Cortney Dague // Bartender

Lizzi Aronhalt // Artist + Educator

Wesley // Akron Honey Company

James Matthew Haas // Barista + Musician

Matt Ulichney + Heather Bailey // The Square Scullery

Noor Hindi // Poet + Reporter

Noor Hindi // Poet & Reporter

Floco Torres // Recording Artist

Jake Hallet // Bartender

Courtney McClelland // Barista

Carlos Gonzales // Tattoo Artist + Musician

Aaron Novak + Glenn Miller // Whiskertin

Katy Bright // Color Riot Loft

Drew Baker // Barista

Jes Pieri // Graphic Designer

Mario Nemr // Matinee + Mr. Zub's Deli

Cortney Dague // Bartender Tell me who you are:My name is Cortney Elizabeth Dague. I was born on February 6th 1989. I’m 31 years old. I don’t feel 31. I feel like I’m 23 which is nice, except for the fact that I still feel lost and like I’m doing everything wrong. I was born in Akron and I grew up on the east side of Akron in Goodyear Heights. I lived in the same house most of my life and I went to Seiberling Elementary, Goodyear Middle School and the graduated from East High School in 2007. My father built most of our house when our family got larger. He still lives there and I visit as often as I can. I want to go back to college to become a sex educator.Q: What do you do and why do you do it?I’m a bartender but I don’t love it. When I got hired at Zubs I was a cook. I opened Kent Zubs for them and then I quit for personal reasons after a few years. When they moved across the street in Highland Square I got an opportunity to work for them again and was given a bartending shift that I didn’t want. The day of my very first bartending shift I was getting my hair colored and it took longer than anticipated and I was so nervous to be late. It ended up working out and that day I made wonderful friends so it was worth it. I picked up more bartending shifts after a great friend was in a motorcycle accident. I realized that I had forgotten how to talk to people because I was in the kitchen for so long and only had to talk to 4 people at a time. I don’t hate being a bartender, its just different and not very creative. Q: How has the pandemic affected your life? Your job?Because of the pandemic I didn’t have a job for 2 months. When the shelter in place order was put into effect I was at work. I have videos and pictures of customers sitting at the bar watching the news waiting to find out what happened. Today I went back to work only after finding out yesterday at 2pm that I had to go back to work today. I got denied unemployment and I am very thankful that my partner didn’t because we would not have been able to pay our bills.

Cortney Dague // BartenderQ: What do you do in your free time? Over the last two months I’ve read three books and found out I really enjoy psychological thrillers. They are kind of corny but I think they are fun. I’ve been crocheting a lot, specifically making “mask mates” which help keeping mask elastic off of peoples ears if it hurts and I finished a blanket I started a few years ago and I gave it to some great friends of mine, Sandra Kurt and LaDonna Blueye. Q: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?There have been good days and bad days. Yesterday was really rough. It was the first day I felt like I really needed someone to talk to and thankfully you (Lain) were there. I needed someone with an outside perspective to just listen. I go to therapy once a month and this is the first month in 3 years I haven’t gone. Last month I had a virtual session and it was awesome but I couldn’t schedule another appointment because I didn’t know if I could pay for it. Yesterday was therapy and it ruled. Q: What silver linings have you found?I’m really happy that Cory and I have gotten a chance to spend so much time together. We put our apartment together and we cook a lot. I’m glad I’m reading again and crafting again and petting my cats more. I got to help foster three kittens, there are three now!!! I hate money and I hate asking people for help. It’s not good for me because I’m the one that always helps and I love that about me but I have to figure out how to be on the other end and its been hard. Additional ThoughtsI think its way too soon for places to be opening back up because I think they are just going to close again and more people are going to get sick or die. I think it’s silly that people think the masks are silly because even if you cough while wearing them it’s still keeping people from touching theirs faces or their mouths and spreading germs. I understand that people what human interaction, I would love nothing more than to hug my friends, but the pandemic has been very helpful for me to understand who my friends are. I know now who’s there for me for real and who isn’t. Its hard knowing this because I put so much effort into trying to take care of people, but now I know where my effort should go. I’m not mad about the pandemic or about going back to work, I’m just really bummed.

