Some PR strategies for you indie creatives brought to you by 4DPR

Some PR strategies for you indie creatives brought to you by 4DPR

Creatives know all too well the challenge of building your brand.  You may have the best music in the world, a truly innovative new clothing line, or a studio full of amazing artwork, but if no one knows about it, achieving your creative dreams will be even more of an uphill struggle than it already is.   That is where Dexter Martin comes in.  Dexter is the founder of 4 D PR Strategies, a boutique public relations firm that represents small to mid-sized brands.  They specialize in clients in the fashion, lifestyle, and creative arts sectors.  4D PR Strategies can help creative with service specialties such as media relations and training, strategic sponsorships /partnerships, and brand creative services.

Dexter left his job as an analyst in the banking industry to pursue something more personally satisfying.  He was a good writer, a great listener, a consumer of media news, and experienced in helping clients develop workable business strategies.  After a series of “informational interviews”, Dexter decided to use his skills and passion for helping others to start 4 D PR Strategies.   His first project was to provide PR and promotion support for a new bed & breakfast company in the Andersonville neighborhood.  “After working on this first project, I knew I had made the right decision,” he says.

He believes his business background is unique benefit to his clients.  Dexter prides himself in helping clients clarify their strategic focus into an implementable plan.  For most of his clients, the creative side is their primary focus.  Dexter helps his clients keep their creative focus while incorporating key business strategies.  He strives to continually offer value to his clients to help them achieve their creative dreams.

One project, Dexter is particularly fond of is his work with the Chicago International Social Change Film Festival.  He used his personal passion for this project to land several major sponsors, such as Whole Foods, for the festival.  The sponsors not only provided financial support, but also significant credibility to the festival.

More recently, Dexter has expanded his business to include Hotspot Radio Show with Dexter.   He uses the radio show to focus on a variety of current topics with guests who may offer a different perspective than that found in the main stream media.   For example, during one recent show, Dexter’s guest was a chiropractor who discussed the value of alignments but also the benefits of chiropractic treatment on digestion.   Dexter’s ultimate goal is to develop and offer media content under the 4D Media umbrella, providing clients with production support, sponsorship, and overall marketing of their unique content.  You can check out Hotspot Radio Show with Dexter at  The Hot Spot Radio Show w/ Dexter Link

You can learn more about 4D PR Strategies at www.4DPRStrategies.com or call (312) 988-7183.
Written by: Louis Vasseur - Small Business/Music/Creative Guest Blogger

Where's Jimmy?!

Where's Jimmy?!

Written by: Thom Olson as featured in Halfstack's Fall Issue. Read the entire issue today HERE.

It’s Sunday afternoon and you are at Oak Street Beach. A beautiful blonde comes up and asks you “Where’s Jimmy?” and proceeds to hand you a light blue package. The color is somewhat similar to Tiffany’s iconic little gift boxes. Alas… Tiffany’s is not giving away free samples... though one can still hope.  It is, however, a small sample of a fruit bar. It’s marked vegan. Some might find that word marked on the package a little scary. You either try it or throw it in your travel tote for later. 

Later you happen to be on a mud run. Could it be that running in this madness is the result of a three-martini evening where you placed a bet and lost? Thus… you are running through an obstacle course doused in soggy wet dirt. Or, is this something you volunteered for because you find it “pleasant”? Anyhow, low and behold, you see that same blonde, who hands you another taste of something wrapped in the same blue wrapper.  Exhausted and hungry, you decide to give it a try.  You eat it. OMG, you actually like it.  You ask for another and get a taste of a second flavor. You wolf it down and are on your way. Did you just have your first vegan experience?

After a shower and cozying up with a very large bar of soap, you hop on down to the Whole Foods Grocery store to get something for dinner. Who do you run in to? Yup, you guessed it. Blondie hands you a sample but this time you ask for a couple of the real deal and buy them. You have just bought a Jimmy Bar.

