BELLE VIVANTE – The Blind Owl Restaurant & Bar Opening

By Sherrilynn Colley-Vegh and Tracey Harding

Our Biz X magazine Belle Vivantes, were recently invited to an exclusive dining experience for media professionals and influencers by Sari M Cicurel, at The Blind Owl Restaraunt & Bar.

This is their second location which opened in mid October 2024 at 511 S. Main Street in Royal Oak, Michigan. The first Blind Owl is located at 36310 Main St. in New Baltimore.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tasting adventure as they showcased an array of innovative dishes.

The food is described as Latin-American inspired, an interesting combination of “Gourmet Pub Fare” with unique combinations sure to surprise and please any palate.

Signature cocktails were served with each featured dish, such as the “Easier Thymes”, the Fresh Espresso Martini and our favorite the “Cherrylicious” (Zim’s Vodka, pineapple and cranberry, Traverse City cherry puree, and a lime sugared rim.

The wine list, bourbon and whiskey list and tequila and vodka list are extensive. They also have an interesting non-alcohol selection of mocktails.

The feast was never-ending and a surprising favourite was the “Crispy Brussels” (who knew they could taste so good) served with chipotle agave glaze crispy bacon and feta. Most guests also enjoyed the “Boom Shakalaka” Cheeseburger with Gruyere and Fontina Cheese, crispy peppered bacon, Worchestershire aioli on a Brioche bun.

It was a pleasure to meet so many interesting radio, television, magazine professionals and celebrities and witness the passion and joy that our host and owner Nicholas Andreasson displayed as he described each course with pride and enthusiasm. Some of us stayed enjoy the colourful décor, great vibe and to bond over drinks long after the event.

We look forward to coming back to the Blind Owl and bringing some friends to watch the bands and enjoy a few cocktails, sushi and the “Monte Cristo” a twist on the classic sandwich batter dipped fried honey wheat bread, ham, Havarti and sharp cheddar cheese, roasted turkey and the cincher raspberry preserves for dipping.

Cheers to the Beautiful Life!

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Make Today Count With Coach Tina Brigley

In the past seven years Tina Brigley has helped thousands of people unleash their confidence and maximize their potential, earning respect as a coaching leader on the global stage.

Brigley is a four-time Globee Business Award recipient and has been featured in Forbes, USA Today, and Global Woman magazine. 

This powerhouse has shared the stage with Marissa Peer (world renowned speaker, author and Rapid Transformational Therapy trainer) and Daniel Priestley (best-selling author, international speaker and entrepreneur). 

Brigley was the co-founder of an international coaching company, and after her departure, she launched Tina Brigley Coaching with clients all over the world. And now as of January 2024, a merger with High Performing Coach (based in Europe) has taken place.

For our first issue of 2024, Biz X magazine is featuring this amazing disrupter, who is changing the coaching industry and sharing tips with our business readers.

“Are you happy or are you comfortable?”

This is the million-dollar question Brigley poses and hopes that all individuals will be willing to answer honestly. 

During our interview she shares her insights on what led her to follow the path of entrepreneurship. A former teacher, Brigley left her high paying job (with paid vacations and a great pension) filled with guilt.
Guilt — but no remorse — as she knew that coaching was what she was always meant to do.

While growing up, her dad ran a small business, which seemed very appealing to her. He would come home with cash money, make his own hours and do his own thing. Brigley realized she possessed this same entrepreneurial spirit and wanted to be her own boss and decision maker.

She reveals how she was doing prep work one day at school when a pop-up appeared on her computer. It was a 45-minute presentation on becoming a health coach.

Growing up, Brigley always wanted to become a psychologist, but it seemed unreachable, as she was living on her own at 17. She had to give up a dream that required years of schooling to focus on working just to eat and live.

Brigley started her career in education in 1999 as a Child and Youth Worker then graduated from teachers college in 2005 and began teaching right away. She taught from 2005 to 2017 in the area of Special Education.

Coaching now looked like an avenue to fulfill her dream of helping others.

Her first step was to take a course and shortly after she began a coaching business after being certified as a Coach in 2017.

Brigley’s personal coach asked her: “Do you want to be a teacher or a coach?” She knew the answer, but who would give up a secure teaching career for the unknown? Well, someone with courage because six weeks later, she was all in!

“When I was making the decision, I prayed for a sign to let me know I was on the right track,” Brigley recounts. “I picked up my library book and the words: ‘You’re meant for greater things,’ popped off the page. I got in my car and turned on the radio and Fight Song by Rachel Platten was playing, and in that moment I felt I was being guided to choose my dream.” 