Lizzi Aronhalt // Artist + EducatorTell me about yourself.Q: Who are you? My name is Lizzi Aronhalt, I am a visual artist and arts educator. Q: Where were you born? I was born and raised right here in Akron, Ohio!Q: How old are you? I am 29 years old. Q: What do you do? I work part time as an art teacher at a local catholic school and part time as a studio artist. I primarily paint cityscapes, but also paint portraits, and do illustration work and murals. I also teach art at an after school program through South Street Ministries here in Akron.Q: Why do you do what you do? I love to create! I have always loved the challenge of making artwork and the satisfaction that comes at the end, it’s like solving a puzzle without knowing exactly what you are looking for. Q: What do you do in your free time?In my free time I am involved in a local church, read books and I run and play soccer with my parents and siblings who also live in Akron. Sometimes with all the odd jobs I do it doesn’t feel like I have much free time! Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job?How has the pandemic not affected my life is perhaps the question. I’ve been teaching online for my school, but haven’t been able to teach private lessons or the after school program. Teaching online has been a huge learning curve, but I am in awe of how students have largely been able to adapt to the new structure. It is definitely challenging for everyone though and I am looking forward to the summer. My studio practice has been bumpy, I wasn’t able to access my rented studio during April, which really affected my production as I don’t have a great space to work in my home. I’ve tried to adapt and create smaller works, which has been fun! I just finished a series of small toucan paintings. I will say the people of Akron have been really supportive though, buying prints of my work and other merchandise throughout the pandemic.

Lizzi Aronhalt // Artist + EducatorQ: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?I’ve definitely struggled at times with motivation, not being able to plan out ahead and live in the day to day simultaneously makes me feel grounded and lost depending on the day. It has been really important for me emotionally to name and accept my feelings, and to work through them and not just ignore them. It’s tempting to compare my situation to other people, and that can be a trap whether someone has it “worse” than me or “better” than me. I’ve found it best to support people when I have the emotional and financial space to do so, and to accept the support of others when I need it. Q: What silver linings have you found?I have spent more time running in the metro parks and national park than ever before. I live in the Valley and it has been a literal and figurative breath of fresh air to get outside! I’ve also appreciated how the slow pace has opened me up to create new work. I don’t have anything big scheduled art-wise at the moment and am relishing in the opportunity to create and explore in ways I haven’t had the space to in a few years. 5.) How have you had to adapt?I am a very family oriented person, and my family welcomed our first 2 nieces over the past few months (shout out to Evie and Zay!). It has been tough to not be able to hold them or support my siblings like I would pre-pandemic, so that has been an adjustment. I still see my family outdoors at a distance, so that is strange, but oddly fun! I miss being out with other people, I really love even being in public alone, and so adapting to more solitude has been another change. I am pretty introverted, but this has been tough. I am really thankful to have supportive friends and family. Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over?I hope that we can focus on what is truly important in our lives and let go of things that need to be left in the past. I think this pandemic has highlighted a lot of the systemic inequality in our community and nation, and I hope that we take a greater sense of collectivism and community forward in rectifying and repairing some of the injustices and disparities in our society.

Wesley // Akron Honey Company Q: Who are you?I'm Wesley. I'm an urban beekeeper, musician, entrepreneur, husband, and father of five. Q: Where were you born? Cleveland Q: How old are you? 39Q: Where did you grow up? Aurora OH and Cleveland OHQ: What do you do? Activate vacant spaces, run a honey company, work for a tech company, educate kids in the city about honeybees and urban agriculture. Q: Why do you do what you do? Because it's important. The best way for me to explain that is to look at what I do in two separate parts. There's the social responsible, civic engagement side, and then the business side of things. The things that I do for the first part are important because it demonstrates how to imagine spaces in your own community for more than they are right now. "A vacant lot is actually an apiary". We demonstrate mindfulness of our environment, and then teach it to school kids. On the business side, we demonstrate how to carve out your own niche and define your own lane by using scarce resources. And we do it all while showing how to prioritize people first. It's also very important that I'm a black person who is doing things that aren't typical of a black person, and doing them successfully. Specifically beekeeping. Not too many black folks do that. But it's also important because a lot of folks in the city (a lot of whom are black) don't know what to shoot for, because they don't even know the target exists. This is especially true with black and brown kids.

Wesley // Akron Honey CompanyQ: What do you do in your free time? Build stuff (woodwork)Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? It has allowed me to spend more time with my family. Q: Your job? Although we are experiencing a drop in sales with he honey company, at the tech company we are still working through the pandemic. Q: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)? Creating boundaries between work and home life. It's all blurred together now. Q: What silver linings have you found? Being able to see my newborns and realize that I missed a lot of our other three children over the last 13 years. Q: How have you had to adapt? Living by a list and making an agenda every day. Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over? I hope our nation's economy realizes that we don't have to work as much as we have in the past. I really don’t want to go back to having dinner with my family a maximum of 2 times per week. I'm tired of having to make the decision between money, and spending time with my family. It's so stupid, and it's obvious now more than ever that the companies in our country can bring a new reality.to.the table where we aren't working all of the time, and prioritizing work so much.

James Matthew Haas // Barista + Musician My name is James Matthew Haas. I was born in Akron, OH. I’m 42 years old. I spent my early childhood in Orrville,OH. My family moved to Akron when I was two months shy of 9.I'm a Barista at a small neighborhood coffee shop. I've worked there for 13 years. I've stayed so long partly because it allows me to pay more attention to writing and performing music, which is the other main thing I do. It's been a really fantastic experience working there, from a social perspective, I've met many of my closest friends through being at Angel Falls.In my free time I read a lot (I'm a low key book collector and, foolishly, a record collector). I became a pretty serious runner/ gym goer about 6 or 7 years ago. I play guitar and bass quite a lot as well! Lots of hanging out with my cat, Chuka, lately.

