Real estate/design team helps homeowners with unique approach

A local homeowner and her husband wanted the kind of home that wasn’t on the market if you didn’t know where to look. But with a little help from a realtor and a designer, both with extensive architecture expertise, the family willed what they wanted into being. In 2017, the homeowner was casually working with […]

A.D. Carson drops groundbreaking composition with open access publisher

Clemson University was proud of its doctoral student. It was 2017, and the university announced the achievement with fanfare: A.D. Carson had produced an original piece of music as his dissertation and successfully defended it to receive a Ph.D. Carson went on to receive tenure in the University of Virginia’s music department. At UVA, he’s […]

MarieBette spinoff offers traditional take on donuts

Donuts have been on a certain trajectory for the last two decades: bigger, more toppings, more creativity—an arms race of candy, cookies, and fried pork. After several years working with semi-traditionalists Jason Becton and Patrick Evans at MarieBette Café & Bakery, Melissa Sbrocco went in a different direction when she opened her namesake donut shop […]

Local therapists and researchers take on psych’s buzziest topic

Renee Branson considered herself a resilient person. She suffered a sexual assault in her late teens but soldiered on. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Ohio State University and a master’s in counseling psychology at the University of Colorado Denver. She built an outwardly happy home life and went into business helping others overcome their […]

Charlottesville Symphony channels unique makeup for talent, longevity

When the schedule for this year’s 50th-anniversary season of the Charlottesville Symphony hits the desk of Elizabeth Roberts, the orchestra’s principal bassoonist eyes the first piece in the first show. It’s Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and she’s played it many, many times. For professional players like Roberts, seeing Beethoven 5 on the setlist is like […]

Local real estate market (mostly) tracks national trends

Charlottesville area homes are selling at higher prices on average this year than they were in 2023, but they’re sitting on the market longer, and total sales are down. That roughly matches what’s happening nationwide, but there’s a key difference, according to local realtor Paul McArtor. “Charlottesville is so tied to the university, government, and […]

Local homewood firm branches out, stays true to its roots

The HeartPine Company made its name crafting custom products from stuff a lot of people would throw away. It’s that commitment to finding beauty that has allowed the firm to thrive for 25 years. “I think there are two or three things that make it different,” says Debra Kirschnick, who directs the company’s sales and […]

Albemarle High senior helps make repurposing breakthrough

Local high school student Vidya Ambati has potentially saved pharmaceutical researchers several years and billions of dollars in the fight against arthritis, and the breakthrough comes with at least one major side effect: a $50,000 college scholarship. Ambati, along with 19 other gifted high school students nationwide, was named a 2024 Davidson Fellow in late […]