December 21, 2018 Upstate Business Journal by Community Journals

DECEMBER 21, 2018 | VOL. 7 ISSUE 41

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DESIGN FRONTIER LABEL HELPS SMALL BUSINESSES REVITALIZE BRANDING

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TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK

| THE RUNDOWN

VOLUME 7, ISSUE 41 Featured this issue: Frontier delivers the perfect pairing of printing & design .................................6 The story behind the transformation of Endeavor’s offices................................9 New Greenville beer and wine bar to serve up history with each pour........12

WORTH REPEATING “We were probably one of the first companies in the industry to let you go through the entire ordering process without having to speak to a single person. We keep doing what we can to push the envelope and to make things easier for our customers.”

Jared Powell, Page 7

Photo by Will Crooks

A.J. Arellano opened his business just a few months ago and he is already delivering a personal, carefully curated experience to customers at Savereign, his plant shop in the Village of West Greenville. Read more on Page 4.

“We see it as a continuation of the Furman mission and our brand, because it really is a hands-on engaged learning experience.”

Troy Terry, Page 11

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SAVEREIGN'S CAREFULLY CURATED GREEN SPACE LEAVES A UNIQUE FINGERPRINT STORY BY SARA PEARCE | PHOTOS BY WILL CROOKS

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In his west-end plant shop Savereign, A.J. Arellano’s work exudes an eye for design and an appreciation for everything aesthetic. His appreciation for retail and design developed at an early age through many family trips to New York, which included looking at and visiting unusual, boutique stores. “That’s when I knew I wanted to own some form of shop,” Arellano said. “I think I was 12 years old when that happened; I just didn’t know obviously what kind yet.” His knowledge of retail grew through his time working with J. Crew. Arellano’s love affair with plants began while he was living in Chicago. “I suffer with depression and up there where it’s snowing and cold and dark, that’s when it was at its height,” he says. “My mom introduced plants to me. I started collecting more and thought it made my house feel nice and then realized that it was actually making a change in my energy and my depression wasn’t as much anymore.” While plants have played a life-chang-

ing role in Arellano’s mental health, his keen eye for design and understanding of creation have been what set his business apart. Upon opening Savereign, Arellano knew that he was choosing a risky path, but he says it just fell into place. “It wasn’t planned, it was perfect,” he says, adding that the timing worked out impeccably with the recent rise of greenery in interior design. Arellano’s passion lies in making people happy, and he thinks that plants can have a huge affect on an individual’s happiness. “It’s all about the way its done,” he explains. “Large businesses will have a very cold version of what a plant can be and they have it there knowing the effects that it can still have.” The benefits that greenery have had on his mental health are the root of the reason that he wants to share it with others in a retail store, he says. Arellano explains how his store brings its own set of challenges that are different than typical retail stores, such as having to care for the plants and ensur-

ing they are thriving. “It’s a lot more work than most stores,” he says. “I had to come in yesterday (on a snow day) and make sure the little guys have water. I have to figure out how inventory is going to work, which I am still perfecting. One day someone will want one thing and the next day someone will want literally everything.” Arellano hand-picks his plants and uses his eye for design to create a truly unique retail experience. “I want everything to be very curated and personal,” Arellano says of his store. “Design to me is something that is very personal and you either have it or you don’t and that’s why there are people like us around. But this store is my brainchild. Every single thing is something that I want to see.” Arellano says his success lies in his ability to find and exist in a niche that is unlike others in the area. He says he has been very pleased with his first four months of business, and hopes that his passion for plants, love for design, and curated space will help him find continued success.

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PACKAGING FRONTIER LABEL COMBINES DIGITAL PRINTING SERVICES WITH DESIGN TO GIVE SMALL BUSINESSES A COMPETITIVE EDGE STORY BY ANDREW MOORE | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY LEVI MONDAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Product labeling may not be one of the first things a company considers when looking to grow sales, but if you ask Jared Powell, it definitely should be. Not only do labels provide basic information about the contents within a package, but they also help to establish brands that consumers can trust and to differentiate products when the store shelves become crowded, according to Powell, who is CEO of Greenville’s Frontier Label. “Whether it’s an eye-catching design

or contrasting colors, labels and packaging are the face of any product, and brands need to develop a strategy for how they want to present themselves to consumers,” Powell said. “For the mom-and-pop shops to larger businesses, there are resources and companies to help with label and packaging design if the skillset isn’t available in-house. Especially when it comes to celebrating seasonal events or brand anniversaries, an intriguing label and packaging is a must-have.”