James Matthew Haas // Barista + Musician The pandemic has affected my life in probably the same way it has most of the people I know. I was laid off and have had to deal with tightening money situations and virus anxiety, not to mention unemployment wrangling. On the other hand though, the free time and rest has been a nice reset button; I've really only taken two short vacations over the last 8 years or so, and I work and practice a lot.I've become more of a stay at home person as I've grown older, and my social outlets have dwindled for a while now. This has cut them all off pretty much completely, which, as most know, can really put you in a psychological hole that seems ever deepening, though I know that's not necessarily true. It's going to be a tough 9 or 10 months I have a feeling.I'm relearning not to take anything for granted, hopefully a little deeper this time.

Matt Ulichney + Heather Bailey // The Square SculleryQ: Who are you?Heather Bailey & Matt UlichneyQ: Where were you born?Both: AkronQ: How old are you?H: 31 / M: 33Q: Where did you grow up?H: Cuyahoga Falls, Akron & Northfield / M: NortonQ: What do you do?H: Web Design / Freelance & Co-Owner of Square Scullery / M: Chef & Co-Owner of Square SculleryQ: Why do you do what you do?M: I just happened to land into my career, almost by accident. I started off as a dishwasher at the age of 15, worked my way through the different ranks of a kitchen, and never ended up leaving the industry. I didn't actually fall in love with this career path until I already had quite a few years under my belt, and was able to work with passionate chefs outside of the corporate world. Q: What do you do in your free time?B: We really haven't had much free time in the past few years, so when we do we're usually finding projects around our old farmhouse, working in the gardens, Matt loves to work on his Chevette, I (H) love to thrift shop and garage sale. We also have a mini zoo of fur kids and two small humans, they all keep us on our toes. Honestly, we're probably pretty boring when we're home, haha. Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job?H: This year has knocked us completely on our asses, nothing has at all gone to plan. Honestly, it was going to be a really big year for us - between relocating the restaurant into a larger & more accessible space in addition to having a jammed packed food truck & catering season ahead of us. I never would have believed anyone at the beginning of 2020 if they had told us that we were going to walk away from our new dream location, lose half of our annual revenue AND decide to sell our food truck in a matter of two months. We never saw this coming - this was supposed to be "our year." We've had to adapt, evolve and make some of the hardest decisions we've yet faced on the fly. It's been incredibly difficult to put a brave face on, and stay optimistic through all of this - but you know what? We're doing our best with everything to find a new outlook and inspiration, what else is there to do at this point?M: What Heather said, this has definitely forced us to take a couple steps backwards in quite a few ways to reprioritize our goals both personally & professionally. Q: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?H: Personally, I've really struggled with being put abruptly in a position where I've had to become a full time stay at home mom, trying to navigate homeschooling & also run the business mostly from afar. It's just not a lifestyle I fit into well at all, especially without any kind of quiet alone time or mental break. On the real, most days I typically can't get more than 10 minutes uninterrupted at a time without hearing "hey mom" repeatedly - the struggle is for real. It's been such a challenge to stay remotely level, focused or on task. It is indeed a LOT of time together, but we're super fortunate because both of the boys (12 & 8) are so open to change and adapt well to new circumstances - they're such troopers & totally doing so better at this than we are.

Matt Ulichney + Heather Bailey // The Square SculleryProfessionally speaking, the stress levels we've both encountered trying to make smart decisions based on survival instead of growth have just been insane. I truly can't count the sleepless nights we've spent tossing and turning over whether or not we were making the right calls not only for ourselves / family, and the business, but also for our incredible staff. I'm happy to have some of the harder decisions, at least for now, put behind us so we can move forward and regroup.M: It's kind of strange because after we came to peace with the reality of the situation & the tough decisions that we've had to make, in a sense our life continued on... we just kept moving along as best as possible. I've struggled with having serious guilt being open & staying consistent business wise, when at the same time some of our industry friends were closed or struggling to adapt to the carry out model. We root so hard for small business, and chasing dreams - we never want to see this happen to anyone, ever. Q: What silver linings have you found?B: In all reality, we've been forced to slow our roll & breathe a little. We haven't stopped shaking and moving for five years, we would hit goals, and barely celebrate them because we were already on to the next thing in the works. We aren't operating the food truck this year, it will be the first summer since we started that we won't regularly be working 80+ hour weeks. Although we're still busy, we've also managed to find more time to enjoy the little things in life, spend more time with our kids, work on our house more and try to learn new skills. I think out of everything, we're learning that we've probably pushed ourselves too hard, that maybe just maybe it's okay to slow down a little more to enjoy the life we work so hard to build. Q: How have you had to adapt?B: There are truly a ton of different ways we've had to adapt all the way around. We think one of the most notable is that we actually had to look our business in the face, and realize that it might be best to go back to the drawing board on what our future for Square Scullery looks like. We used to be so sure about what was supposed to be, and now it looks like we are going to settle in for a bit to ride this out before completely switching gears. It's kind of a trip, but in good and unexpected ways with a focus on getting back to basics. We're both here for it. Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over?H: I hope people find their kindness again for starters. Actually in a sense, I hope this turns out to be somewhat of a rebirth on quite a few levels in a positive light. M: I personally hope that people will have a little more respect and appreciation for the service industry as a whole.

