Utility Box
Art Spotlight:
Gibran Crol painted
three boxes with imagery of a garden, which relates to a prior orchard
farm once located at this very site. In the early 1900’s, the
Otto family bought a small Queen-Anne Victorian house, still located
at 3705 El Cajon Boulevard, with two acres of land. They started their
own an orchard farm and grew apples, plums, apricots, and olives.
This farm supported the family. They built a fruit stand in front
of their house and sold their produce. A decade later, when Highway
80 came plowing through, the price of water rose from 75 cents to
$60. A dramatic climb in price put the family out of business and
they were without running water for three years. The family was desperate
for money and sold their land to the San Diego School District to
build Wilson Middle School. Gibran Crol chose to reflect upon this
location with his own interpretation of this historic farm. For more
info about this artist, visit his website at www.crolvswerc.com.
Coming Soon: Look
for the Boulevard online utility box gallery.
“The WOW
Merchandising Workshop”
On Monday,
July 30th from 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. the Small Business Development
& International Trade Center (SBDITC) will present "The WOW
Merchandising Workshop."
The event will
take place at the Normal Heights Community Center, 4649 Hawley Boulevard,
San Diego, CA 92116.
Attendees will
learn the guidelines for designing and creating eye-catching storefronts
that bring in customers. Now you, the store owner, can build displays
that are creative expressions of your shop's merchandise.
Some of
the topics to be covered include:
- how to use visuals for marketing
- layering and dimension
- color
- lighting
- draping
- signage
- themes and seasons
For More Information:
Merchandising
Workshop
Small Business
Help from the San Diego Public Library
The San Diego
Public Library has an entire database and educational courses devoted
to small businesses. And best of all, the information is available
in the library or over Internet for free! The public library believes
that small businesses are an economic engine that facilitates our
economy. Their small business initiative was developed to raise awareness
regarding the public library's role as an active, important, and relevant
member of the community.
The program started
in 2001, when the Library received funding for the Business Resources
& Technology Link, a dynamic small business outreach program headquartered
at the Central Library. The project includes dedicated and knowledgeable
personnel, workshops, and training on existing and new online resources.
The tools available help entrepreneurs develop business plans, learn
strategies for starting and maintaining new businesses, become educated
about e-commerce and creating an Internet presence, and effectively
develop research skills on issues such as copyright, trademark and
patent information.
The information
in the library's database is funded through your tax dollars, so use
it. The amount of detailed information cannot be retrieved over the
Internet without accessing the Library's databases. To access the
database, all you need is a library card and a pin number, which you
must request from the library. Access the library's database (http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/services/businesstech.shtml),
attend a workshop or two, and stay confident - The San Diego Public
Library wants to help you. So go for it; revamp your business plan,
expand your market, and turn your small business into a bigger small
business!
