Erika Howsare, Author at C-VILLE Weekly

Commercial update: After a five-year search for a new space, design firm Convoy finds a mixed-use home

It’s a sign of a Charlottesville that’s growing and changing. On a site on East High Street, where once stood two small single-family houses, architect and developer Richard Price is creating a cluster of modern buildings to provide “medium-density” working and living space. At the moment, much of the project is yet to be built—but […]

Erika Howsare | March 7, 2018

Abode Magazines

From business to casual: While maintaining some of its original appeal, a downtown office becomes an eclectic family home

Finding a house in downtown Charlottesville isn’t easy, but Kate Stephenson managed to do it when she spotted a commercial space for sale just north of the Downtown Mall. Like many onetime residences, the brick building had been serving for decades as offices. When she first walked in, Stephenson definitely noticed a “law-office” look—acoustic tile […]

Erika Howsare | March 7, 2018

C-BIZ Magazines

The new ag: Sylvanaqua models the next wave of local farming

Talking with Chris Newman about the farm he runs with his wife, Annie, you get the feeling you’re glimpsing the future. Newman likes to think ahead; he was still in his 20s when he and Annie began planning to become farmers after retirement, which was decades away. They lived in Washington, D.C., then; he worked […]

Erika Howsare | February 28, 2018

C-BIZ Magazines

How to pass ‘go’: City office lends business owners a hand

Thinking of making the leap to entrepreneurship in Charlottesville? Your first stop ought to be the Office of Economic Development, which offers a broad menu of services to would-be business owners. We spoke with Jason Ness, business development manager, about what he and his colleagues can do to nudge your startup dream closer to reality. […]

Erika Howsare | February 28, 2018

Magazines Weddings

Wedding greens: For a fresh take on arrangements, try trees

Longing for a breath of fresh air at your wedding site? Potted plants, trees and shrubs are a trend that can delight your guests and bring an all-natural vibe to a space. There are lots of ways to use greenery at your wedding. One of the most common: “Making a space more intimate,” says Luke […]

Erika Howsare | January 25, 2018

Magazines Weddings

Simple pleasures: How to have a small Charlottesville wedding

What’s that you say? You actually don’t want the big ol’ wedding involving three days of catered meals, bagpipers on parade, engraved nameplates to mark which boutonniere goes on which groomsman? You’re not alone. Plenty of folks opt for a smaller, simpler wedding. There are many reasons why—and cost is only the most obvious. Fewer details […]

Erika Howsare | January 25, 2018

Magazines Weddings

Mixed metals: Locally, wedding rings are going nontraditional

It’s a detail few guests will get a good look at, but it’ll stay with you, up close and personal, for as long as you’re married. Wedding bands deserve some attention as you do your planning—and don’t leave this decision to the last minute, since rings can take one to four weeks to arrive once […]

Erika Howsare | January 25, 2018

Magazines Weddings

To top it off: Hip, fresh rental option Emerson James enters the scene

Planning a wedding means thinking about how best to represent the two of you as a couple, down to the very last cup. But how do you set your wedding apart when you’re pulling from the same resources as everyone else? That was a question local industry vets Mallory Joyce, a wedding planner and florist, […]

Erika Howsare | January 25, 2018

Abode Magazines

Make it work: One home’s kitchen is another home’s…kitchen

Talk about seizing the day. When Anna Boeschenstein found out that a practically new kitchen was slated to be removed from a home in Farmington, she realized she was looking at a golden opportunity. The place had served as the 2014 Design House—a fundraiser for the Shelter for Help in Emergency, in which many local […]

Erika Howsare | December 5, 2017

Abode Magazines

Home again: Taking a downtown office building back to its residential roots

The house in downtown Charlottesville had lived many lives. Built in the early 1900s, one of a number of similar foursquare houses on its street, it had served for decades as an office building before Gerald and Marianne Starsia first saw it in 2014. And though the couple liked the structure right away, they also […]

Erika Howsare | December 5, 2017