Noor Hindi // Poet + ReporterMy name is Noor Hindi. I was born in Amman, Jordan. I'm 24 years old (will be 25 on June 21st). I grew up in Barberton and Akron, Ohio. I'm the equity and inclusion reporter at The Devil Strip Magazine. Q: Why do you do what you do? I love helping people feel more connected to the city I love as we continue working through challenging problems. Q: What do you do in your free time? In my free time I love reading, spending time with my family, cuddling my cat, writing poetry, and watching movies with friends. Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job? I'm really, really grateful to The Devil Strip for my job, and for the continued support of Chris Horne and Rosie Murphy who've been so, so supportive during the pandemic, which has interrupted the last semester of my MFA and graduation, but these are small inconveniences in the grand scheme of things.

Noor Hindi // Poet & ReporterQ: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)? What I've struggled with most is my anxiety. I'm worried for my loved ones. I'm worried for my grandmother, who I live with, and my parents. I'm worried for my friends, who've been laid off, or are having to choose between their health and their job as the country reopens. I'm also worried for Akron, for artists in this city, and small business owners who were right on the brink of manifesting really great ideas before the pandemic happened. Q: What silver linings have you found? I've been enjoying adapting to a quieter lifestyle. I've learned how to better sit with myself the last few months, to reconcile with the silence around me. Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over? I hope people can love each other better and stronger. I hope they can continue looking to their neighbors and community for help. And when this is over, I hope we can love Akron in bigger ways, that we'll fill our local restaurants and businesses by the hundreds, and show our artists the support they deserve.

Floco Torres // Recording ArtistMy name is Tyler The Creator. Kidding, I’m Floco Torres.Q: Where were you born? Willingboro, New JerseyQ: How old are you? 33Q: Where did you grow up? I grew up between Willingboro NJ, Philadelphia PA, Macon GA & Queens NY.Q: What do you do? My main thing is being a recording artist.Q: Why do you do what you do? Because I get to explore my imagination & connect with people mostly. Q: What do you do in your free time? I like talking to people. I’m still learning how to have free time.

Floco Torres // Recording ArtistQ: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job?It’s reminded me of things I learned growing up in regards to survival. I’m fortunate enough to still be working through this. Areas that were cut, I just have to accept & adapt. Q: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)? I tried to order wings one day & the place wouldn’t answer the phone & I had a complete bratty meltdown about it. So just being more self-aware & holding myself accountable as much as possible.Q: What silver linings have you found? I don’t need a lot to be happy. My desires & ego create shit I don’t have to go through really.Q: How have you had to adapt? Being patient isn’t my strongest quality so I’m definitely flexing that muscle right now. Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over? I hope we’re more respectful & learn to stfu a little more but all I can try to do is lead by example.

Jake Hallet // BartenderQ: Where were you born? Alliance city hospital on December 14th 1990 at 11:59AM.Q: Where did you grow up? Alliance/smith township on part of the Mahoning river. Q: What do you do?I do a lot but I’m a bartender/server for work. I do this simply to live. I went to school for culinary and hospitality at a vocational school in Canfield Ohio when I was a junior and senior in high school so this industry is all I’ve known as work for a long time. In my free time I like to hike. Like to do a lot of different crafty type things from water color to sewing. I’m also working on becoming a makeup artist’s assistant. My family is a big part of my free time as well. This pandemic has affected my life in a lot of negative ways such as not being able to see my family and hang out with friends as much as I’d like at distances I’d like. I wasn’t able to work for a long time and I’m still unable to work at the Spotted Owl where I had just started a month and a half prior to COVID19. Money has been an issue but thankfully I’m able to work at Zubs again. Being a person with depression and anxiety I have struggled with both things equally. Sometimes I can’t bring myself to leave the house or go to the grocery store for food because I’m so anxious about contracting COVID and being around strangers. I have also spent periods of time sunk into my couch crying.

