Hey! What’s Growing On?

As I am sure everyone knows Start Garden started today.  Start Garden is the next big thing from Rick DeVos and Pomegranate Studios, where people can submit ideas for a chance receive $5,000 in an initial investment.  Each week, 2 ideas will be chosen and given $5,000 and then the winners will be required to come back in 60-90 days and present where they are at with their winning idea for opportunity to get additional funding, in the amount of $20,000.  Ideas that are progressing well and have potential to become viable businesses can in theory receive up to $500,000 dollars from Start Garden.  The fund is backed up $15 million commitment from the DeVos family, so there is plenty of opportunities for many ideas to get a lot of investment dollars.  Throughout the process, ideas receiving funding will be able to get some resources and mentoring from Start Garden to help their idea move ahead.  The public gets to be involved in the process as well by choosing one of the weekly winners and public events will be held to present the progress of previous winners.

Some things I like about Start Garden:

  • Accountability.  Unlike the 5×5 Nights winners, who are not required to update anyone on their progress or what they have done with money that they won, Start Garden requires winners to come back in 60-90 days and update everyone on their progress.  Not to mention that great minds think alike, here is my tweet to 5×5 Night (Pomegranate Studio) on January 24, 2012 and their response.  I asked them if they followed-up with winners on their progress or what they were up to, and 5×5 responded that they didn’t..  I was always curious if there was an mechanism in place besides one own morals which prevent someone from coming up with a fake idea (charity/or good cause) and win the competition and just take the $5,000 and run.  Granted it would be a lot of work for someone to do all that but I am sure there must have been at least some hucksters who submitted ideas with this premise.  Plus people what to know what happens next, its like a cliffhanger and people want to see a resolution or at least the next chapter.  Start Garden did a great thing by adding in this extra step.
  • Helping ideas get off the ground, and giving them money
  • General philanthropy of the DeVos family
  • Getting exposure to some new, great, and interesting ideas (it could potentially give me more fodder for my blog)
  • And this great quote form Mlive “Backed by his wealthy family, [Rick] DeVos…” Wow way to empower all the troll commentators to like to spout negatives about the DeVos family.

Some things I don’t like:

  • All the garden talk.  I know its part of the name, and it helps complete the narrative, but look at this quote from Rick DeVos: ““Start Garden creates the field and brings the water. We ask the people to bring their ideas and plant them. And we ask existing businesses in our region to become the farmers. Because we believe the soil is fertile for business here and we can be the best place for somebody to have an idea and run with it”
  • Never did they really say what is going to happen to 5×5 Night, though by looking at the website, it does say “Site Closed Temporarily closed. Check out our new project Start Garden.”  None of the stories I read mentioned it, even the official press release never states what is going to happen to 5×5.
  • The logo should be green or brown instead of yellow… you know garden, things growing, greenery and soil.

Start Garden, cool idea, that I will be curiously following, and I am especially looking forward for the 60-90 day recaps which I think is the best part.  What are your thoughts?

It’s SPREADING…Beer Spill in West Michigan!

I’m overwhelmed… not just writing timely posts on this blog. I’m overwhelmed with beer, i.e. there are too many Michigan microbreweries.  It’s like someone opened up a microbrewery and poured it all over West Michigan.  But why?  Does Michigan really have favorable beer laws?

Who else remembers the days when we only had to worry about the big three in West Michigan Microbrews – Bell’s from Kalamazoo, Founders from Grand Rapids, and New Holland from Holland.  That was it.  Now it feels like when I am drinking one of those I am drinking…GASP… a Macrobrew, e.g. Budweiser, Miller.

So lets focus on all the West Michigan Microbreweries (we will stick to West Michigan so I don’t go crazy, and I will draw an arbitrary line down the middle of Michigan), there have been attempts to do this in the past and they just haven’t quite gotten all of them or just did not have the space for it all.

