Vote for your favorite!

**Susan** · Aug 3rd, 07, 10:39 am

The Top 10 Finalists in the Small Businesses, Big Dreams contest sponsored by IKEA's Small Business Network in conjunction with Shycast.com have been announced, and now it's time for you to vote for your favorites!

Choose your favorite!

Any entrants out there? Tell us why you think you should win! We're taking an informal poll here - IKEAFANS is a judge, and we want to know what you think!

Vote for your town!

Please note: official votes must be made at business.ikea.com/mainstreet - check out the videos, and then vote for your favorite!

JunieLou · Aug 8th, 07, 10:08 am

Vote for Old Town Lansing, please! We're a great little community and one big family. Though I'm sure the other communities are all truly deserving, I know and love Old Town Lansing. I can't imagine being any other place in the world.

**Susan** · Aug 8th, 07, 10:44 am

Hi JunieLou! Welcome to IKEAFANS!

Tell us about your town! It's great to hear different perspectives on what the community thinks makes a town great!

Susan

SpartanGal · Aug 8th, 07, 11:41 am

I say vote for Old Town, Lansing too! Old Town is awesome, fun, funky, creative, welcoming...I could go on and on. I just moved to Old Town and will be making my trip to IKEA this weekend! Old Town and IKEA are a perfect match!

Woof!Woof! · Aug 10th, 07, 11:41 am

I agree, Old Town is a very funky, electic place. Here is a typical day for me in Old Town. When I get to my shop at 1 pm, there's usually been a package delivered for me at the gallery down the street. I let my dogs in my shop and run down to the gallery to pick it up. On the way I stick my tongue out at Richard (fondly called grumpy old man) as I walk by his place (he yells "Hi Brat"). I say Hi to Pablo who's serving a table out on the sidewalk and he tells me I'm beautiful which makes this middle aged woman blush, I run into the gallery and grab my package and then run over to Polka Dots to pick up some beads. On my way back to my shop I stop at Relish to say Hi to John and he invites me in for a cup of coffee (we sit on the sidewalk and drink coffee so I can watch my place). As I'm headed back to my shop one of my customers honks and waves, in the meantime, my little dog Tori is doing the dance of the 7 veils in the window because she can't wait for me to come back into the shop to snuggle her. I get some mail ready and walk my Border Collie mix, Xena, down to the mailbox (because she likes to get away from her pesky little sister), and I run into Brandon, who is on his way to my shop to have me sample his latest confectionery creation (can't wait for him to open up that coffee shop across the street). Tommy from the Unicorn waves and asks me if I want a cup of coffee (he's always slipping cards and riddles in my mail slot). Rick Preuss, on his way to Pablos, stops in to see how things are going. One day he had a stuffed animal tied on his head and was talking like a whale (because he lost a bet). Later, I see Jamie giving someone a tour of Old Town and she stops by to say Hi. Of course, in between all that, I have customers coming in and out, to shop, say Hi, or let me see their new puppy. When I get hungry I either call Sir Pizza, Pablos, Vernadine's, Portable Feast (where I yell at Sharon "get me food wench", and she laughs), or Mama Bears to order food to go. When I close up for the day to head home, I wave at Tommy, say Hi to the couple that lives in the loft above me and smile at the family riding their bikes thru Old Town. I love my life in Old Town, I invite you to visit to experience if for yourself.

**Susan** · Aug 10th, 07, 4:34 pm

Wow, such spirit for Old Town Lansing! Anyone else have stories about your town?

Let's get some discussion going here - voting for the winner takes place in just over 2 weeks!

Susan

Woof!Woof! · Aug 11th, 07, 3:05 pm

What about the time we had Lynne's birthday party in the building they bought and they set up a badmitten net and they had library cart races. There's photos of that somewhere . . . lol. Or the Sangria Smackdown? Jamie is still pouting because she lost to Ross.

JunieLou · Aug 14th, 07, 3:23 pm

There are so many reasons why you should vote for Old Town. I've worked in Old Town for about two years, and I lived in Old Town for more than five years, only moving away when I got married, so that my stepson wouldn't have to change schools. I plan to move back as soon as he's done with school. I first fell in love with Old Town because of the buildings. That was about ten years ago when I first moved to the Lansing area. At that time, there was an art gallery, a small restaurant, an ice cream shop and an alternative bookstore. Despite the fact that there were only a few businesses, I loved the area and saw the potential.

Since that time, my best friend and younger sister have both opened businesses in the area. New businesses - small and independent businesses - are moving into our neighborhood every day. Other people now seem to see the great things in our community.

When I bought my house near Old Town, people who grew up in the area couldn't believe it. They knew the area as a dangerous place. They were not able to see the potential. I assured them that the best way to make a change was to get involved. I think that my sister and I helped to keep the ice cream shop in business. We walked our dog and got ice cream pretty much every day that it wasn't raining. I started to volunteer for the festivals. I got the company that I worked for at the time to sponsor the festivals. I would bring everyone I knew to Old Town whenever I could. Past coworkers would joke that if I drove us somewhere, I would somehow manage to take them through Old Town, even if we were going in the opposite direction. Eventually, my best friend started to see the beauty in the area and she and my sister opened a business together. That was nearly six years ago. Since then, the business has grown and become an Old Town anchor.

When my best friend opened her business, I had the opportunity to first meet Robert Busby, otherwise known as the "Mayor of Old Town." Robert was one of the first who had moved to the area, more than thirty years prior. Robert owned the building that would become October Moon's home. Later, when I came to work for Old Town, Robert became a mentor and sounding board for all kinds of ideas. He always had a kind word, smile or some strange tool or piece of equipment that we were looking for. I think that he was excited and a bit amused by all of the new people moving to Old Town and seeing what he had seen for so many years. Tragically, Robert was killed in February. Since then, I've realized even more how much I truly love Old Town. We are a family...a crazy and bit dysfunctional family - but a family none-the-less.

I continue to be amazed by the people who move to our neighborhood. Everyone supports each other. When a building is being renovated and someone is moving in, everyone pitches in and helps to paint or move in furniture. On a regular basis, you'll see people in the park on the corner, planting flowers, standing on the sidewalk chatting or drinking coffee. I love that I can walk a block down the street and see a half dozen people I know. When I'm walking someone new around the neighborhood, I think that they often think things are staged, because everyone knows each other, people say hi and it is just a friendly place.

I'm sure that the other cities are also very deserving. However, I know Old Town. I can tell you the stories about each person and why they chose to move their business to the area. I can tell you about their families, because they bring them to Old Town to eat, shop, for the festivals or to just hang out. The people in Old Town are truly a family. We don't always agree, but we all work together to try to make our neighborhood a great place. For our small businesses, the help from Ikea would be amazing. So many of the businesses have fixtures that they've purchased from garage and estate sales, auctions, salvaged from their homes or friends' homes or tried to build. This would be a wonderful boost!