GROWING A BUSINESS Headquartered at 340 Interstate Blvd., Frontier Label has been working with small and medium-size businesses across the U.S. for over a decade to provide design advice and to help distinguish their brands with custom stickers and labels. Founded in 1981, Frontier began as Pioneer Packaging Machinery, which provided the packaging industry with labeling machinery and support, according to Powell. Frontier Label prints stickers and

labels for a variety of industries, including supplements and nutraceuticals, health and beauty, food and beverage, and others. Pioneer’s owners — Hans Frist and his sons, Dan and Howard — relocated from New Jersey to Pickens County in the 1990s and established a new manufacturing operation. After Hans passed away in 2004, Dan and Howard decided to rename the company and adopt a new business model — label and sticker printing. The company relocated to Greenville

THE a year later to find qualified employees, according to Powell. Powell, who was a graduate student studying bioengineering at Clemson University at the time, sparked a friendship with Dan Frist at a local church event, and Frist eventually offered him an accounting job at Frontier. It wasn’t long, though, before Powell was running the company. The Frist brothers decided to pursue ministry work several years after relocating to Greenville and promoted Powell to chief executive officer of Frontier. Today, under Powell’s leadership, the company has more than two dozen employees and produces stickers and labels for a variety of industries, including supplements and nutraceuticals, health and beauty, food and beverage, and others. With over 1,300 custom dies (a thin, razor-sharp steel blade that has been formed into a specific shape or pattern) and 15 printing materials, Frontier can produce labels and stickers in almost

any size or shape a customer wants, according to Powell. “If a customer wants something we don’t have then we work with them to order a customized die,” he said. “We can just add it to our catalogue once the job is done.” Frontier specializes in short-run labels and stickers as well as serialized and multi-design orders, according to Powell. A typical order takes only about three days to complete. Because it operates with digital printers, Frontier can run any number of images or designs that a customer needs on the same order. There is no minimum quantity for orders.

WINNING IN THE DIGITAL AGE Powell said Frontier has become one of the industry’s leading printers of labels and stickers because of its early adoption of online sales and digital printing services. The company’s website, for instance, allows prospective customers to receive an online quote for their order by

making simple adjustments to the size, material, shape, color, and total number of stickers or labels, according to Powell. “We were probably one of the first companies in the industry to let you go through the entire ordering process without having to speak to a single person,” Powell said. “We keep doing what we can to push the envelope online and to make things easier for our customers.” Digital custom printing solutions also help customers save money by removing any plate charges and fees related to artwork setup or print setup, according to Powell. Powell said Frontier’s products are used in hundreds of different applications, and the customers buying them range from startups to Fortune 100 companies. Most of the company’s revenue comes from out-of-state customers, but Frontier has made an effort in recent years to expand its local market presence, according to Powell.

CAPITALIZING ON CRAFT BEER While Frontier’s high-quality materials and quick turnaround time has positioned the company as the go-to printer for a wide variety of industries, it has garnered increasing popularity among breweries. The craft-beer industry now accounts for more than 23 percent of the $111 billion beer market, and Frontier partners with more than 50 breweries nationwide to help them stand out with custom labels that encapsulate the aesthetics of the brand and brew. “It’s inspiring to work with craft-beer companies, and we’ve found that this industry gravitates to creative label designs that reflect the personality of

SHOW OFF

Headquartered in Greenville, Frontier Label is a digital printing and consulting company that produces custom stickers and labels for a variety of industries, including supplements and nutraceuticals, health and beauty, food and beverage, and others. The company’s stickers and labels can be found on hundreds of products nationwide, and the customers buying them range from startups to Fortune 100 companies. In addition to providing printing services, Frontier consults with companies to help produce label and sticker designs. The company currently operates out of a 15,000-square-foot office and warehouse at 340 Interstate Boulevard.

1. Methodical Coffee

GREENVILLE, S.C.