Here are some of the most recent examples:

So let’s start the list, of currently open breweries in the area:

Grand Rapids

  • Founders Brewing Company – By the way whats up with all the other “Founders” businesses – Founders Bank & Trust, Founders Wine Cellar.  Some facts, Founders was founded in 1997, and they expanding big time.
  • Schmohz Brewing – Where scantily clad ladies adorn almost all the bottles.  Where they used to have a horrible looking website with the white checkered background and choppy navigation.  Glad they got a new one.
  • The B.O.B. – Has its own brewing facilities at the restaurant and entertainment complex, where they serve their various microbrews.
  • Hideout Brewing – This brewery was modeled after the pre-prohibition breweries, and the interior decor has been modeled after prohibition area photos to give the brewery that feel.
  • Brewery Vivant – Despite having a rooster on the logo, Vivant doesn’t mean Rooster in French.  This brewery was founded by Jason Spaulding, one of the co-founders of New Holland Brewery, after he sold his interest in 2008.
  • Jaden James Brewery – One of the breweries that grew out of an existing winery.  Jaden James is located at Cascade Winery in Grand Rapids.
  • HopCat – One of the purported best beer bars in the world, with a massive beer selection, they have start to expand their offerings by brewing their own beer.  I can see why they have a pretty massive beer list.
  • Harmony Brewing Company – One of the newest additions to the GR beer scene, they just opened Feb. 1st by 3 siblings.  They also own Bear Manor Properties, that own a number of rental buildings in the the Uptown area of Grand Rapids.

Kalamazoo Area

  • Paw Paw Brewing Company – In Paw Paw, and they do in fact have a paw print in their logo.  Well more like a hop with some claws attached.  This brewery was founded by two brothers-in-law, it also mentions how they were able to ask questions and learn from some of the other microbreweries in the state.
  • Bell’s Brewery – The grandfather of Michigan microbrews opened up in 1985, look at what its spawned, at least according to some people in the industry – according to hopcatgr in the BeerAdvocate.com cache version of their forum, he offered this insight ” One, Larry Bell is a visionary but I think he’s also a tough guy to work for (sorry Larry) so a number of people learned there and then went off to start their own thing. That got the ball rolling”.  More on this near the end of the post.
  • Olde Pennisula BrewPub – This restaurant and brewpub is located in downtown Kalamazoo.
  • Arcadia Brewing Company – In Battle Creek, prides itself on crafting British-Style ales, and was founded in 1996.
  • Dark Horse Brewing Company – In Marshall, Dark Horse has an interesting backstory, the founder Aaron Morse opened up a brewpub, which failed, but he tried again by opening up a brewery which has become pretty successful, undergoing a $700,000 expansion in 2011.  It also states that they are looking at adding on distillery, bakery, creamery, and candy shop, which might be taking diversification a little too far.
  • Bravo Restaurant & Cafe – in Kalamazoo, on the website it states that they are the only restaurant in Kalamazoo that brews its own beer, but what about Bilbo’s and Olde Pennisula? Or  maybe a restaurant classification is different than a pizza place, and brew-pub.
  • Bigg Dogg Brewing Company – in Kalamazoo, seems like he is more of a brewmater consultant who will sell recipes and guest brew.
  • Bilbo’s Pizza – Not only does Middle Earth serve pizza, but it also brews its own beer… no word on the pipeweed.  The microbrews are only available at their Stadium Drive location in Kalamazoo.

Lakeshore

  • Odd Side Ales – in Grand Haven.  They have a nice story, a former accountant laid off, starts a brewery with wife. It is also known as one of the smallest breweries in the country, so you will often find a rotating unique beers available in limited quantities.
  • Old Boys’ Brewhouse – in Spring Lake, is a brewpub place, which was inspired by a dog named Brutus, though affectionately called Old Boy.  They are also looking to expand per this recent article in mlive.
  • New Holland Brewing – In Holland, this is another old timer who got started in 1997.  It was co-founded by two individuals, one of whom is running Brewery Vivant, read more about that in this old Ledger post.
  • Saugatuck Brewing Company – in Saugatuck… or actually it’s in Douglas… the name is pure lies, just like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
  • The Round Barn Brewery - in Baroda.  One of the few cross-over winery/breweries like Jaden James in Grand Rapids.
  • The Livery - in Benton Harbor, surprisingly the only microbrewery in the Benton Harbor/St. Joe area.  Named after the over 100 year old building in which the brewery now resides which was once called the “Palace Livery”.  More from mlive.
  • Jamesport Brewing Company – is a brewpub located in Ludington. Mlive’s take.
  • Greenbush Brewing Company- in Sawyer, They have a unique tie to Chicago, mainly through their distributor, but they have gotten lots of press out of Chicago as witnessed on their press page.  One of the co-owners is from Chicago, so that could explain that connection, but still pretty impressive for brewery opened for less than a year to already have that distribution in place.