Jake Hallet // Bartender Q: What silver linings have you found? I have definitely found silver linings while being in quarantine one of them being that I started writing more and finishing projects I haven’t worked on in several months/years. I’ve also taken time to get back into yoga and work on my baking skills. I’ve also been able to maintain not smoking cigarettes and my alcohol consumption has decreased drastically. Q: How have you had to adapt?I’ve had to adapt in the sense that I usually throw myself into work to avoid a lot of emotions and some people and now I have to face those things I usually ignore. I’ve also has to adapt to not just spending money on whatever I want and start actually thinking about necessities (which isn’t a bad thing by any means) it becomes easy to frivolously spend when making so much money bar tending. Also just adapting to the rules and guidelines that we don’t usually have as humans on a day to day basis (social distancing). Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over? I just hope that humans evolve overall as a species. There is so much unnecessary hate and ignorance and impatience in this world that we need to work on getting rid of. I hope people are more respectful of boundaries and others emotions. I also hope people start taking things like disease and sickness more seriously I get being light hearted but not everything is a joke.

Courtney McClelland // BaristaMy name is Courtney McClelland, I just had my 24th birthday in quarantine, and for a couple years now have been serving coffee at Angel Falls in Highland Square. I was born here in Akron, and raised in Mogadore, twenty minutes east of Akron. I moved to Highland Square in 2015 and it’s been my home since. In 2018, after being a regular at Angel Falls for four years, I finally secured a job there. Being an extremely social person, working there is half doing my barista thing, half chatting with regulars and making friends. It’s wonderful feeling a part of the community. Before quarantine, I spent a lot of my free time hanging out with friends and being out and about, but since that’s all kind of limited now, I’ve taken to cooking more, reading, journaling, doing art, and attempting to teach myself how to rollerblade.Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job?It’s weird to think of life prior to the pandemic, since we’ve been at this for 50-odd days now. Being a particularly extraverted person, I’ve definitely had some days that had me itching for the end of isolation. I miss talking and hugging and human connection, and along with that, my job. I was laid off March 23rd and luckily had enough saved up (plus stimulus check and birthday money) to get me by. But it’s been about two months now, and I haven’t received unemployment yet. I’m still waiting. I hope to be returning to Angel Falls by early June, at the latest.

Courtney McClelland // BaristaQ: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?Per my last answer, being in isolation has been rough as someone that loves chatting with people and is used to seeing hundreds of people a day. I genuinely miss it. Another issue I have is keeping myself busy and out of bed; the quarantine has put me in kind of a depressive state and it’s been a challenge convincing myself to stay on track with obligations and chores.Q: What silver linings have you found?One silver lining is when I accidentally see someone I know at the grocery store or wherever, I’m ecstatic to have run into them; it’s definitely helped me cherish in my whole heart seeing real life human people. Another silver lining is the fact that I’ve had to learn how to come to peace with myself and be patient with certain processes and obstacles. It’s a work in progress, but I’m chugging forward - that’s all I can do.

Carlos Gonzales // Tattoo Artist + Musician Carlos Gonzales, 42 from Puerto Rico. I’m a tattoo artist and musician. I’ve always been inclined to do art. Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job?I can’t do tattooing, but I can still create. Q: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?Family stress, money stress, sometimes I have a hard day emotionally.

Carlos Gonzales // Tattoo Artist + MusicianQ: What silver linings have you found?Time to create art. Q: How have you had to adapt? I have to adapt to the different types of stress.I'm an introvert, so it was a little easier to adapt with the lockdown of the pandemic. I was able to work more on my artwork from home. I didn't make any big changes in my daily routine.Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over?I’m hoping people learn to be more kind with each other.

Aaron Novak + Glenn Miller // WhiskertinA: My name is Aaron Novak. I was born in Canton Ohio. I am 43 years old. I grew up in Jackson township, and moved to Akron with my friends when I was 19 years old. I’ve spent most of my free time playing in multiple different bands over the last 2 decades. I have always worked in the Hvac field, and will be celebrating 20 years at The K company in November. I decided to try and make a lamp out of a scrap piece of duct work 4 years ago, and now I own a custom lighting shop. I don’t have time for music currently, but use Whiskertin as my creative outlet. I have 2 daughters. Madison is 18, and Teagan is 10. I also got engaged to Kat in 2019 at Disney. Our wedding was supposed to happen in June but this pandemic has our plans on hold. I am currently renovating the orchard house in West Hill. 3000 sq ft historical home built in 1865. Renovating this home has been the biggest accomplishment in my life. Some days I get frustrated with all the work I’ve piled on myself, but working hard is what makes me happy. I’ve been laid off from work at the K company for the last 2 months due to the pandemic. Whiskertin has shows booked all over that have been cancelled- Boston, Chicago, Richmond, etc. Our online orders have really picked up a lot through all of this. This time off has actually helped me to reset my life and recharge. I’ve had time to work on The house. I’ve spent about 10 hours a day for the last 7 weeks on it. Things are really coming together. Whiskertin showroom is now back open and we are looking to take this business to the next level. Glenn, and I are nonstop working to make our products the best. We love what we do, and that’s a great feeling.