2. Mike's Hot Honey

BROOKLYN, N.Y.

PACKAGING & LABELS

3. APOTHEC RICHMOND, V.A. 4. Cocoon Apothecary ONTARIO, CANADA 5. The Mailroom Barber Co. FLORENCE, S.C.

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South Carolina companies now account for 12 percent of Frontier’s revenue stream, compared with 5 percent a decade ago. Some of the company’s local customers include Methodical Coffee, Palmetto Distillery, Mail Room Barber, and Poppington’s Gourmet Popcorn.

FRONTIER LABEL WHAT THEY DO

DESIGN

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ISSUE artist, it’s important to me that my vision comes across organically on the finished product, and from day one, the Frontier Label team was committed to that. They appreciate the creative process and are able to seamlessly translate the details from the art to the label, resulting in a beautiful finished product that is true to the original design.”

“WE LOVE TO HELP BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY SMALLER ONES, IDENTIFY TRENDS THAT CAN LEAD TO SUCCESSFUL HOLIDAY SELLING.”

TAPPING INTO DESIGN

JARED POWELL CEO of Frontier Label

the brew and the culture of the brewery,” Powell said. “We serve as a partner from beginning to end, rolling up our sleeves to ensure we’re getting hands-on with customers from the ideation of labels to the moment they’re placed on the product. We take pride in how we work with our brewery customers to make sure they stand out, even before the first pour.” As an example, Greenville brewery Birds Fly South recently partnered with Frontier to help develop a new

UBJ | 12.21.2018

Photo by Will Crooks

label to celebrate its second anniversary. Working with local artist Chris Koelle and Birds Fly South throughout the design and printing processes, Frontier helped bring the design to life, incorporating elements of metallic plastic, resulting in the brand’s signature, emblematic anniversary label. “My experience working with Frontier Label’s pre-production team to solve any and all issues has always been a pleasure,” Koelle said. “As an

In addition to providing printing services, Frontier provides a consulting service for customers who don’t have a design for their stickers or labels. The company’s graphics team will usually create a logo or design and then send it to the customer for approval. Frontier also remains up-to-date on the latest design trends, according to Powell. Every couple of months, Frontier releases a trends report identifying “the top label design and creative aspects of the season.” The company’s latest report, released in September, includes designs that consumers and companies can expect to see as the holidays ap-

proach. “We love to help businesses, especially smaller ones, identify trends that can lead to successful holiday selling,” Powell said. “For small businesses, standing out visually is a quick way to end up on a holiday wish list without spending large amounts of capital. A label can say a lot about a brand. Remaining timely and highly intentional should be top priority for anyone looking to build a strong, successful brand.” As for the future, Frontier is looking to diversify its product selection over the next year or so with folding cartons and packaging, according to Powell. The company is also looking to purchase equipment that would allow it to offer smaller, cheaper sticker orders. Frontier may also add additional environmentally friendly materials to its catalogue, Powell said. The company currently offers stone paper and recycled paper, both of which are low-cost alternatives to plastic and help cut down on waste. For more information, visit www. frontierlabel.com.

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TRANSFORMING THE REMAINS OF CERTUS INTO A CREATIVE THINK TANK

STORY BY STEPHANIE TROTTER | PHOTOS BY WILL CROOKS

Greenville advertising pioneer Joe Erwin was looking for a location to enter the shared-workspace movement when he made his first visit to the fourth floor of the One Building on Main Street in winter of 2016. “It didn’t go well,” Erwin recalls. “It was very corporate, very cold, dark and antiseptic, and built out in a style that didn’t strike us as creative, or collaborative at all.” The 20,000-square-foot space was originally intended for CertusBank executives, but that was before the bank collapsed. Erwin’s second visit was a different experience. “That was the surprise, when we realized we could use design to completely reimagine the space and make it perfect for us,” Erwin says. The next two months were a whirlwind, remodeling the elite offices for Endeavor — a creative-collaboration community. Some finishes were exquisite,

but overall, the decor was bland and uninspiring. Carob-colored, stacked marble walls stayed. The penny-covered lobby ceiling stayed. The executive kitchen and Nautilus-filled gym stayed. Using vibrant artwork, rugs, and textiles, he splashed pops of intense hues across the barren landscape. “Joe had a vision for this to be Grand Central meets a Delta Sky Lounge,” says managing partner Shannon Wilbanks. “We worked with dozens of suppliers, and Fowler Interiors brought fabric options and painstakingly curated furniture. We wanted to make the space less business, and more residential. A place that’s comfortable, where you can sit, stand, or put your feet up.” What amazes Erwin and Wilbanks is how little demolition they needed. “A 24-person boardroom table sat right there,” Wilbanks says, pointing to a broad commons