Jimmy Bars are a fruit-based snack bar. Each bar has all natural ingredients. In a rare twist of food packaging, all the ingredients are featured prominently on the front of the package and not in micro type buried on the back. There isn’t anything listed that leaves a question mark in your mind like Maltodextrin, high fructose corn syrup or some hydrogenated goo.  You can actually pronounce all the ingredients and see there is a shelf life on the package. It’s not like a Twinkie.  Yes, it is vegan, but that is less scary now. There isn’t a dairy component added to the product nor are there any lactose bi-products added. It is gluten free — not a lot of foods can say that, particularly in the snack bar category.  The funny thing is, though, it actually tastes good without any sugar added. The base of the bar is dates. There are 4 varieties: Chocolate Chip, Banana Muffin, Peanut Butter and Apple. With all that said why are you still intrigued? It was blonde right? Or was it the food? So, you start to do some investigating, as you need an answer to the question.

Who is the blonde?
You might have run into one of the two that man the helm of this healthy snack food ship. The very athletically handsome: Jimmy Simon, Co-Founder of Jimmy Bars OR his lovely niece Ciarra. Ciarra is the extremely cute, collegiate daughter of the other Co-Founder Annette Del Prete. The pieces start to fall in to place as you recognize it. Annette is one of the owners of Fillippo’s Restaurant in Lincoln Park. You probably have been going there for many years either before or after a movie. It’s a staple destination over on Clybourn St. It is kiddy corner from Webster Place Theater.

You recognize the blonde, as you have seen her many times at Fillippo’s, waiting on you. Both businesses are a family thing. This new nutrition bar sprang into existence out of the same kitchen as your homemade pasta dinner. It stands to reason and it is no wonder why it would taste good. The restaurant has been around for over 20 years making your favorite Chicken Valdostana. The restaurant was in the neighborhood before it was a neighborhood. They make their own pasta in house and after a plate of it I asked Annette, “What’s the story?”

A word about Annette… and full disclose here. We go way back. I was a waiter in the first restaurant she managed when she got out of college. Her name was Annette Simon. That’s how we first met. A few years later, I ran into her at Fillippo’s where she was engaged to Fillippo Del Prete. They have since got married and had two kids. Annette is very smart. She knows food and is fierce in business. She is also a serial entrepreneur. She has had four businesses including: the restaurant, a Mexican fast food shop, a wholesale bakery and now Jimmy Bars. Jimmy Simon is her brother and very much like her. He is also a serial entrepreneur. He has had six businesses including a very successful IT development company, an art gallery, a commercial realty business and two paper companies.  He chuckles at doing the same business twice but he said it was fun.

He has lived on both coasts and a couple spots in between before coming back to Chicago to do take on this new venture. They both readily admit to their dad having a lot to do with their self-made state of mind. He was a commodities trader but also an entrepreneur.  He instilled in them the mindset to blaze their own paths. He said there is no pension plan option; one has to build it on-their-own in order to ensure their future. Jimmy (who is very active and very healthy) asked Annette to join him in a new business venture. This time, though,  it would be a retail food item that would leverage her expertise. Her epicurean results are what is currently being sold in over 30 states and Canada. Jimmy Bars are also beginning to ship to the UK and Australia.  It has been a very meteoric rise. They started selling bars just a year and a half ago.


You can read the full article in the Fall Issue of Halfstack Magazine - To read click HERE

Halfstack at Home - Office Style

Halfstack at Home - Office Style

Hey Everyone! Jen Lezan here with Halfstackmag.com! Today I am excited to share a project we’ve been working on and some tips on how to create a functional yet stylish office space when you are working with minimal space, a shared space or have an at home office. You can watch the video and below you can find an outline of our tips for how to make a functional yet chic office space in a small area.

For our first tip: When working with a space that is in a home, functionality is most important. You want the space to work well and blend nicely into the surroundings, yet set it apart. The easiest way to do this is by utilizing paint.  We used (c/o)  Clark + Kensington paint from Ace Hardware in the Can’t find my Czechbook color from their OPI collaboration collection. This is a fun line of  fashion forward colors that are not for the faint of heart. The aqua style blue worked well against the white and wood furnishings we utilized in the space. The paint comes in matte, semi gloss and gloss. We used the semi gloss so it is easy to clean. This is a primer and paint in one, but it went on kind of light so we suggest more than one coat to get an even and sleek finish.



We added some pops of warmth and complementing color by using pillows and throws from (c/o) Lacoste Home available at Macy's. This helped add a lived in feel to an otherwise cold space and added a touch of comfort. If you’re going to be working somewhere for hours upon hours, you might as well make it comfortable.

