+ Park + Vine... Where Being Green Is Easy
The Greener Grass recently sat down with Dan Korman, the owner of Park + Vine. Named for it's location on the corner of Central Parkway and Vine Streets in Cincinnati, OH, it is "a green general store where being green is easy" as the website declares - and where it also boasts a Walk Score of 97 out of 100.
The Greener Grass: Let's get some background first... where did you get the inspiration for the store?
Dan Korman: I got the inspiration from going to a farmer's market in Chicago called Green City Market, a sustainable market, so I became friends with a lot of the vendors there who are a combination of farmers, bakers and soap makers, and I just got a lot of inspiration from what they were doing as entrepreneurs and on a mission to make a product that was not only good for people, but also good for the environment. And then I saw three of them go from being vendors at the market to having their own storefront which gave me great inspiration.
TGG: And it's so unique for Cincy - that's why I got excited about it. So, you've been open for seven months... How's business?
DK: Business is great actually - December was our best month in terms of retail... we started off strong in June, fell off a little in July and every month thereafter it's gone up, and we're essentially breaking even. There seemed to be a lot of pre-opening press exposure, and then the area started opening up, but because of the make up of the store we were able to ride it on our own, and not just the things happening around us.
TGG: That's great, and it seems like 'green living' has permeated the public consciousness now. Have you ever had anyone come into the store that hasn't understood its premise?
DK: No, most people who come here know about the store before they come in - well, word of mouth is the number one way people hear about it, and then whenever we're in the Enquirer or City Beat we typically get a nice little rush. Sometimes we'll get somebody who is like "What is this place?" - which is exciting! But what is also exciting is when we get people who are not from here who come specifically to this store from another area.
TGG: On your website and your blog you talk about local things that are happening in your neighborhood of Over the Rhine. How is 'being local' connected to 'being green' and saving energy?
DK: I was just asked something along those lines - what's most important to the business? Is it that you have products that are made out of recycled materials, is it that it's locally made, etc.? - it's really a combination of all of those things. We look for as much stuff as we can that is made locally and then bringing in stuff that fits the store's mission, and maybe that will provide inspiration for somebody to make it locally, like the furniture that we are sitting in right now. (Chairs and side table made from bike parts). Which captures a lot of people's imaginations. I'm a big proponent of shopping local - three times more money goes back into the community if you shop at a locally owned store versus a chain.
TGG: I think there's a lot of people that don't know that...
DK: It's statistally proven... I'm sure you've seen the Buycincy.com blog - and with the whole Cincinnati Unchained event we've aligned ourselves with and hopefully next year there will be even more momentum and businesses participating in it, raising awareness. It's funny because I've found that it's more of a struggle with my own family forgetting that one of their own family members owns a business and supporting that before going somewhere else...
TGG: Awareness and education seems still to be a really big issue when it comes to how to 'live green'...
DK: And without being too heavy-handed message as well, because we don't want that to be the case with this store, we want to keep things upbeat and offer a positive message. In addition to being a retail store, we have an education outreach arm as well - we're planning a workshop on composting and lead paints and somebody has pitched the idea of eco-feminism.
TGG: How are someways that the store itself is energy efficient?
DK: First off, we're in an existing building, so we're using something that was already here; I think it was built in the 1880's, and when we painted it we used non-toxic paint, Low-VOC paint. We use compact fluorescent lighting, and we had our HVAC system upgraded to where it complies with L.E.E.D. requirements. We're pretty sure we have the prerequisites in place for L.E.E.D., we just haven't pursued it. The refrigerator up front and the coffee maker that we have are Energy Star rated and a lot of the displays that we use in the store are re-used from other stores that no longer exist or things we found at antique stores. And we encourage people to ride their bikes or walk to the store... Starting February 1st officially, anyone who bikes or walks to the store gets 10% off.
TGG: That's awesome. So of the items in Park + Vine, what are some of the biggest energy savers for people?
DK: Well, water bottles are big. Instead of buying water bottles over and over again, you just use one and the same thing with reusable bags, we sell tons of reusable bags. We don't sell a ton of compact fluorescent bulbs, but we do have them in the store, and then we have the Smart Strip as well.
