How to Make Crushed Pepper Resin Charms

Every month Kathy Cano-Murillo, a.k.a. The Crafty Chica, dishes crafty tips and tricks in La Vida Crafty on Jackalope Ranch. You know you are an obsessive crafter when it hurts to throw things away. Straws, chopsticks, gum ball toys, old purses — anything. One of my favorite crafts is working…

Announcing the 2014 Big Brain Finalists

Today’s the day, Phoenix. We’re announcing the finalists for the 2014 Big Brain Awards. Each spring we recognize emerging Phoenix creatives — and over the past 10 days we’ve narrowed down our long list of nominations to 15 finalists in five categories…

Big Brain Update: Mesa Fashion Designer Keytha Fixico

Leading up to this year’s Big Brain Awards, we’re checking in with past winners. Up today: Keytha Fixico. Since winning a Big Brain Award in 2013 for his work as a fashion designer, Keytha Fixico has gone international. Not business-wise, but the creative has caught a bit of a travel…

Judgmental Map of Phoenix Stereotypes Your Neighborhood

Nearly every Phoenix neighborhood has its stereotypes. There are the safe but boring cookie-cutter breeder colonies, the historic neighborhoods we wish we could live in, the up-and-coming ‘hoods trying to shed their ramshackle images, and the areas known as the Williamsburg and Bushwick of Phoenix. But a new map is…

ASU Tinder-Style Dating App, Visionthenight, to Debut March 17

With more than 76,000 students, Arizona State University has the largest enrollment of any public university in the country. And while that number might speak volumes regarding its academic, athletic, and community programs, for one software developer it equals one thing: a whole lot of singles…

The 10 Worst Pick-Up Lines Ever

Courting Disaster is Jackalope Ranch’s weekly column of dating horror stories, observations, how-tos, and more by Katie Johnson. Names of ex-boyfriends, past hookups, and bad blind dates have been changed to protect the guilty. Look, I know picking up women isn’t easy. We’re not exactly the warmest creatures right off…

Wickenburg’s Octave Mine on the Market for $5.9M

Heads up, treasure hunters. A new Wickenburg property located at 14125 West Ben Jaffe Boulevard is currently up for grabs on the real estate market. And while owning property in Yavapai County could hardly be conducive for your weekday commute into metro Phoenix, we’re told this location is an absolute…

Meat Market Vintage Will Move to Double Nickels Collective in Tempe

Meat Market Vintage owner Ben Funke announced via Facebook on Saturday, March 1, that his shop, known for its cheeky throwback T-shirts and offbeat casual style, will shutter its Mill Avenue storefront where it’s operated for the past two years. While Meat Market will say farewell to its first-ever brick-and-mortar…

10 Reasons Tesla Should Come to Arizona

Arizona is in the running to be the home of Tesla Motors’ “gigafactory,” a $4 to $5 billion lithium battery plant that would employ roughly 6,500 people. The high-end electric car company has narrowed down its list of potential locations for the plant to four states including Texas, Nevada, and…

7 Best Boutiques in Metro Phoenix

Have a hankering to update your wardrobe this season? Whether you need a wedding dress or a pair of perfectly distressed jeans, Phoenix has a fashionable resource for this, that, and most everything in between. Here are the seven best locally owned boutiques this city has to offer. Frances For…

Phoenix Center for the Arts Launches Writing Program

Pencils up, downtown creatives. Phoenix Center for the Arts has just announced that it will launching its first ever la Phoenikera Writer’s Guild. The writing program, which will start during the Center’s 2014 summer trimester, will be a collaborative effort hosted by local writers and professional instructors. Before you begin…

Is UNION at the Biltmore in Phoenix Half Empty or Half Full?

Disheartening. There really isn’t another word to describe the feeling of walking in through the back entrance of UNION at the Biltmore. The last weeks of February have been warm, and unseasonably so — the kind of weather conducive to leisurely patio lunches and coffee catch-ups that morph into all-afternoon…