Walking into her principal’s office to give her resignation, Brigley admits she was terrified. She recalls her principal questioning her sanity because her actions came at the same time that she was in the middle of a divorce. The experience was overwhelming, and she recalls feeling like she couldn’t breathe. Debilitating fear crept in.

“Nothing felt confident after the words ‘I quit’ left my mouth,” Brigley expresses. “The fears and doubts immediately consumed me and I had to remember to keep breathing until this feeling passed. I started to take one action at a time and never looked back because I knew that living with regret would be way worse than facing this temporary fear.”

As a result, Brigley has three teachings lessons that she learned from that experience . . .

The first — don’t wait for the whispers to turn into bricks.

The whispers are subtle messages that your purpose is bigger than you can see. You may feel like you are meant for more, or you aren’t where you’re supposed to be.

Pay attention, because eventually those whispers — when left ignored — will become bricks that feel heavy.

Find peace in your quiet thoughts. The answers you need are inside of you. Slow down to hear the whispers or you will be forced to stop from burn out, exhaustion or poor health. 

She continues by explaining that the brain is not wired for change and it defaults to thinking what there is to lose, and rarely focuses on what there is to gain.

This auto programming makes us look for all the reasons and excuses why we can’t do something, instead of why we can do it.

For example, when thinking about starting a small business, the brain will load up on all the ways it will go wrong. It’s your job to interrupt the thoughts.

Ask yourself: “What if the opposite thoughts are true?” The opposite might inspire you to get over your fears and even excite you to take that first action. 

Cover story continues on page 18

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Windsor Film-Maker Debuts Award-Winning Film, “Fragments”

Matthew Luppino is an Award-Winning Independent Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Cinematographer and President of “Luppo Studios Productions Inc.” He is widely known for his award-winning short films “Fragments,” “H.O.P.E. (Hold. On. Pain. Ends.), “Love Drunk,” and “The Blink Of An Eye.” He is specialized in the Drama and Romance genres, and is broadening his horizons with different genres and stories.

Luppino graduated from Toronto Film School in 2015 with High Honours and Distinction. He has been working in the film industry independently as a writer, director, producer, editor and cinematographer. He is experienced in just about every area of filmmaking in front and behind the camera.

To date, Luppino has earned 58 awards for his films world-wide. As an artist himself, he also enjoys creating music videos, writing and making songs, and telling stories through the art of photography.

“Fragments” Screening Official Premiere

Sunday, September 17, 2023 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

(In association with The FilmmakerLife Team)

Location: Imagine Cinemas Lakeshore, 164 Commercial Blvd, Tecumseh, ON.

“Fragments” Synopsis

Based on real events — Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. As Luppino reflects on his past, he finds closure in the small fragments of his life.

Highlights

“Fragments” has currently won 35 International Awards including: Best Short Film, Best Long Short Film, Best Drama, Best Romance, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, Best Original Director.

“Fragments” has earned another 20 other nominations as well.

The film is being showcased around the world from Los Angeles, California; Las Vegas, Nevada;  New York, New York; Jacksonville, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Hawaii; Mexico City, Mexico; Rome, Italy; London, England; Zurich, Switzerland; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; Barcelona, Spain; Tokyo, Japan; India; Sydney, Australia;

To here at home in Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, Canada.

“Fragments” was filmed locally all over the Windsor Essex and Chatham Kent area during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Filming Locations In Ontario, Canada

Essex; McGeachy Pond Conservation Area, Erieau; Point Pelee National Park; Tecumseh,; Kingsville; Wheatley Provincial Park, Chatham-Kent; Lakeshore and Windsor.

Luppino is currently featured on the cover of September Edition of The FilmmakerLife magazine in Los Angeles, California.

Link to full interview in the magazine:

OFFICIAL TRAILER TO FRAGMENTS:

Come out and witness the beautiful journey of grief in this FREE mini film festival event and official premiere for “Fragments” showcasing the best of Award-Winning filmmaker Matthew Luppino.

‘The Adventure of Grief’: screening of Four short films: “True Colours”; “Love Drunk”; “Stardust”; “H.O.P.E. (Hold. On. Pain. Ends.)”

Itinerary

• 1:30 pm (Introduction, Opening remarks.
• Four short films back-to-back.
• Intermission – 10 minutes. 
• “Fragments” Intro
• Movie then Q+A

Concessions will be available

Screening is COMPLETELY FREE!!!

