Food and Beverage

ACE/Center for Economic Growth Creative Economy Roundtable Tour

March 23, 2018 By upstatecreative

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][rev_slider ACERoadShow2018][x_gap size=”15px”][cs_text]ACE and the Center for Economic Growth have concluded our 2018 Creative Economy Roundtable Tour.

This six-county tour, held in February and March 2018, brought more than 700 attendees to Capital Region cultural institutions and creative agencies for open discussions on our regional identity, business challenges and opportunities, and everything related to our region’s Creative Economy. At the sessions, facilitators also shared new data showing the economic contributions from the creative industries, one of the largest and most dynamic regional employment sectors.[/cs_text][cs_text]Special thanks to our event partners Fingerpaint and WMHT Educational Telecommunications, our event designer 2440 Design Studio, and our hosts: Overit, WMHT Educational Telecommunications, the Hyde Collection, Proctors, SPAC’s Hall of Springs, and Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House. ACE and CEG also thank the many local companies who provided refreshments for our Roundtable Tour, including Berben & Wolff’s, [forged], Fort Orange Brewing, Mazzone Hospitality, Sunhee’s Farm and Kitchen, and 22 2nd Street Wine Co.

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Congratulations, 40 Under 40 Honorees!

March 16, 2017 By upstatecreative

*Dan Cullen, Workforce Development Institute. Photo credit: Victoria Kereszi*

Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy (ACE) congratulates the 2017 honorees of the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under 40” list. This year, 10 of the 40 honorees are involved with ACE, or are leaders in the industry segments that compose the region’s Creative Economy. Among them:

Dan Cullen, regional director of the Workforce Development Institute (ACE Leadership)
Alejandro del Peral, founder and owner of Nine Pin Cider Works (Culinary Arts sector)
William Gamble, CEO and owner of Pinhole Press (Visual Arts and Handcrafts sector)
Dave Gardell, owner of the The Ruck/Rolling Stock Co. (Culinary Arts sector)
James Hardesty, medical strategy, Fingerpaint (Media sector)
Kristen Holler, executive director of the Albany Barn (Performing Arts, Media, and Visual Arts sectors)
Tony Iadiccio, executive director of the Albany Center Gallery (Visual Arts sector)
Kristen Holler, Albany Barn. Photo credit: Donna Abbott Vlahos, Albany Business Review
Cory Nelson, owner of Troy Kitchen (Culinary Arts sector)
Banni Singh, principal, D2D Green Design (Design sector)
Ali Skinner, director of strategic communications for CDPHP (Media sector)

“We’re really glad to see that so many of the ‘40 Under 40’ honorees are working in the Creative Economy,” said Maureen Sager, ACE’s project director. “Their businesses and organizations add so much vibrancy, excitement, and real competitive edge to the Capital and upstate region.”

ACE has recently begun working with the Culinary Arts and Agriculture industry. This group, estimated to employ 5,000 people in the region, is an integral part of the local Creative Economy, and ACE will have much more to announce about this sector in the coming months. Until then, toast these ’40 Under 40′ winners at Nine Pin Cider Works, Troy Kitchen, or the Ruck!

*Cory Nelson, Troy Kitchen. Photo credit: Donna Abbott Vlahos, Albany Business Review*

Schuylerville’s Creative Economy: Cake by Alissa

January 24, 2017 By upstatecreative

Alissa Woods worked as an executive recruiter for six years at a Boston, Massachusetts technology firm. “I was bored to tears, so I started taking some cooking classes on the side,” she said, standing behind the counter of her commercial kitchen on Broad Street and fixing an edible stethoscope onto a cake she was creating for a nurse.

Those early cooking classes led to a year-long bakery course and an internship at Putnam Market in Saratoga Springs, where she eventually graduated to the position of executive pastry chef. Woods started her business, Cake By Alissa, out of her Schuylerville home in 2011 and by November 2015, she set up shop on Broad Street. Her menu features more than a dozen cake, frosting and filling combinations, and she offers a bounty of options for special occasions. Putting together the pieces of a person’s life is a combination of creativity and research, said Woods, who also holds a degree in psychology from the University of New Hampshire. Since opening, she has hired two part-time employees to help with the work load.

“I call this my work shop. I’m open by appointment and it’s been working out great,” Woods said. One key is using high-quality ingredients. “There are things that you just can’t skimp on,” she said. The other is having a tight focus and being good at what you do. “It is a specialty, but I think doing one thing very, very well is what makes it successful.”

Taking cooking classes can lead you somewhere you didn’t realize you’d end up, it has a wealth of benefits for personal and professional use! So if you want to try it out, then why not do that? There are cooking classes boston that are available for people to try out, or if you are looking for somewhere closer to home, you can check out the website cocusocial.com to see what they have to offer.

Contact:

Cake By Alissa, 161 Broad Street, Schuylerville

(518) 727-7157 // Cake by Alissa Website