative project with one of the best labels on planet earth: Dirtybird!

Dirtybird has long standing ties with Detroit; both the founder and label manager are from the area. We can't wait to meet up with them during the Movement festival in Detroit, as we loving call it "Techno Christmas!"

You can see the black Dirtybird x Cyberoptix linen weave scarf on their product page right here.

Bill Nye the Science Guy wearing a Cyberoptix bow tie! April 16, 2015 08:30

Regram from Bill Nye The Science Guy 's Instagram - not every day do you wake up to see Bill Nye wearing one of your bow ties!!!! We were so honored to be a part of one of Mr. Science Guy's Quarterly boxes.

If you missed out, you can get your own DNA bow tie right here.

Mustang Ties for Business or Casual Wear April 2, 2015 15:33

Thanks so much to our friends at Mustang Monthly Magazine for taking the time for such in-depth coverage on our line of automotive-inspired neckwear!

"We may live in a casual world these days, but wearing a tie is far from a lost art. Besides the typical business suit needs, many wear ties with distinctive patterns/designs to express their individuality or to proudly promote their favorite brands, sports teams, television show, or hobbies. As Mustang owners we’ve been known to rock a Mustang tie or two over the years, but designs have been far and few between for us of the Ford faith. That’s quickly becoming a moot point today as the neckwear fanatics at Cyberoptix TieLab understand the need for exclusive tie, pocket square, and scarf designs for all sorts of enthusiasts and not just us car junkies. From space exploration to animals, science and technology, and music, Cyberoptix offers hundreds of designs that will tie in (pun intended!) with your favorite hobby, career, or event. Yes, Cyberoptix even has wedding packages they can create with their designs!" [Read more at Mustang 360]

Inside the Workshop October 13, 2014 01:58

Ever wonder what it looks like inside a custom tie workshop? Our friend Paul over at United Photo Works shot us working the other day. Here's an aerial view of tie-making-wonderment! You can see our internetting (hiiii!), customer service, printing, heat setting, wrapping, and shipping stations. And lots and lots and LOTS of screens. Not seen - darkroom, because dark.

News From Inside the Tie Lab