A donation box will be available for future projects. Thank you for supporting our local talent.

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Staying Organized With Cas “Clutterbug”

How did shopping at the dollar store change the life of Cassandra “Clutterbug” Aarssen and help her go from “clutter queen” to “home organization leader” with her television show on HGTV?

Aarssen admits she struggled with clutter and mess for the first 30 years of her life and describes herself as a “super slob” who has tried hundreds of times to get organized.

She felt like a hamster on a wheel, living in a constant cycle of clutter, until she finally beat her demons.

One trip to the dollar store to buy a bunch of dishpans to organize was the catalyst that changed her life.

“I had bins for paid bills, important documents, and instead of dressers, bins labelled PJs,” she recalls. “I realized I organize differently than traditional methods of one size fits all.”  

She continues by stating: “The real change came when I started thinking outside the box, quite literally. I struggled with detailed organizing systems, like filing cabinets, containers with lids, or systems where I had to stop and think about putting an item away.”  

A macro organizer, she uses large categories with fast, simple systems, like lidless containers, adding, “Micro organizers prefer a detailed system with lots of categories and multiple, smaller containers.”

Eventually, her home became organized. Then she started helping others discover their organizing type and develop systems that work for their style.

“I discovered that there are four different organizing styles and systems, which I called ‘Clutterbugs’ — Butterfly, Cricket, Ladybug, and Bee,” she notes.

This became the basis of her business, Clutterbug Organizing Services, which includes a YouTube channel, Blog, Podcast, four best-selling organizing books and a show on HGTV called “Hot Mess House.”

“I’ve had the privilege of helping hundreds of thousands of families from all over the world discover their organizing styles and get organized for good,” she shares. “None of this happened overnight, it was a slow growth that started from my struggle (turned passion) with the life-changing power of organizing.” 

Aarssen’s advice for young leaders and entrepreneurs is to “Do what you love and the money will follow.”

Her role model and inspiration is Peter Walsh, the “King of Organization.”

“Ten years ago I was drowning in clutter when ‘Clean Sweep’ came on TV,” she admits. “Walsh and his words of wisdom and advice inspired me to give organizing one more chance.”  

Aarssen believes a good leader is humble, relatable, and honest, and someone who can inspire, educate and entertain.

“They show us what to do instead of telling us,” she states, pointing out “I prefer gurus who have struggled and overcome challenges and can inspire me to do the same thing.”

Her most asked question is: “How can I get my spouse to help around the house?”

There is still an expectation that women are in charge of cleaning and organizing everything, which can cause negative and resentful feelings about housework.

She does housework and organizes for herself because she likes a clean home and it makes her life easier.

“I focus on what I can do without putting expectations on others, which leads to disappointment and resentment,” she reveals.

Once she started being grateful, her family saw the benefits and wanted to help.

What’s next for Clutterbug?

Aarssen hopes for another season of “Hot Mess House” on HGTV and the continued growth of her brand. She loves people sharing Bee or Cricket organizing tips with others and wants the Clutterbug Organizing Philosophy to be around long after she is gone.

Curious about your organizing style? Take the free Clutterbug quiz at: Clutterbug.com!

Sherrilynn Colley-Vegh is an award-winning leadership consultant with over 30 years of experience; past principal and Chief Communications Officer, author and business owner. She is the founder of Girls Rock Windsor, recipient of the prestigious Athena Leadership Award and is the Director of Public Relations at Music Player Magazine where she mentors interns worldwide. If you know a leader in the community to profile here in this column email: Sherrilynn@BizXmagazine.com.

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Take The Lead – Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens Leads The Way Through Tornados, Floods and A Pandemic

They always say you judge a person by how they perform through adversity, not success. Well, this means I now have an even greater respect for City of Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens (elected October 27, 2014).

Windsor has always been known for its resilience and since “leadership starts at the top” Dilken’s path into politics prepared him to be tenacious in his quest for office and for the difficult challenges he would face in this leadership role.

His uncle, Marty Goldberg, was an Alderman who inspired the “political bug” early on in Dilkens who began to seek out leadership positions as a teenager through Student Council and getting involved in the community.

After a few failed attempts for the Windsor Utilities Commission and the public school board, he took what he learned from the experience and maintained his passion to serve.

He set his sights on City Council and knocked on almost every door in the largest riding (55,000) and was successful in 2006 and served two terms.