Endeavor

a creative-collaboration community

A piece by local artist Ric Standridge hangs in Endeavor’s lobby.

area. “The biggest (demolition) project was getting that out.” Crews also demolished the dark boardroom walls, which left an airy communal space that now serves as a colorful library by day, and lively reception area by night. The former wine room was converted into an artistic generator. The space that once housed more than 300 bottles of wine is now a sun-drenched hideaway, where Endeavor members congregate on breaks to nosh and share ideas. A new freezer easily replaced a large wine cooler. An overbearing, darkwood column, which visually split the room in half, came down to reveal a simple white post that now anchors a pull-up seating area with bar stools. “Imagination became more important than investment,” Erwin says. “We targeted options like unwrapping a post we didn’t like. That’s where creativity came in and design was the leader.” An uplift allowance with the 10-year lease defrayed some of the cost, which ran several hundred thousand dollars, covering everything from construction to couches. Wilbanks says she is especially fond of the 23 private desks separated by red and blue dividers.

“They’re unexpected,” she says. “They’re not square cubes. They are low enough the light goes through the space, but high enough there’s some privacy. And because they wrap around you, it feels like your own office.” Comfort and on-trend design creates a design that cultivates creativity for Endeavor’s 150 members. Ben Pettit, founder of Story LLC, has watched his revenues jump 25 percent since relocating from a shared worksite on East Coffee Street. “Working at Endeavor is like sitting in a Ferrari, you just feel good,” the CEO says. “You sit up a little bit taller, and go, ‘Yea, I got this.’ That’s the kind of confidence being in a space like this gives you.” He says his clients’ faces light up as they exit the elevator and pass by the area known as the flight deck — some even take selfies. “This is world-class agency space,” he says. “It’s giving us a road map to become a seven-figure business. We were already a really good agency, doing really good work. But we’re now closing more deals than before, and the only thing we’re doing differently is inviting clients to this space.” 12.21.2018 | upstatebusinessjournal.com

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A NEW GREENVILLE AGENCY FILLS THE VOID IN THE EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN MARKET STORY BY STEPHANIE TROTTER | PHOTO PROVIDED

Sports fans have enjoyed environmental design for years, as teams bathe their stadiums and coliseums in larger-than-life murals, mascots, and color to pump up the crowd. But what about smaller businesses that may not have millions to manufacture eye-popping 3D pageantry? Enter Emanate, one of Greenville’s newest design firms working in a niche known as environmental, or experiential graphic design. “This area has so many real estate developers and growing businesses,” says Emanate founder and CEO. Bill Donohue. “Many invest most of their capital on architecture and construction, but forget the finished piece. They underestimate the ability they have to educate and inspire with their hallways, stairwells, and lobby. They’ve got a huge, beautiful building, but nothing left to tell their story.” Storytelling and interpretation are Emanate’s sweet spot. “As a visual artist and brand guy, our job is to interpret a lot of information, whittle it down to its core essence, and tie an emotional thread to it. What we’ve coined is the idea of story places, using the environment to expand your brand,” Donohue says. “It’s more than glass, stone, and wood. I want people to leave a space with a deeper understanding of the tenant,

UBJ | 12.21.2018

and feel something resonate after they’re gone.” Anyone entering Greenville on U.S. 123 can’t help but notice the story of historic Plush Mills — the new home of Serendipity Labs. The outside walls of the turn-of-the-century red-brick building boldly feature the faces of original textile workers who produced