Other

  • Michigan Beer Cellar – in Sparta, maybe they should have called it Michigan Beer Seller !!!!!!  (this post is wearing on me)
  • Waldorf  Brewpub - in Hastings
  • Middle Villa Inn & Microbrewery – in Middleville. They are very found of their water, per the website its the best ingredient in their beer, and Middleville has the best water in Michigan.  Next post I will rate the water on tap throughout the state.
  • Patchwork Brewery – in Decatur.  Not only does Patchwork describe the curtains, the renovation process of the building, or the bar (which is really cool), but also the website (I kid, it’s fine).  If you want to learn more about the renovation process and curtains read this.  This brewery is a woman owned and brewed, which just prompted me to create another column in my spreadsheet – woman owned.
  • Dewey Cannon Winery & Brewery - in Three Oaks, here are some of their beers.
  • White Flame Brewing Company – in Hudsonville, this has to be a Kenny Powers fan right?  Nah its just based on the owner/brewer’s last name of White, and his wife’s nickname… boring… why wouldn’t someone name a brewery after their favorite TV show.  I mean Bilbo’s Pizza did it with a book.  Note if I ever open a brewery it will be named after some reference in “A Song of Ice and Fire“  maybe something with Crows.

Up North

  • Shorts Brewing Company – in Bellaire, and yes each bottle cap features a waist with cut off shorts and legs dangling.  They actually bottle in Elk Rapids, and their brewpub is in Bellaire.  The brewery is named after its founder Joe Short.  Full history here.
  • North Peak Brewing Company - in Traverse City, I really enjoy their branding..bottles, and their look.  Simple, and clean, and consistent. Interesting side note is that all their beers are brewed with Michigan grown ingredients.
  • Jolly Pumpkin – Traverse City, whats with all the Spanish named beers?  That I can’t answer but I can answer what’s with the name.
  • Right Brain Brewery – in Traverse City.  I find their website enchanting.  Something about these breweries up north.  They seem to really have their act together with their marketing and brand.  Shorts, North Peak, and Right Brain are all doing it right.  The owner is right brained you know.
  • Leelanau Brewing CompanyTraverse City.  The logo is different, not your typical microbrewery type logo… looks more like an biker gang logo.  They currently brew at Jolly Pumpkin but sell under their own label.  Per their website they are working on their own brewery.
  • Big O Brewery – in Northport.  Well they are an organic winery, I am not sure about the beer, but they have guest brewers come in to make beer.
  • Mackinaw Brewing Company – Traverse City, should be located by the bridge don’t you think?
  • Kilkenny’s Irish Public House – Traverse City

Breweries in the Pipeline
So since we have come up with 38 breweries that are currently open and serving beers, we now we are going to look at the rest of the breweries “brewing” in the area.  There will be 12 more.