A majority of the office space was furnished with Ikea to maintain our budget. In. particular, we utilized the Algot system from Ikea; which is just a system of shelves and brackets that we attached to the wall. This brings me to our next tip, make use of your wall space.  If you have a small space to work with, build up or use shelving as potential workspace as we did here. Rather than setting up a large desk, we kept it modern and minimal with white shelves that we can use as desk space.

Our final tip is to de-clutter and organize. We incorporated bins and desk organizers from Target, The Container Store and the dollar tree.  Group like items together, file away paper work you must keep, pitch the junk you don’t need and make sure everything has a place. This will help you keep track of where things are, find items more easily and keep your space clear to create. A quick little insider tip – utilize command strips plastic hooks on the underside of your desk area to corral your chords and keep them off the floor.

We hope you enjoyed this DIY video from Halfstack! If you like what you see, please take the time to subscribe and please feel free to leave comments to let us know what you think or are interested in seeing! Oh! And our Fall Music Issue Releases Wed. Sept 17! So, check it out at: www.issuu.com/halfstackmag. Thanks!!
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Jen Lezan
Editor-in-chief

Halfstack Fall Issue Sneak Peek: Zap Props

Halfstack Fall Issue Sneak Peek: Zap Props

Written by: Jennifer Lezan as featured in Halfstack's Fall Issue.

In an unassuming, yet creepy drive off of Loomis Place on the Southside of Chicago, a place where history meets progress, rises multiple post modern manufacturing buildings that have long since been abandoned or repurposed. One building in particular boasts a collection of trinkets, oddities and vintage Americana unlike anything that you will find in the area. Behind this hauntingly beautiful façade of crumbling brick and stone you will find workers packing and unpacking, historians, business people, creatives, designers and the curators of the past. These interesting and inquisitive people are the lifeline behind what Chicagoans know as Zap Props.

Zap Props is a prop and antique warehouse located in Bridgeport run by Bill Rawksi, Chicago’s own curator of vintage and the key holder of the beautifully mundane. Zap Props is 36,000 square foot warehouse hidden within the confines of walls that are likely as old as the props being stored within them. In order to understand the enormity of it, one must visit to truly understand it. It’s an eerie wonderland where creatives of all industries can get lost in time exploring the vast, never ending shelves filled with treasures of times past. 

Bill got his start in the amusement and coin operated machine business over 30 years ago. He was helping his father at the time that ran a route throughout the area and even back then, Bill had an innate business sense and intuition. He saw an opportunity to grow and decided to buy a gumball machine route. As time progressed, he became fascinated with the older machines and started collecting them. He was astounded to find that, as he continued to visit flea markets to search for machines, people were actually collecting restored machines. It was at this point that he stumbled upon the fact that people were becoming ever more intrigued with the “Americana” aesthetic.

Over time, his collection grew and he saw an opportunity to take his business in a different direction as the amusement and coin operated industry was starting to die off. He continued to grow his collection and focus on working the antique and prop market. There was a chance opportunity that started with a little film called “A League of their Own” that helped Zap Props become a well-known player in the industry. Bill found his niche, as there were not, and still are not many prop houses of the stature of Zap Props in the city of Chicago. His innate business sense also helped him create a name for himself. Today, some of his biggest business clients come from the restaurant industry throughout the US and abroad. He has even been showcased on shows such as American Pickers.

If there is one thing that Bill understands, it is that networking is an extremely important part of his business. But, no you’re not going to find this blue-collar and down to earth dude rubbing elbows and hobnobbing in some fancy setting. Rather, this gruff guy has his own special way of connecting with Film Directors, Stylists, Designers and locals. He is a “what you see is what you get” kind of guy and that’s what truly seems to have helped him succeed. He is nimble on his feet and can adjust with the ebb and flow of the ever-changing business he is in. Yet, he remains humble and grateful about the opportunities he has found. Having worked with the likes of companies such as Rossati’s, Aurelios and The Tilted Kilt, Bill still maintains a humble attitude that speaks volumes about his character.

For the full article, check back Wednesday Sept. 17, 2014 to read the complete story in Halfstack’s Fall 2014 Issue. You can download the latest copy of the magazine at: www.issuu.com/halfstackmag