Aaron Novak + Glenn Miller // WhiskertinG: I born in Wadsworth and lived there until my early twenties when I moved to Akron. Now I live in Cuyahoga Falls. I am 38 years old. During the day I am the Vice President of a company called ClearSonic. We make portable acoustic treatment. They are kinda like portable sound booths. We also just started making sneeze guards and room dividers because of the pandemic. At night and on the weekends I am the co-owner of Whiskertin. We make handcrafted light fixtures and lamps out of repurposed and industrial materials.The pandemic caused both businesses to temporarily shut down, but now we back at it. ClearSonic is very busy with the Germ Shield addition to our product line. Whiskertin's sales have been hurt by the pandemic. A majority of our income comes from vendor/art markets that we travel around the Midwest and East Coast to attend. A majority of the markets have been cancelled due to social distancing restrictions. We have focused more energy on strengthening our online presence. Which has been positive for Whiskertin. It was something that we struggled with but we're always very busy with the markets and could not focus the additional energy needed to get it where we wanted.In my free time, which doesn't happen often, I like ride my motorcycle, ride my bike, work on stuff around the house, and hangout with friends. It has been difficult to hang with friends, but we have been taking advantage video chats like Duo. I feel like I have been able to take a second and slow down and think about the things that are really important to me during the pandemic. I feel like I have been able to strengthen personal relationships and focus on the important things.I hope that we are all able to become stronger and come out on top after the quarantine.

Katy Bright // Color Riot LoftQ: Who are you? Katy BrightQ: Where were you born? I was born in Barberton at Barberton Hospital.Q: How old are you? I am 31 years old. Q: Where did you grow up? I grew up in Apple Creek, OH (Wayne County). It’s a small town in the heart of Amish Country. Q: What do you do? I am the owner of Color Riot Loft, a salon loft in West Akron (Wallhaven).Q: Why do you do what you do? I genuinely love making people look and feel like their best selves and providing them with a safe space to open up about anything going on in their lives. Over the years, my guests have shared their smiles and tears with me, as well as opened up about traumas they’ve experienced that they’ve never shared with anyone else. It’s an honor to know I can be a safe haven for them, and in some cases, connect them to the resources and providers they need to lead safer, healthier lives.Q: What do you do in your free time?In my free time I enjoy spending time with and taking care of the people I love, listening to music/going to concerts, traveling, running (I’m training for my first marathon!), volunteering with RunningDog Runners, cooking/baking and growing my collection of house plants. I dove deep into botany during quarantine, and I haven’t looked back! Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job?The Covid19 pandemic changed everything for me. As a self-employed small business owner who lives alone, things got very uncomfortable for me during lockdown. Since I’m a 1099 tax filer, I wasn’t able to collect traditional unemployment. On top of this, because I have multiple jobs and also file W-2, I have been denied the PUA I should be granted due to my salon loft (my primary income) being closed at no choice or fault of my own. I have spent countless hours trying to speak to a human at the unemployment offices, but like so many others, have been disconnected every time due to their lack of holds and schedule call backs. The pandemic has exposed so many holes in our social infrastructure.Self-employed persons in my shoes went over 50 days without pay. Yes, payments are retroactive when they eventually get sent out, but people still have mouths to feed and bills to pay. I cannot imagine having been a parent during this time. My heart goes out to all of the parents out there in my boat who struggled to feed their families, because they weren’t allowed to work and didn’t yet qualify for assistance.Q: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?I was so incredibly lonely. I live alone, so I saw no one for several weeks. I generally enjoy living alone, but not being able to see anyone I cared about was absolutely devastating.I felt that I lacked purpose during lockdown. Being called “inessential” is a hard pill to swallow, especially when you’ve poured your heart and soul into your business and taking care of others. I have internally battled the stigma of “just being a hairdresser,” for the last decade.. Even after I finished my Master’s degree (I have a Master’s of Science in Organizational Leadership,), I’ve often received or overheard comments that made me feel inferior about my career choice; like I’m not doing enough with my life. I don’t think many people truly understand everything that goes into working behind the chair or in any service related industry. The service/personal service industries are full of intelligent, business-savvy, creative and caring people. It takes a special kind of person to enjoy working with the general public.