Grand Rapids

  • Elk Brewing CompanyLogo looks like the bottle is throwing up gang signs no?
  • The Mitten Brewing Company – The baseball themed brewery, and as a baseball fan I am extremely intrigued by this one, though I am surprised that their logo doesn’t feature any baseball theme in it… maybe make the mitten look more like a mitt.  Just a thought.  Also they have the unusual distinction of having some brand confusion, with the likes of Big Mitten Brewing Company in Plymouth (though they may not be around anymore, website is down), and Mitten Brew a beer blog,
  • Grand Rapids Brewing Company – This was an original  brewery in Grand Rapids, started in 1893 that ended during the prohibition.  The brand and the beer names were bought and brought back in 1993, where they operated a brewery and restaurant on 28th Street.  The business was sold a couple of times, and was finally shuttered in June 2011.  In September 2011, Mark Sellers owner of Hopcat, and plenty of other bars in Grand Rapids (all under the BarFly properties name), purchased the assets of the brewery and all the brand names, and plans to reopen the brewery somewhere in downtown Grand Rapids, but he is not ready to say where yet.
  • High Five Beer Co-op Brewery – Great website www.beer.coop and become one of the few beer co-operative in the country.  I am a little fuzzy on how exactly this co-operative thing works, but they are doing it.  They also won the 5×5 Night competition in Grand Rapids.

Comstock Park

  • Perrin Brewing Company – They can join Mitten Brewing as one of the logo only websites.  More details here. Another update here, and one more here.  Its funny how they are getting bigger and bigger without even being open.  Also looks like they are having some branding identity issues.

Rockford

Allegan County

  • Barking Cat Brewery – Eh not to thrilled with the name, but I do like cats.  It’s also one of the only breweries that does not have a location/city confirmed, they are looking to open in 2013. More info here.
  • Old Mill Brewpub – in Plainwell.  Though they are serving beer, it is not their own yet.  They are looking to do that in 2013 pending licensing approvals, and then he the owner wants to start bottling his own beer as well.  Interesting and ironic history note, is that the location of this brewpub, the Sunshine Flour mill was once owned by a leading prohibitionist who helped pass that law in Michigan John Eesley

Others

So why is there such an abundance of microbreweries in Michigan ( we are only focusing on the West side of the state)?  Typing this question into google did not yield many results, but I did come across someone asking this same question in an old forum post on BeerAdvocate.com.  You are best skipping to the bottom of  of the page and work your way up (stupid commentators contributing nothing early on, much like you guys :) ).  Some theories that were thrown out were the following:

  • Water quality ( especially in Middleville)
  • Cheap Real Estate
  • Buy Local Movement/Pride in the State
  • Farming conditions and climate for growing barley and wheat

But look at the last comment, its from hopcatgr, which I presume is Mark Sellers owner of Hopcat in Grand Rapids ( I could be wrong though). But he states the following:

“There are several factors. One, Larry Bell is a visionary but I think he’s also a tough guy to work for (sorry Larry) so a number of people learned there and then went off to start their own thing. That got the ball rolling.
Two, we’re allowed by law to distribute beer and still have a retail taproom (in Georgia and some other states, if you distribute you can’t have a taproom). Without a retail taproom it’s much harder to make a profit as a new brewery. So the law is on our side here.
Three, there’s no ABV (editor: Alcohol By Volume) cap like there is in Utah and some other states. We are free to make whatever beer we want.
Four, there’s a lot of space, real estate is cheap. For a brewery, you need a lot of low-cost space. That’s why there are very few breweries in NYC despite high population density and affluent customer base, while there are quite a few in Grand Rapids, MI.
And five…most important…the number of breweries/brewpubs PER CAPITA in Michigan is actually lower than several other states.”

So since those comments are coming from an actual brewer I would think that those are some good, honest reasons for the rise in microbreweries in Michigan.  The most surprising one was the mentoring by Larry Bell of Bell’s Brewery, and how many people have left to start there own.  Anyone have information on what breweries were started by Bell’s Brewery disciples?  Also the retail taproom concept makes sense because almost all the breweries listed in this article either are running a brewpub, or selling their beers in other ways.  So almost all of the microbreweries are taking advantage of having a retail taproom, and they are able to position themselves better in the market and become a destination for consumers.  Which leads me to my next point about location.  I was shocked at the number of breweries in Traverse City, which had 8 breweries currently and planned.  That is 4 less than Grand Rapids, a city with 774,160 residents in the metropolitan area, compared to 143,372 in the area around Traverse City.  I definitely see some opportunities with a brewery in St. Joseph (which has nothing), or even New Buffalo, which are both big tourist cities at least in the summer.  These are both some nice lakeshore cities. Another thought would be opening up a brewery in the casino towns, you know give people another reason to visit instead of just gambling, like drinking.