“I JUST LOVE VISUALLY INFLUENCING AND INSPIRING PEOPLE.” BILL DONOHUE CEO of Emanate

plush velvet for Model A Fords. Donohue spent countless hours scouring historical photos, newspaper articles and crumbling blueprints to meld a montage of old artifacts and new branding. Inside, the 50-year-old artist takes extreme pride in a digital mural lining a long passageway, which turns yet another page in the tale of the Mill. “It’s 60 by 16 feet,” he says. I started

with traditional paint on canvas, and then layered old drawings, photos. I even researched turn-of-the-century fonts.” Fonts take Donohue back to the esteemed Ringling College of Art and Design, where he studied typology for four years as part of his design degree. He went into advertising in Greenville, serving as Erwin Penland’s first creative director and then starting Fuel in 1995. He eventually sold his share, and went in-house with private holding company Duke Brands, where he spread the legacy of Eugenia Thomas Duke as smoothly as her famous mayonnaise, marking the company’s centennial celebration. About a year ago, his entrepreneurial spirit whispered it was time to move on, but he wasn’t sure of the destination. While researching opportunities, his wife Becca, who works at Greenville-based printer TPM, kept coming home with news of clients who needed designers to create original art for their offices, while simultaneously marketing their brands. “I wanted to get back into something with a construction and design component,” the one-time architecture student says. “Environmental design is primarily an offshoot of architecture with similar end-user

focus and design-build processes. What we hopefully bring in addition is a level of influence and creativity from my marketing and branding background.” Emanate opened in April, and using inspiration from EGD-heavy cities like New York, Chicago, and Las Vegas, has already completed more than a dozen projects for businesses large and small — from BMW and Holder Properties to Maven Construction and Marleylilly. Earle Street Baptist Church recently unveiled a $4.5 million addition featuring three Emanate creations. “We initially wanted a mission-statement wall, a donor wall, and a history wall, but had no idea how to do that,” says minister of administration Denise Plumbee. “Bill came up with three totally different projects, each with a different look, feel, and type of creativity.” “The Upstate continues to expand and commercial development is influenced by major markets and outstanding local architectural talent,” Donohue explains. “But EGD, locally, is a fairly new practice. It’s accelerating faster as we get bigger projects like Camperdown and University Ridge. I just love visually influencing and inspiring people.”

Ross McClain, chairman of Furman University's Art Department, teaches a class of design students at the school. Photo provided.

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FURMAN ANNOUNCES NEW GRADUATE DESIGN PROGRAM

STORY BY ARIEL GILREATH

Furman University is bringing a new addition to its selection of graduate programs — a master’s in strategic design. The 18-month, f ive-term program is in partnership with the Miami Ad School at the Portfolio Center of Atlanta. Students will have their first summer term on Furman’s campus, the following three terms at the Miami Ad School in Atlanta, and their final term either at one of the campuses or through a practicum. The degree adds some variety to Furman’s graduate programs — the school’s other options are a master’s in a science or education-related field. The program still needs to be approved by the university’s accreditor — the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges — before classes begin, but the university expects to hear back before classes are set to start in June 2019. SACSCOC’s next two meetings are in February and June; if the orga-

nization approves the program in June, the university might have to change when classes start. Troy Terry, executive director of graduate studies and evening studies, said the university submitted the program to SACSCOC in October, which was not in time for the organization to guarantee that it would be on the February agenda. “We hope we will hear, and if they haven’t [discussed it], then maybe they will at least give us feedback,” Terry said. Terry said the university is looking to recruit between eight and 15 students, who will be able to choose from three tracks — art direction, design, and copywriting. “We have temporary housing here for summer — regular student housing — and then they work with folks at [Portfolio Center] to get housing in Atlanta, and that’s really where they’ll be based until they end,” Terry said. “In the final semester, they could come back to Greenville, they could stay in Atlanta, or they could be in another

location where they’ve secured an internship.” Terry said there aren’t many schools with graduate design programs. “Some of the top design schools do have master’s programs. They’re primarily in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami,” Terry said. Furman has had a relationship with the Portfolio Center of Atlanta for more than 20 years. Undergraduate alumni have transitioned from Furman to the center. “We see it as a continuation of the Furman mission and our brand, because it really is a handson, engaged learning experience. These folks have lots of internships and opportunities to work with people in the field, so what they start out here is more the content-theory foundation, and then they get to go to Atlanta and sort of live it,” Terry said. “This is just a really unique fit for us and what we already do expanded at the graduate level.” 12.21.2018 | upstatebusinessjournal.com