Katy Bright // Color Riot LoftI also found myself feeling lost, because I wanted to do more to help. I wanted to volunteer in the hospitals and be on the front lines. Without a medical background though, that was kind of impossible. I learned that when it’s fight, flight or freeze, I want to fight. My true purpose in life comes from caring for and taking care of other people. Q: What silver linings have you found?It took several weeks, but I learned that slowly down is ok. I’m used to working 3+ jobs at any given time (I also bartend, provide freelance marketing services and do marketing/talent management work for a small tech start up called Stage 3 Talent). Since I couldn’t work at my loft or behind the pine, I found that I had a lot more time in my hands. This initially gave me anxiety, but I started working on a few certifications, trying out new hobbies and discovered creative ways to still drive revenue by doing salon product deliveries. It’s showed me how truly resilient, adaptable and flexible I am. Q: How have you had to adapt?I had to adapt how to engage with my salon loft guests since I could no longer see them in person. I worked hard to generate new ideas for revenue drivers and unique ways to interact with loved ones. It was truly beautiful to see the world come together in terms of figuring out how to love and support each other during a time of crisis. Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over?I hope society now has a stronger respect for our healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and those working in roles that keep our every day lives functional. I’d love to see more people supporting local, small businesses. It’s a problem when during lockdown we could go into large, big-box retailers to purchase things like art supplies, clothes, toys or electronics, etc. while the small, local shops were forced to close. Something about that doesn’t sit well with me.I think we’ve exposed a lot of issues in terms of public health, social service programs and crisis response. Balancing public health and the economy is no easy task, but we’ve set ourselves up for failure. We have to do better. This was a huge wake up call. Hopefully, government and public officials have taken note of what we did well and what we need to do better during times of crisis and will work on better preparation for the next pandemic/crisis. Lastly, I’d like to see more small business owners of all walks of life and industries be represented in local, state and federal political roles, as well. Our voices matter, and our businesses matter to our cities, their citizens and the economy. We need to be heard and accounted for. It’s time for us to step up, speak out and open doors for other entrepreneurs now and in future generations to come. Our businesses may be small, but we are not. We are powerful and have the ability to make positive changes in the communities we live in and the world. I also found myself feeling lost, because I wanted to do more to help. I wanted to volunteer in the hospitals and be on the front lines. Without a medical background though, that was kind of impossible. I learned that when it’s fight, flight or freeze, I want to fight. My true purpose in life comes from caring for and taking care of other people.

Drew Baker // Barista I'm Drew Baker, 26 and I was born and raised in Medina, Ohio.I've been a full time barista for Angel Falls for about four years and am currently unemployed due to the pandemic. Mental health issues have been a prominent part of my life and now exacerbated because of quarantine, it's been hard passing time. Obviously the consensus is the uncertainty is the worst part, some days it's hard to stop thinking. My local community has been crippled, my day to day routines have fallen apart and it feels like the weirdest juxtaposition of being completely free to spend my time how I want and having no safe way to leave the house or to spend time with the people I love. I'm fixated on annoyances, thinking rapidly while my body's still and unmotivated. I'm learning to become okay with sitting for long periods of time and losing my sense of urgency.

Drew Baker // BaristaI'd love to see universal healthcare, separated from our employment and more focus put into welfare programs. I'd love to see more compassion for, and more solidarity within the lower income communities, public service workers and other essential personnel that have been affected the most by this pandemic. I'd love to see people more conscious of the space they're inhabiting and how it affects others.

Jes Pieri // Graphic Designer My name is Jessica Pieri, and I go by Jes. I was born at 12:53 p.m. on May 14th, 1990 at Akron City Hospital. I just turned 30 this month, so I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how much has happened for me in the last decade, and appreciating how everything has shaped me up to this point.Q: Where did you grow up? Born, raised, and still residing in Akron. I spent the majority of my childhood and early teens living in Kenmore and attending Coventry Schools. The first two houses my family lived in were in Kenmore. We moved to the Portage Lakes when I was in high school mostly because my family wanted a larger home for us (mom, dad, three sisters), and my family wanted to make sure my younger sisters would be able to go through the same school system as me because open enrollment was becoming more and more restricted. During college, I migrated around several different West Akron and Highland Square apartments.Q: What do you do? I am a graphic designer. I graduated from the University of Akron in 2012. I took my first post-college job for a local newspaper called the West Side Leader that Fall. I spent seven years coming into my own as a designer there doing newspaper layout and advertising designs. Last July I took a job as a graphic designer for a personal injury law firm (Kisling, Nestico & Redick) where I’ve had the opportunity to design anything ranging from business cards and postcards to billboards, bus wraps, and social media videos and animations.Q: Why do you do what you do? I do what I do because it is challenging and rewarding on so many levels. I knew by the end of High School that I wanted to go to college for graphic design. This career is great because it has been the perfect balance of creative and analytical thinking to keep me interested in my work. For me, design is really cool because it’s like the behind the scenes team. I prefer to be the one driving down the street with my friends and pointing at a billboard saying “Hey! That’s one of the billboards I designed!” Rather than be one of the people on the actual billboards.Q: What do you do in your free time?As of late March, my free time has been mostly occupied with two words: Animal Crossing. Aside from that though, I do play a few other video games from time to time. I taught myself to crochet for Christmas back in 2018, so I do that as well. I really enjoy solitary hikes around the Metro Parks during lunch or after work as well. I just picked up this hand piano instrument thing called a Kalimba too. It’s stupid easy to learn, but I love figuring out familiar songs without tabs, and coming up with music of my own. It has turned out to be extremely calming whenever I get too anxious, and it’s got my fingers itching to do something like reteach myself violin.

