I just wrote a story for a local business weekly about how more people are starting to move into our downtown area. For Phoenix, that's an accomplishment - the downtown area is really more business than residential. A person in the comment section put it perfectly:

"People have always lived downtown. It's just that now they're living inside a condo instead of a bus shelter."

I'm getting a good laugh out of that.

On a serious note, I am thrilled to see downtown Phoenix evolving. The growing arts district near Roosevelt is just great, and there's a lot quietly happening there. For instance, I always noticed this one building with a simple sign that says "Chadwick & Rueling." I always assumed it was a small law practice. As it turns out, it's actually a team of jewelers. They create more hip, modern and creative pieces.

I found this out while shopping for my wife's birthday. I wanted to get her something that she wouldn't see someone else wearing. I did a little snooping and discovered the law practice was actually a jeweler. I stopped in and met Chadwick; I told him what I was after and some of my wife's preferences, and he dug around for a few samples to get our ideas going. I spotted one cool stone and a setting that was nearly there. He took that info and came up with this:


It's great that we're now able to support businesses not because they're local, but because they're really good at what they do.