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The co-owners of craft beer and wine bar The Whale in Asheville, Andrew Ross and Jesse Van Note, are quintessential Ashevillians: They both previously worked at Wicked Weed Brewing for years; Ross sports below-waist dreadlocks; Van Note is decorated in colorful ink, even on his scalp, and he plays bass in a heavy metal band. But one drive through the Village of West Greenville sold Van Note on bringing their craft-beer collective to the Greenville market. After a monthslong hunt for the right location, The Whale GVL has signed a lease for a 2,400-square-foot space at 1108 S. Main St. in The Greene Apartments near Fluor Field. John Odom and Rakan Draz of Avison Young represented The Whale, and Nick Navarro of NRE Property Group represented the landlord, South Main Street Apartments, in the transaction. With construction on track to start early first quarter of 2019, The Whale GVL bottle shop and bar should open in early summer 2019 with 20 draft beers, 200 bottles, wine, saki, mead, and charcuterie and sandwiches. Ross and Van Note opened The Whale (“whale” is craft-beer jargon for sought-after and hard-to-find craft beers) in West Asheville behind

UBJ | 12.21.2018

ASHEVILLE’S POPULAR BOTTLE SHOP & BAR SIGNS LEASE IN GREENVILLE’S WEST END

STORY BY ARIEL TURNER | PHOTO BY WILL CROOKS

Haywood Common almost exactly a year ago to bring the locals those difficult-to-source and unique beers, giving them an option instead of the local breweries that have already saturated the market. “American beer has gotten very hyper local, which I think is a good thing because it ensures freshness and accessibility to fresh product, but a lot of that comes with the forgetting of the historical influence, and that’s something we’re very conscious of and something we try to bring into the forum,” Ross says. “Schneider Weisse has been making the best hefeweizen for 400 years, and there’s a reason that’s still relevant.”

Their rustic, laid-back bar and knowledgeable staff became an immediate success, especially with brewers and service-industry staff who craved a new option. “It’s also about the knowledge behind the beer, the ability to have someone approach the bar and say ‘this is what I like’ and this is what we have,” Ross says. “It’s just as informative and educational as it is leisurely and drinkable.” But they didn’t imagine they’d announce a second location so soon. Finding the right space convinced them the timing was right. The new location will be a polar opposite aesthetic from Asheville’s darker, more tavern-like space. It’s new

Jesse Van Note (Left) & Andrew Ross Owners of The Whale

“IT’S ALSO ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE BEHIND THE BEER, THE ABILITY TO HAVE SOMEONE APPROACH THE BAR AND SAY ‘THIS IS WHAT I LIKE’ AND THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE.”

ANDREW ROSS

co-owner of The Whale

construction with soaring ceilings and windows, but without a corporate feel. And with that, Ross and Van Note are planning for The Whale GVL to have its own identity relating to Greenville and not be a copy-and-paste of the original. It will have a high-end feel without pretense. Van Note has spent time in Greenville over the last five years, playing with his band Bask at Radio Room, buying his jeans from local custom denim designer Billiam, and his wife’s best friend lives here. Because of that, he and his wife, Lia, plan to move somewhere between the two locations, and she will run the Greenville store. The goal here, just as it was in Asheville a year ago, is to step out of the current wave of local brews in Greenville that are getting wide exposure and, not at all in opposition to the new breweries, promote beer for its history. “It’s such a historic liquid, that I feel like when you try and put it in a cage too much you’re not paying respect to it, and I think [our] goal is to pay respect to the history of it and the education behind it,” Van Note says. “We tell a story with almost every beer we pour because there’s a story behind every brewery, there’s a story behind every beer. I think it’s something that’s super fascinating because of the historical relevance of the liquid.”