TGG: That's interesting, because I think the first two things that you mentioned would surprise most people as energy savers, but recently China just banned giving away free plastic bags at retail citing that they are "a huge waste of energy..."
DK: That's amazing... I'm going to put that on our blog.
TGG: You mentioned having more solar powered items - and it seems like solar products is kind of a maze when looking. I know you sell bags from Voltaic Systems for charging up small electronics. Are there many companies doing that for personal items?
DK: We're looking at a company called Silicon Solar which has a whole array of consumer friendly products that they make, and we were looking at solar powered holiday lights for the season, which makes sense for the outdoor, but didn't get to it in time, but we just went with the LED holiday lights. We are still going ahead with the batteries and battery chargers because of several requests. And that's what the store is - a direct response to what customers want. Doesn't it seem like the store has changed since you've first come in?
TGG: Yeah, it definitely has, and that's an interesting point. There's so many new 'green' items coming out that it seems there has to be a back and forth between who knows what's best and why...
DK: It goes both ways here. Our biggest competition is online, and what we've learned is that we need to let people know as much as possible about what we have, because we'll have people come into the store and say something like "Oh I didn't realize you had these Klean Kanteen bottles?!" because there is a certain amount of brand loyalty to certain products and people are used to buying them online. So they'll say, "Had I known I would have got them from you because the price is the same, and you don't have to pay for shipping."
TGG: So what's the greener grass for Park + Vine; what's in store for the future?
DK: Do more education outreach, and get even more involved in the neighborhood and the city in terms of Green initiatives because there is a lot going on in Cincinnati - it's amazing.
TGG: What are you most excited about?
DK: There's an initiative to make Over the Rhine a L.E.E.D. certified neighborhood as a whole... that's big. We're obviously excited about any bike initiatives along the river, glad that the city didn't cut the bike program and of course the street car... it would definitely affect us and be good for the overall city. And then we're bringing in compost bins and recycling containers, and more solar powered stuff, batteries and battery chargers. In the future, I'd love to get more into home improvement, building materials as well. We obviously only have so much space here... maybe build a L.E.E.D. certified building next door... who knows?
The Greener Grass: Let's get some background first... where did you get the inspiration for the store?
Dan Korman: I got the inspiration from going to a farmer's market in Chicago called Green City Market, a sustainable market, so I became friends with a lot of the vendors there who are a combination of farmers, bakers and soap makers, and I just got a lot of inspiration from what they were doing as entrepreneurs and on a mission to make a product that was not only good for people, but also good for the environment. And then I saw three of them go from being vendors at the market to having their own storefront which gave me great inspiration.
"I'm a big proponent of shopping local - three times more money goes back into the community if you shop at a locally owned store versus a chain."
TGG: And it's so unique for Cincy - that's why I got excited about it. So, you've been open for seven months... How's business?
DK: Business is great actually - December was our best month in terms of retail... we started off strong in June, fell off a little in July and every month thereafter it's gone up, and we're essentially breaking even. There seemed to be a lot of pre-opening press exposure, and then the area started opening up, but because of the make up of the store we were able to ride it on our own, and not just the things happening around us.
TGG: That's great, and it seems like 'green living' has permeated the public consciousness now. Have you ever had anyone come into the store that hasn't understood its premise?
DK: No, most people who come here know about the store before they come in - well, word of mouth is the number one way people hear about it, and then whenever we're in the Enquirer or City Beat we typically get a nice little rush. Sometimes we'll get somebody who is like "What is this place?" - which is exciting! But what is also exciting is when we get people who are not from here who come specifically to this store from another area.
TGG: On your website and your blog you talk about local things that are happening in your neighborhood of Over the Rhine. How is 'being local' connected to 'being green' and saving energy?
DK: I was just asked something along those lines - what's most important to the business? Is it that you have products that are made out of recycled materials, is it that it's locally made, etc.? - it's really a combination of all of those things. We look for as much stuff as we can that is made locally and then bringing in stuff that fits the store's mission, and maybe that will provide inspiration for somebody to make it locally, like the furniture that we are sitting in right now. (Chairs and side table made from bike parts). Which captures a lot of people's imaginations. I'm a big proponent of shopping local - three times more money goes back into the community if you shop at a locally owned store versus a chain.