Dilkens credits his tenacity to keep pursuing his passion for politics as a decision to put things in perspective.

“A lot of great people run for office and not everyone can win,” he says. “I didn’t want to be one of the defeated candidates that you never heard from again.”

His family was just about to move to Belgium for a year on an adventure, when he received a call from Joyce Zuk stating she was not going to run in the next election for City Council and he was advised to step up.

“I have to credit my wife with encouraging me to not have any regrets and go for it, even though she realized just how much time and family life is sacrificed for political service,” he expresses.

Dilkens is grateful to his parents for raising him to give back, his uncle for being a political role model and his grandfather, who was involved in community service with the Masonic Temple and The Shriners. Another one of Dilken’s inspirations was his first grade teacher who impacted him so much that he has maintained contact with her.

A passion of our Mayor is travelling with his family, giving them an opportunity to experience different cultures and increase their global perspective.

He feels this exposure and perspective is one of the things that makes a good leader, along with getting a great education and becoming involved in the community.

Dilkens describes public office as an enormous responsibility: “You are part of a Board of Directors that is in charge of a budget of $850 million with a staff of over 2,500 people who are all making complex decisions that require understanding enormous amounts of material.”

He encourages everyone to get involved. “You don’t have to have a high-profile position to serve, you can be involved in grass roots initiatives and add your voice and time,” he suggests.

Mayor Dilkens admits it can be “lonely at the top” when you are making decisions for which you may have more information than other people, but he feels you must take risks. “You can’t be risk-free in this position or you won’t be able to grow and move your city forward,” he notes.

He believes that “you have to be able to take criticism and have a true passion to face the challenges, negativity and scrutiny.”

When he thinks of a leader that responded to a risk and endured tough times, he admires the strength of Brian Mulroney when dealing with the first North American Free Trade Agreement.

“Mulroney faced a lot of challenges and discourse and it was a hard sell with many implications, but it was the right move for our GDP for all three countries: Canada, United States and Mexico,” he comments.

Dilkens feels it takes tenacity to be a good leader: “It is important to bring others along when there is push back to new ideas; you need the confidence to stay on a path of improvement.”
He adds, “You need passion and the ability to engage ‘champions’ to help others understand why decisions are good and should be supported.”

His ultimate goal is to come together as a council and as a city in order to make Windsor better in every way possible.

Mayor Dilkens has faced tornados, floods and a pandemic, yet still maintains his positive “glass-half full” attitude.

“Our team and community have worked hard to diversify and improve infrastructure and quality of life and there are always new areas of focus that emerge,” he mentions. “We are working hard to revitalize our downtown and have made great progress, most recently with Double Tree and Quicken Loans and the WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation relocating, the Paul Martin building bringing the library to the heart of the city, and St. Clair College moving into the Canderel building.”

He also stresses the importance of addressing our issues of homelessness, addiction and mental health support to keep our core vibrant and attractive to business, residents and tourism.
And what of the biggest challenge to date, the COVID-19 pandemic? The Mayor is proud of the actions of our citizens.

He feels it has brought out the best in our residents and he talks about examples where we come together to solve problems like the tough decision to temporarily cancel Transit Windsor service because of safety issues and lack of use. (90% stopped using public transportation during initial isolation).

Groups were immediately organized and 1,500 volunteers stepped up to transport food and medicine to seniors and our most vulnerable population and get them to their appointments through 211/311.

The City also supported the June 27th Miracle food drive by providing donation centres.

In addition Workforce WindsorEssex and the WindsorEssex Small Business Centre went online with their “#ShopYQG” campaign and the city is featuring and promoting small businesses and restaurants through “Take-out Tuesday” campaigns.

“The most positive effect this pandemic has had on everyone is an appreciation for family, friends and the need for human interaction and physical contact,” he says. “On a personal level I have been able to carve out more time for family dinners and activities and I think we are all re-focusing on what is important in life.”

Dilkens concludes with this message of hope . . . “Windsor is strong, caring and resilient, we will make it through this together and our community will come out on the other side of these challenging times an even stronger city!”

If you would like to interact with the Mayor go to facebook or view the latest city news on MayorDrewDilkens.ca.

Sherrilynn Colley-Vegh is an award winning leadership consultant and former Director of Leadership Windsor/Essex, Principal, Chief Communications Officer and business owner with over 30 years of experience in education, administration, mentoring, consulting and community leadership. If you know a leader in the community to profile here in this column email: Sherrilynn@BizXmagazine.com.

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