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FAST FORWARD

How virtual reality, artificial intelligence and smart data are transforming the future of work

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workplace will take care of the administrative day-today: transcribing meeting notes, scheduling conference calls, responding to routine emails, and generally serving as a dutiful member of your team. Rooms and furnishings will feel more intuitive and comfortable, designed to accommodate diverse networks of writers, programmers, designers, and scientists who come together to solve difficult problems. Open, naturally lit spaces will host varied work styles, privacy expectations, and personality types of the teams that occupy them. Your office will feel more like a person, a colleague, or coach, who guides you toward your best self. The fringe of the future is already visible today. We are boosting employee engagement and wellbeing by designing future flexible workstations, collaborative lounges, treadmill stations and adjustable-height desks. In the world of big data, we are installing room sensors to measure space usage that provide feedback loops to optimize real estate decisions. Human centered design brings live walls and elements of nature indoors across healthcare, education and corporate industries. These examples represent just a few ways today’s companies are adapting spaces to align with human needs and the constantly changing workplace demands.

Machine learning has been around since IBM’s Deep Blue chess champion, but we are ultimately moving toward space learning. A.I. will teach us to anticipate and predict desired future states, go beyond sensing and responsiveness to assist with our project tasks and improve our workplace performance, productivity and wellbeing. Tomorrow, organizations will be able to manage information, space utilization and building efficiency as never before, all while giving workers greater control over their environments. We invite you to visit us and explore what lies ahead. Sincerely, Thomas Young IV, President customercare@youngoffice.com

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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS

ARIEL TURNER | STAFF aturner@communityjournals.com |

@arielhturner

December Design Review Board Urban Panel FRONT ROW

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The December city of Greenville Design Review Board Urban Panel public hearing on Dec. 6 was a brief one with only one item of new business on the docket and one item for advice and comments from the panel. All five panelists were present: Chairwoman Carmella Cioffi, Danielle Fontaine, Bogue Wallin, Robert Benedict, and Mitch Lehde. Wallin had previously announced but reminded the panel that he will be resigning from the board on Jan. 31, 2019. No replacement has been named for the volunteer position. The meeting was otherwise fairly straightforward with the one business receiving its certificate of appropriateness after a short discussion.

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PROJECT: FALLS WALK The West End town home development from Terry Birch and Willz Tolbert proposed for 102 Oneal St. was back at the DRB after getting the go-ahead at Octoberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public hearing to present modifications to the approved design. The modifications to the Falls Walk plans include a reworking of the site plan and changing the footprint closest to Academy Street to 11 units instead of 12 to give the residents more green space. Alterations also include changes to window height and adding railings to several of the elevations at the top of the building. Fontaine said she liked the railings at the top of the building and said the change in the windows give

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS

it a more industrial look, but affirmed that it was appropriate for the area of town. A motion was unanimously approved to grant the certificate of appropriateness. ADVICE & COMMENT A proposed senior-living, multifamily development on 3.7 acres at 254 S. Pleasantburg Drive was presented for informal advice and comments from the panel. The

| SQUARE FEET

developer will be buying a certain parcel of the property and ground-leasing another portion, including the parking lot shared with a neighboring office building, making major alterations to the site plan more complicated than if the developer owned the entire property. The panelists were unanimous in recommending the plan be revised to include more green space for the residents.

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DIGITAL MAVEN |

THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF BUSINES

Archive or backup? Answer these four questions By LAURA HAIGHT president, portfoliosc.com

Whether you’re thinking of moving your business data to a cloud-storage solution or you’re already there, there may be a potentially costly consideration you’ve overlooked: Archiving versus cloud storage and/or backup. No, it’s not the same thing. The difference is in accessibility and disaster recovery. Live data is current data used during normal regular business operations. When you back it up in either a storage environment or disaster-recovery service, you are guarding against losing a file, data corruption, or inaccessibility (like having to work in temporary offices during or after a disaster). Then there’s data that needs to be maintained for compliance or historical purposes. It’s

data that you may never need and rarely touch. That’s archived data. Storing each byte in the right place can, depending on your size, save your business money. It’s easy to confuse the idea of cloud storage (where you maintain data in the cloud and access it through an online application) with storage in the cloud (archiving). Companies engaging in AI development and big-data analytics may need a middle-ground solution called active archiving or cool storage. They need to maintain everything to inform analysis, but they do not need instant access. Using Microsoft’s Azure platform for a rough comparison, the monthly storage cost for 100 GB of frequently accessed data is $2 versus 20 cents for archiving it. There are some limitations, of course. Cloud services expect long-term storage commitments (Azure is six months) for archiving and you can expect longer turnaround times to access your archived data.

