Thanks to a 2026 @joyengine grant, local artist and poet @anjanotanja will present “Voices From The Animal Kingdom, ”a free, all-ages interactive performance piece at the @washingtonparkmediacenter on April 24th during the 43rd & Vliet @nearwestsidepartners neighborhood open house. Between 6-10pm, over 15 Milwaukee writers and artists will represent an animal that they’ve thoroughly researched. Members of the public may write down one intentional question to receive several silent animal insights. Answers will be drawn, danced, or typewritten— all live and without a drop of AI.
Had to wear all black to the @edessafashion fashion show this weekend. Because I own a giant white floofer dog, I gave up black years ago. I have literally _none_ black in my wardrobe. I had to go borrow this entire outfit from a friend. Thank you for helping me look chic, @barbalini . It was a joy to play in your closet and share the evening with you and @nydsjmj .
Jaw was on the floor a few times during this show. @edessafashion did a great job. Impressive menswear, inclusive models (ages, looks, bodies), and one outrageous voicemail replayed for the entire audience to hear. Wow, wow, wow. Loved every minute of this. Nothing like anything I’d seen before.
Cool Milwaukeean, candidate for national treasure. Lyn Kream is a designer with an enormous heart. She works for the Milwaukee Ballet School, making dancers of all shapes, sizes, and colors feel welcome through costumes. She also creates costumes for the Milwaukee Drag Community, starting way back with Trixie Mattel, and dressing legends like Tempest Heat (RIP), and Jaida Essence Hall. She will be at @edessafashion teaching the nation's FIRST ever class focused exclusively on drag costuming: Drag Design and Construction.
Cool Milwaukeean, Woman to Know: @edessafashion has a new home in the @themarshallbuilding . I was so impressed by what I saw and heard, I made a small donation on the spot. A big part of that is the leadership of @spelllynnewithane .
This woman is a BIG DEAL. She is a multi-award winner for her work in the community. She also has the bona fides - she's a fashion designer who has work in the permanent collection at the @smithsonian and in the @museumofwiart . She has been working in higher education for 35 years - University of Delaware, Mount Mary, MATC. In 2022, she opened her own college, Edessa, creating over 125 courses. Under her leadership, Edessa students have shown their designs at Fashion Weeks in New York, Chicago, Kenya, and Paris. What an astounding thing for Milwaukee. I'm grabbing tickets to their next fashion show, Jan 10, 2026. You should come too. /e/haute-list-crescendo-tickets-1712350338959?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios
Cool Milwaukeean, signal boosting:
Meet Emily Thomas of @emnd_goods ,
Formerly repairer in residence at @mke_outdoor_indoor_exchange .
Her company, EMND, makes new clothes out of used clothing that has holes, stains, broken zippers, etc., and now she's scaling up to include apprentices as she has become busier. She now needs funding to hire people to learn to sew and draft patterns.
Emily is a winner of the Wisconsin Business Governor's Business Plan Contest and was awarded space in Walkers Point to expand her production. She has a 5-year plan for a training program that hires people with little to no higher education, and letting them sew their way up through a 4-year apprenticeship (while paying a living wage, yay!). I love this for a variety of reasons - eco, sustainable, ethical, local!
Know anyone who is also passionate about this kind of thing? Send it their way or tag them below.
Met this sweet foster pup in our neighborhood. Greeted me with big tail wags. His name is Carleton. He has soulful eyes, a little eye patch, and he needs a home. Know anyone?
/carlton-sam
Looking for something to do this weekend? Free and open to the public. Winter Break lets you try out bird watching, snowshoeing, dog sledding, fat tire biking and more. Grab a warm beverage indoors and get arty, watch a film, commission some fireside poetry.
#winterbreakmke