Jes Pieri // Graphic Designer Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job?Well my job was one of the ones who started preparing back when DeWine was just announcing restaurant and bar closures. They decided to take the staff down to basically a skeleton crew as a means to help the company pull through. Unfortunately, marketing was one of the first departments to go, so I’ve been unemployed since March 20th. I can tell you that I am honestly really not loving it. I have been fortunate enough to have unemployment work itself out in my favor after the first few weeks of hiccups. The mental toll of being stuck in limbo of whether or not I still have a job after this has been noticeable.Q: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?I don’t want to come off as dramatic, but quarantine and unemployment have had profound effects for me physically, emotionally, and mentally. Physically, I’m snacking far more out of boredom and usually lack all sense of motivation to work out. Quarantine 15 has been very real. My emotional and mental struggles during this are something I could write a novel on. I will just say that for me and so many others, this has been a scary time because isolation forces us to face something many of us don’t want to: ourselves. Q: What silver linings have you found?The biggest silver lining I’ve discovered so far would oddly enough be the mental and emotional challenges I have faced during this time of uncertainty. I have hit some of my absolute lowest lows since becoming unemployed. Those days have forced me to reevaluate how I base my own self worth. Without a job presenting me with problems to solve, I have had to dig deep and think about all of the other ways I am a valuable human. I realized I was basing far too much of my personal view of “success” on what I was asked to do, and not enough on who I am, what I stand for, and what I am capable of doing.Q: How have you had to adapt?Adapting for me has been learning to become comfortable with being in my own space all day every day. Home, at one point, was what my partner Joe and I were building together as our place to unwind, relax, and spend time with our cats after work. Right now it is all of the above for us, and the addition of his workplace since his company has him working from home. Luckily we have a spare bedroom, so that serves as his temporary office and we can separate the two pretty easily. Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over?It’s hard for me to think about “once things are over”, because I legitimately feel like it’s going to be a long long time before things are OVER over. I want mask wearing to become a regular thing. I am personally all for it. It’s not like it’s some new radical idea society just came up with.I also just want everyone’s sense of humanity and community to really grow from this. I feel like we’re reached this point where it’s never been easier to be connected to each other, yet so many of us are using the opportunity to push others away. I want human decency, respect for others, and genuine care and concern, even (especially) for those we don’t know, to become a big thing.

Mario Nemr // Matinee + Mr. Zub's DeliQ: Who are you? Mario NemrQ: Where were you born? Akron, OHQ: How old are you? 42Q: Where did you grow up? Fairlawn / AkronQ: What do you do? I own The Matinee and Mr. Zub’s Deli & Bar in Highland Square. Also DJ and manage Thursday’s Lounge for the past 27 years.Q: Why do you do what you do? I was sort of born into the bar business as a kid. My parents had a few local bars in the 70s before buying Thursday’s Lounge in 1983. I was raised inside the bar as a child while my parents worked. I started bouncing and DJing at Thursday’s when I was 14. I’ve worked many jobs through high school and after college. I worked an office job throughout college before committing to buying The Matinee. Q: What do you do in your free time?I like to build stuff and hang out with my kids and family. Also like to chill and watch TV and/or play records.Q: How has this pandemic affected your life? Your job? It affected me more from work standpoint. I do not mind staying home and doing my own thing. But since the shut-down started, I have had to work a little more just to keep my businesses afloat. Which is really hard when there is so much uncertainty for the future. I am learning to take things day by day and trying to adapt our business to keep going. Also, trying to keep everyone employed is important to me. So, there’s a lot of pressure to make all the correct decisions.

Mario Nemr // Matinee + Mr. Zub's DeliQ: What have you struggled with since being in quarantine (mentally, emotionally, etc)?At first I was mentally defeated. Emotionally I was irritated and mad at the world for letting this happen. I realized I was being pretty selfish and there are lots of people who have it much worse. I started becoming more positive around week 3 of the shut down and tried keeping busy at home with projects and family stuff. Q: What silver linings have you found?I got a lot of free time and projects I’ve always wanted to do but never had the time for previously. I have a greater appreciation for just doing simple things with my kids and family I’m usually too busy to do otherwise. I have not had to work at night for the first time in 27 years so going to bed early will change your life.Q: How have you had to adapt?Mainly just by keeping a different schedule than what I am used to. Not interacting with lots of people weekly. Also, having to do some doomsday prepping at home just to keep a clear head about the future.Q: How do you hope things evolve once quarantine and the pandemic are over?I do not we will get back to the things were for an exceptionally long time. Large gatherings of any kind will be few and far between. Wearing masks in public might be permanent. I personally think everything could have waited another month before opening. I think everyone must evolve together. We are entering a world of the unknown. Therefore, we all just need to try and work together even if we disagree about many things. I do think that this “shut-down” style of flattening illnesses will be a new norm and will happen many more times in the future.Q: What are you anxious about as you're reopening?Honestly just people following the new social distancing rules and being cool.

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