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Getting data in the right place begins by evaluating data types and accessibility requirements. Here are four questions to start that evaluation. WHAT DO YOU NEED THIS DATA FOR? Think about employment applications, for example. You may keep candidate resumes on file, but how often do you need instant access to them? More common is saving employment files for compliance purposes. If the data is something that needs to be maintained but requires some notice — usually a matter of hours — to become available, archive it. HOW OFTEN DO YOU TOUCH IT? Business is calendar driven. You do things monthly, quarterly, biannually, annually. Prioritize based on frequency of access. Usually, a year (maybe two) should be readily accessible. After that, they are historical records, or audit fodder. HOW QUICKLY WILL YOU NEED IT? This is a big differentiator between cool storage and archiving. If you get pop-up audits where you have no notice and must produce data files, you can still archive. But be cool, not cold. Cool storage (again from Azure) is accessible within seconds, not hours. That access costs more for data at rest (there are additional fees per GB accessed), but less than cloud storage. HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO SPEND? The difference between 20 cents and $2 for 100 GB doesn’t sound like much. But factor that across all employees, all desktops, all mobile devices, file servers, etc. Calculate the amount of data in each of your data types, layer in the additional charges for various types of access from application calls on up. And remember that your data doubles (or more) each year. One final tip: A lot of users really don’t trust their technology. There’s a good chance that there are copies of folders squirreled away on hard drives and external devices across your business. A good house cleaning can also cut your costs by eliminating backups of backups.

TAYLORS MILL Caleb Lewis comes from a long line of Taylors small business owners — four generations to be exact. Greg Cotton is married to an artist who found herself in need of studio space a few years ago. So when the two saw an opportunity to become the next stewards of the revitalization of the historic Taylors Mill, it seemed like a perfect fit. The Taylors Mill was originally established in 1924, and played a central role in the Taylors economy for 40 years as the home of Southern Bleachery and Print Works, where fabric was bleached, dyed and printed with patterns. That company would eventually be sold to Burlington Corporation, and the mill sat empty for nearly 26 years. “Many mills sat empty and forgotten for years,” says Lewis. “With nearly 750,000 square feet, the Taylors Mill is a huge building with constant struggles. The community we’ve built makes it all worth it.” The mill was purchased in the late 2000s, and rather than try to recruit one big player, the owner began renting smaller spaces to small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. Caleb’s company, Carolina Recycling, was an early tenant, as was Cotton Rouge & Company, where Greg’s wife, Katie, practices her craft as a makeup artist and photographer.

“We seek to provide affordable space to facilitate craft and commerce f or a new generation.”

In 2015, the owner was ready to sell, and Caleb and Greg decided to join forces and buy the building. Today, Taylors Mill is a bustling home to roughly 70 tenants that run the gamut from photographers and woodworkers to potters and letterpress printers. “Our mission is to create spaces that are affordable to artisans and start ups,” says Greg Cotton. “New businesses face a lot of struggles that make it a task to just keep the doors open and lights on. The Taylors Mill works to minimize that burden, and let our tenants keep their focus on creativity and community.” Taylors Mill is also home to 13 Stripes Brewery, which celebrates its first birthday this spring, and will soon play host to The Farehouse, a restaurant run by a husband and wife who have long dreamed of converting their catering business to brick and mortar. They are

excited about new retail space coming soon. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIAN ASHLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

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12.21.2018 | upstatebusinessjournal.com

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INVESTMENTS

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1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

UBJ milestone

CLIENT SERVICES

jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport

1988

Anita Harley | Rosie Peck Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

ART & PRODUCTION VISUAL DIRECTOR

1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993

1990 Jackson Dawson acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.

Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com

Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.

Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during

Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood. He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980. In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he

learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage. In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar. “Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said. Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders

with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.” In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.” Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning. The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet. Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s

2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space

1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court

also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design. Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series. “In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.” Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept

2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003

2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running

him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award. The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family. As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business. “From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.” Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”

2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people

2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award

pro-bono/non-proFit Clients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School

CoMMUnitY inVolVeMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board, Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board

November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21

20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013

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