If I was skilled at graphic design, I would create an infographic on all the breweries, but I can’t so instead I created a spreadsheet.  For example there are 9 breweries that an animal reference either in name, or that display an animal in their logo.  There are 6 breweries that are named after the location they are based in (though the Saugatuck Brewing Company is debatable since it it actually located in the Douglas).  Then there are 5 breweries that have a name that references either Michigan or a landmark in Michigan.  Then there are 3 breweries that make reference to pop culture.  Finally, and most importantly out of the 38 currently operating breweries, I have had tried 14 of them.  Want to know what other zany categories these breweries fall into?  Then download my spreadsheet  The Ledger Beer List, it’s pretty great.

I think it’s time for The Ledger West Michigan Microbrewery Crawl 2012!  How many of these can we hit in a day, and who has a big bus we can use?  Anyone? Remember I have only tried 14, over 20 more to go plus more when the new ones open up.

R.I.P. Micro Breweries

So did I miss anything, and more columns for my spreadsheet.  Any more interesting facts about the breweries mentioned above?

Comparing & Contrasting Two Articles on Carlton Techologies

On February 19th, 2012 The Holland Sentinel’s Stephen Kloosterman wrote an article about Carlton Technologies, a firm in Holland that repairs electronic devices for businesses.
On March 8th, 2012 Myron Kukla of The Grand Rapids Press wrote a story about Carlton Technologies as well.

Some facts out of The Holland Sentinel Story

  • The company posted 150 percent growth in total revenue over the past three years
  • Since Feb. 2007, the number of repairs performed per year has increased by more than 130 percent
  • Customers include Spartan Stores, Gentex, Steelcase and Haworth.
  • Computerized scanner is used as an example of a before repair unit, and showcased as a refurbished scanner, looking “nearly brand new”
  • Talks about their new website
  • Promotes their new slogan “We Make Things Work. Better”
  • They have a quote from a Haworth executive about their service

Some facts out of The Grand Rapids Press story:

  • Growth here by 150 percent during the last three years,
  • 2012 sales in the $10 million to $20 million range
  • Clients are Spartan Stores, Costco, Wolverine Worldwide, U-Haul and ABC Warehouse.
  • Has a quote from a Haworth executive about their services
  • Mentions they may expand into smartphones
  • Talks more about the business operations

After reading both articles closely, I have two theories on how these two publications have such similar stories.  It’s either a pretty blatant case of plagiarism, or the more likely scenario, is that Carlton Technologies sent out a press release that got picked up by both papers.  Then each author did an interview with Carlton’s CEO & president Ryan Bracken, where he shared some information with both authors.  The reason I say this is because of the quote from Haworth’s Jim Morse, the Computing Services manager, is exactly the same in both articles.  But also neither story really talks about or introduces this Haworth angle, so the quote seems to come out of no where, which leads me to believe that this quote was mentioned in the press release, and therefore just picked up  and included by both authors.

Still kind of weird seeing two very similar stories come out less than 1 month a part right?  Thoughts or other theories?

If you like to play games, feel free to play the Carlton Technologies – Match the Customer with the Case Study game.

HUGE Annoyance

I have a radio in my car.  No tape deck, no CD player, and no aux jack… so in my daily commutes I get stuck listening to radio.  With the West Michigan radio options already quite lacking, I struggle to entertain myself when a program I am listening to goes on commercial break.  There is often a lot of dial switching going on.

Not sure why the logo is cracking

Occasionally, I stumble upon WBBL 107.3  and if it’s in the afternoon I get to hear the HUGE (Bill Simonson) show… and I don’t like what I hear.  Maybe its the voice, or the whole on-air persona of all-knowing and talking down to callers of the show.  But those are minor things to what I really dislike… the constant barrage of sponsorships of everything, and all the ads that HUGE lends his voice over talents for.  It’s a constant to hear  Huge’s voice during the show, and throughout the whole commercial break.  Here is a small sampling of some of the advertisements that Huge does, and some of the sponsorships that I have heard:

Sponsored by The Ledger

Show sponsors include:

It's a HUGE Deal!

