Category: SDL Twin Cities

“A lot of Santa portrayers say they started out when they answered a spiritual calling,” said Santa Steve of the North. “But for me, putting on the red suit for the first time was a financial decision. I was a young father working as a printing press operator back in 1985, and needed a little extra part-time work that would help me pay for Christmas. I saw an ad hiring Santas to appear at various locations around the Twin Cities. I thought that would fit nicely with my community theater background, so I gave them a call and got hired.

I understand the principles of natural selection just fine. Still, it is hard to accept that the guinea pig wasn’t designed for the sole purpose of eliciting adulation. The little creature’s high-pitched warbles, baked potato physique, inquisitive black marble eyes and big goofy nose make it look less like a rodent and more like a CGI addition to a kid’s movie developed around toy sales.

On March 14th, 2020, Rethink Tailoring & Sewing Lounge opened its doors in South Minneapolis. The very next day it closed them, due to COVID-19 safety protocols. Yet despite this rocky beginning, the unusual business has thrived. 

Any place can be improved by the addition of dogs. Your house? Arguably not a home until something enthusiastic and barking lives there. A ski resort? No one who has been buried under an avalanche ever crossed their fingers in hope that a cat would show up. Even hospitals, which are generally pretty concerned about sanitation, will let grinning Labs and goldens inside where they can raise spirits.

Are you familiar with the style of maximalism? The opposite of minimalism, maximalism is the aesthetic that teaches us that less is never more. Actually, more is more. In a world of HGTV gray on gray, maximalism embraces color, pattern, shine, and decadence. What some would dare call “tacky” or “over the top,” maximalism declares “just right.”