Here are a few shots from Oregon Soap Company. We're waiting to release the final shots and article for our premier iPad issue.  But here's just a teaser...

In a dreary economy, with record numbers of Portlanders unemployed and underemployed, the shared work space is hoping to tap into the city’s DIY sensibility to foster innovation, creativity and a new connection to work. But similar projects have tried here before --- and failed. Will ADX’s new approach pencil out?

In an nondescript warehouse 40 miles west from Portland, Greg Lorenz is bustling from room to room brewing arguably the best sake in North America. Educated in plant biology from Arizona State, he had been growing algae for a health-food startup when the company went belly up in 1996. Shortly after he received an invitation to interview at a new sake company in the area.  “I thought it would be a great opportunity to culture” says Greg, admitting he had no prior experience with beverage fermentation. Following the interview, Greg was offered the position as head brewer for Sake One.

Here are a couple sample shots, in no particular order, from our shoot at Sake One in Forest Grove. We -- photographer Kyle Carnes and myself -- had a great time shooting (and drinking) some of the best sake coming out of the U.S.

Well, It’s been a little while since we posted.

The magazine has been moving forward smoothly, we’ve been busy securing sponsorships and partnerships for our premier issue, Oregon Built. And while we can’t reveal any names yet, we’ve been blown away by the community’s support for our mission of providing an alternative voice to the media-as-usual business press. Our supporters understand that if we expect to fundamentally re-imagine business , we’re going to need a new business media to tell its story.  They also understand that their sponsorship will be seen -- on the iPad and online -- by an influential and forward thinking audience. (If you’re interested in advertising in Stake, email Ilie at ilie@stakemagazine.com for a media kit and more information).

That’s it for now, the crew is headed out in a few hours to shoot Greg Lorenz, head brewer at Sake One, in Forest Grove. We’ll post pictures shortly.

The Stake Team.

Stake is the recognition of a movement. A movement flourishing around us, a movement many of us participate in daily. At its core, the movement is an attempt to transform commerce from an frequently destructive, wastefully force into a constructive one; better equipped to address emerging markets, environmental realities and civic priorities.

New Geography recently ran Stake's latest piece, "ADX Offers Opportunities to Work, Play and Profit in Portland's New Economy." Thanks for the support, it's great to have other publications recognize the value of a new business dialog.

Rick Turoczy gave Stake and our Kickstarter a generous write over at the Silicon Florist. Check it out over here. Thanks Rick, we all appreciate the support!

We're excited to report that our Kickstarter campaign is live! Help us build an counterweight to the big business press. Until we provide a compelling alternative business voice, we'll won't be able to truly scale an alternative business movement.

The Research Club – a cohort of designers, activists, makers and thinkers – invited me to present on STAKE magazine the other day, and of course I jumped at the chance.

We’ve been working with Nim Wunnan, founder of the Research Club, for a couple months now. He was kind enough to tap his network and find some brilliant folks to get our Kickstarter video shot.

The talk was a great opportunity to test drive the ideas behind a project I’ve been thinking about, and evolving, for a couple years now. Chances are it will keep evolving; we’ll figure out what works as we move forward and adjust. But the opportunity to speak to a community about a relatively multifaceted project helped contextualize what’s been stuck in my head for too long; some of it sounded compelling, some absurd.

Now the task is to scrap the absurd, keep the compelling, and continually refine the best way to summarize a project for which I have yet to find a simple summary.

But overall, I was very pleased with the talk and the response from folks attending – many of whom snagged me afterward because they wanted to get involved. Thanks to the Research Club and Kristin Wolf for the pics.