For a casual listener it seems like there is a mandate that advertisers must use the voice of Bill Simonson in their radio ads or else.  Or perhaps that booming voice just helps in tough talking people to buy product xyz.  I know that a lot of radio shows do provide voice over services, but on the HUGE Show the percentage of those types of ads is vastly above and beyond what other shows do. Additionally, The Huge Show also goes over the top with having everything associated with the show sponsored like an inbox, or a website, or the phone lines… and then the constant reinforcement of this sponsor is out of control.

Sponsored by The Ledger on Twitter

Luckily, I am not the only one who feels this way, check out one of the more interesting blogs I have come across called Beeotch of The Day which seems to be run by someone in the Grand Rapids radio business.  Bill Simonson was twice nominated for Beeotch of The Day… once for his over use of sponsors and voice over ads , and nominated for the second time for just being plain lousy in the Radio rankings, and even getting bested by the other sports radio show in town on 96.1.  Furthermore, in reading over some of the MLive comments that were made on this story about the Free Beer and Hot Wings Show imitating and poking fun at Bill Simonson, many people also share similarly negative thoughts of HUGE, and notably commenter Thirdplanet who wrote the following “The reason this is so funny is because it is all so true. The Huge show is like one 3 hour commercial and apparently Huge will endorse anything. “

Photo sponsored by The Ledger on Facebook

Lastly, what bugs me about Huge is that his Amway Inbox can be reached through his “State Wide” email address, and “State Wide” website.  “State Wide” email addresses and websites are available to anyone globally… so stop saying it, it sounds stupid, and makes you sound even more ridiculous.

Just listen to his show, and count the number of ads, and sponsors, its HUGE!

Out of curiosity is it cheaper usually to have a company produce its own commercial or to hire an on-air personality to do the radio spot?

Orlando Magic CEO Bob Vander Weide Steps Down Because of A Drunk Call

And you thought only young people drunk dial and usually toward their exes!  Well CEO of the Orlando Magic, Bob Vander Weide, drunk dialed the team’s star player Dwight Howard at 1am a few days ago.  The conversation involved Vander Weide stating to Dwight how badly they wanted him to stay in Orlando and play with the Magic, which is odd since he is not a free agent this year (but he will be after the 2011-2012 season ends).  As fall out of this phone call, Vander Weide is stepping down as CEO of the Magic, though it should be noted that his contract was set to expire on December 31st, so he might have been planing his exit for a while.  Though I doubt that the drunk dial was supposed to be the crux of his exit strategy.

Not sure what was louder the audio system or Bob's shirt

Now a little background on Bob Vander Weide.  He is married to Cheri DeVos, daughter of the Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, so he is firmly entrenched in the DeVos family business (more on that below, and this previous blog post).  The Orlando Sentinel did a nice piece on Vander Weide in 2008, which can be read here (it also talks about his private Gulfstream jet).  It gives some background on Vander Weide and how he became a part of the DeVos family and began working for the Magic.  In addition to his Magic responsibilities, he had many other West Michigan business, roles and organizations to keep track of or be a part of, such as:

There are rumors going around that Vander Weide stepping down is also related to some marriage troubles with his wife, which Vander Weide flat out denies.  He also states that by leaving the role of CEO of the Magic, he can devote more time to his family which includes 5 children.  Since he will still be a part of the Magic organization in a consulting role, and likely still traveling back and forth from Grand Rapids to Orlando, I am not sure how much more time he will spend with them but per that Orlando Sentinel article, he makes it happen by working remotely in Grand Rapids, and flying around in the Gulfstream when needed.

I would be curious to find out how the story of the drunk dial got leaked?  Was it Vander Weide’s paddle (does he mean ping pong?) & wine drinking buddies (They must have egged him on to call), or was Dwight Howard pissed about the call, and told some people in management? Or was it just general gossip.