TGG: I think there's a lot of people that don't know that...
DK: It's statistally proven... I'm sure you've seen the Buycincy.com blog - and with the whole Cincinnati Unchained event we've aligned ourselves with and hopefully next year there will be even more momentum and businesses participating in it, raising awareness. It's funny because I've found that it's more of a struggle with my own family forgetting that one of their own family members owns a business and supporting that before going somewhere else...
TGG: Awareness and education seems still to be a really big issue when it comes to how to 'live green'...
DK: And without being too heavy-handed message as well, because we don't want that to be the case with this store, we want to keep things upbeat and offer a positive message. In addition to being a retail store, we have an education outreach arm as well - we're planning a workshop on composting and lead paints and somebody has pitched the idea of eco-feminism.
TGG: How are someways that the store itself is energy efficient?
DK: First off, we're in an existing building, so we're using something that was already here; I think it was built in the 1880's, and when we painted it we used non-toxic paint, Low-VOC paint. We use compact fluorescent lighting, and we had our HVAC system upgraded to where it complies with L.E.E.D. requirements. We're pretty sure we have the prerequisites in place for L.E.E.D., we just haven't pursued it. The refrigerator up front and the coffee maker that we have are Energy Star rated and a lot of the displays that we use in the store are re-used from other stores that no longer exist or things we found at antique stores. And we encourage people to ride their bikes or walk to the store... Starting February 1st officially, anyone who bikes or walks to the store gets 10% off.
TGG: That's awesome. So of the items in Park + Vine, what are some of the biggest energy savers for people?
DK: Well, water bottles are big. Instead of buying water bottles over and over again, you just use one and the same thing with reusable bags, we sell tons of reusable bags. We don't sell a ton of compact fluorescent bulbs, but we do have them in the store, and then we have the Smart Strip as well.
TGG: That's interesting, because I think the first two things that you mentioned would surprise most people as energy savers, but recently China just banned giving away free plastic bags at retail citing that they are "a huge waste of energy..."
DK: That's amazing... I'm going to put that on our blog.
"I just got a lot of inspiration from what they were doing as entrepreneurs and on a mission to make a product that was not only good for people, but also good for the environment."
TGG: You mentioned having more solar powered items - and it seems like solar products is kind of a maze when looking. I know you sell bags from Voltaic Systems for charging up small electronics. Are there many companies doing that for personal items?
DK: We're looking at a company called Silicon Solar which has a whole array of consumer friendly products that they make, and we were looking at solar powered holiday lights for the season, which makes sense for the outdoor, but didn't get to it in time, but we just went with the LED holiday lights. We are still going ahead with the batteries and battery chargers because of several requests. And that's what the store is - a direct response to what customers want. Doesn't it seem like the store has changed since you've first come in?
TGG: Yeah, it definitely has, and that's an interesting point. There's so many new 'green' items coming out that it seems there has to be a back and forth between who knows what's best and why...
DK: It goes both ways here. Our biggest competition is online, and what we've learned is that we need to let people know as much as possible about what we have, because we'll have people come into the store and say something like "Oh I didn't realize you had these Klean Kanteen bottles?!" because there is a certain amount of brand loyalty to certain products and people are used to buying them online. So they'll say, "Had I known I would have got them from you because the price is the same, and you don't have to pay for shipping."
TGG: So what's the greener grass for Park + Vine; what's in store for the future?
DK: Do more education outreach, and get even more involved in the neighborhood and the city in terms of Green initiatives because there is a lot going on in Cincinnati - it's amazing.
TGG: What are you most excited about?
DK: There's an initiative to make Over the Rhine a L.E.E.D. certified neighborhood as a whole... that's big. We're obviously excited about any bike initiatives along the river, glad that the city didn't cut the bike program and of course the street car... it would definitely affect us and be good for the overall city. And then we're bringing in compost bins and recycling containers, and more solar powered stuff, batteries and battery chargers. In the future, I'd love to get more into home improvement, building materials as well. We obviously only have so much space here... maybe build a L.E.E.D. certified building next door... who knows?
Labels: architecture, buying local, Energy, Interviews, L.E.E.D., Solar
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posted by Chris Heckman on Thursday, January 17, 2008
