The Rise of the Citizen Entrepreneur
Scott Ballum | February 12, 2010
It was quite remarkable to get a personal shout-out from the President of the United States last week. Amidst the ovations--some bi-partisan and some quite partisan--I heard a President say that it was small businesses that were going to get this country back on its feet again. He talked...
The Linkery Learns From Its Mistakes, and Changes a Bit of the World in the Process
Scott Ballum | January 14, 2010
The Linkery in San Diego’s North Park is one of the hottest, if not the most recommended, farm-to-table, high caliber restaurant around. But if owner Jay Porter were in the same position now as he was in 2004, he certainly wouldn’t open a restaurant again. Jay is an unlikely restaraunteur. A former...
Le Labo: Where Success Smells of Beauty and Dreams
Scott Ballum | December 10, 2009
Giorgio Armani tried to kill Fabrice Penot. At least, it seems his business almost did. A perfume designer, Fabrice worked for years on the House of Armani brand. But even though he was brought in to run the fragrance division, he was constantly called to answer to the financial and marketing...
 
New: From the Editor
Scott Ballum | January 4, 2010

I am excited and humbled by the extent to which Sheepless.org continues to grow, thanks to a wonderful team of contributors. I'm inspired to double my own efforts in 2010, and invite all of our readers to join in the conversation and collaborate in as many ways as you would like. I'm looking forward to spending more time on the West Coast this year, and am looking forward to bringing in new writers from California and Denver soon, and contributors from all over.

Type Casts: Identity by Association?
Scott Ballum | November 17, 2009

My partner and I have an ongoing debate about identity, and the possibility of being aware enough of how we’ve constructed our own identity to be able to change it. This gets particularly messy when we talk (oh so calmly) about “types” and what it means to be a member of a group or to identify as certain sort of person. He thinks it’s as impossible for us to stop being a “type” as it is for a table to stop being a table, or something like that.

Sea to Table, a Family's Direct Line from Sustainable Fisheries
Scott Ballum | November 3, 2009

Chefs in St. Louis like him because they can serve fresh Mahi-Mahi just 24 hours out of the water. A single-boat fisherman in the Bering Sea likes him because he now has a national market and increased revenue. FedEx likes him because they have a contract to use gel ice and time/temperature indicators to deliver perishable goods from Tobago to restaurants all over the United States. He’s also a proactive member of the newly-formed Common Spaces cooperative workspace in Brooklyn, quick with a beer run or pizza order.

What Color is Your Chicken? Can design do more than get us to the other side?
Scott Ballum | October 19, 2009

It is surprising to find myself as a graphic designer in the seemingly irreconcilable position of having more interest in discussing socially and politically relevant work than the relevancy of design itself. Perhaps that it is because to me, talking about the potential of design is like talking about the potential of language. Talking about design is like talking about the diction and eloquence of a speaker before considering the content of his address.

FilmSprout: Growing Documentary Film Audiences From the Bottom Up
Scott Ballum | October 15, 2009

To fully understand what Caitlin Boyle does for a living, you first have to understand that the dominant distribution model for independent documentary films is broken.