If interested in the the whole transition of power at the Magic, here is the official scoop (warning more DeVos names in article).

The Miller’s

Having driven down Main Street in Zeeland before, I never paid much attention to some of the businesses located on the east stretch of the road by Chicago Drive.  Then one day, while driving down Main Street, it hit me- Herman & Howard Miller!  These two similarly named businesses are located right across the street from one another.  I thought it was quite peculiar that the Herman Miller facility is located on the north side of Main Street at address number 855, and Howard Miller is located directly across from Herman Miller on the south side of Main Street at address number 860.  I even took a photo (amazing right).

Obviously, I had to research this  connection and come up with some wild theories on how this curious arrangement came to be.  I even had the “Brothers from Other Mothers” blog title developed (I guess the Miller’s will do).  But this all came crashing down, as soon as I read the following line from Wikipedia- “Howard Miller Clock Company was founded in 1926 as the Herman Miller Clock Company division of office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller. It was spun off in 1937 and re-named, under the leadership of Herman Miller’s son Howard C. Miller.”  Digging into Herman Miller’s company history page they had a slightly different version of events, namely D.J. Dupree, the president of Herman Miller and son-in-law to Herman Miller, and brother-in-law to Howard Miller, spun off the company to Howard.   I should also mention that the companies are no longer affiliated with each other.

Sad to say but I am mildly disappointed, I was hoping for some more drama.  My great title, and all my wild theories went out the door, like pure coincidence, dueling brothers, extreme Herman Miller fanboy, or overly aggressive salesman trying to right the coattails of the Miller name and all along it was just pure nepotism (or was it), though maybe there was some dueling brothers-in-law back story.

Herman Miller Logo

But at least it makes sense.  Naturally having a company division spun off and close in proximity to the headquarters was beneficial back in the 1920s and 30s.  It would be interesting to learn more on why the Howard Miller was spun off.

Besides the same last names and H first names, and locations, there are some other similarities between the companies with their logos.  The rounded valley in the Herman Miller logo, and the rounded parts of the bottom and top of the U shaped parts that for the H in the Howard Miller logo.

Likewise, I also see a lot more similarities between Herman Miller logo with Motorola’s.  When I was new to the area I was always curious on why Motorola had such a huge presence in West Michigan (stupid, stupid, stupid).

Motorola

Read more about Howard Miller history here, and Herman Miller history here.

I wonder if they each have their own softball teams with the Zeeland Rec league, maybe that’s where the (most likely imagined) bad blood is.

Looking the Part?

I’m sure you’ve seen them, bad publicity photos, cheesy professional headshots.  You know those ones where it looks like the person is just smiling a little too hard, or they are holding their head at an awkward angle.  Depending on your position, having a good professional headshot is a must, and it should go without saying that the individual being photographed should dress professionally as well, and a president or CEO would be one such person.

Well the family owned business issue of “Business” the publication from Holland Chamber of Commerce brings us this:

Could you imagine if he had a lei on?

Jeff Mulder is the CEO and President of ODL (manufacturer of decorative door glass and other residential products) an international company headquartered in Zeeland, that employs over 800 people in 6 countries.  So he is not the CEO of a small machine shop in town, but of a pretty large company.  But why, oh why was it decided that wearing a Hawaiian shirt for a headshot was a good idea, and even more shocking, why was this photo submitted for use in this publication.  So maybe wearing the power suit with red tie, might not be the best choice of photo for the family business issue, so why not go with the ODL embroidered shirt from Land’s End?  Though it could be worse, they could have gone with the edited out significant other photo, those can always be found on Rapid Growth’s Jobs Landed section (Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, Exhibit 3, Exhibit 4).

Why so serious?

Not to be overlooked but there is also just plain angry photos, like the above from one of the members of Status Creative.  Why is Scott Erickson so angry?  It looks especially odd right next to his co-worker Rob Bliss, who sports quite an affable look in his photo.

Do you have any favorite bad publicity photos you would like to share?  Share them here or on The Ledger facebook page.  Does a weird, bad, or awkward photo, change your thoughts of that person?