HALLOWEEN IS ABOUT FOUR WEEKS AWAY — do you have your costume figured out? If not, don’t fret: Benicia Makerspace will have a workshop Wednesday that will let participants create costumes for the holiday.
Tenaya Hurst will teach participants about wearable technology, including how to sew light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and sensors into clothes. Kits will be available for purchase.
The “Bare Bones Kit” is $20, and contains a bobbin of conductive thread, two needles, a LilyPad Arduino microcontroller board, five LEDs, two batteries, a needle threader and safety pins. The beginner’s kit, $25, has those items plus five more LEDs and three more batteries. The deluxe kit, $35, adds a seam ripper, hook and loop fastener strips, scissors, snaps and magnets.
The supreme deluxe kit, $50, adds a second LilyPad, a second bobbin of conductive thread and a LilyPad button. It contains a total of 15 LEDs and five batteries.
Members can bring in their Halloween costumes and accessories to share ideas with participants, and participants will have time to ask for help with their costume ideas.
The workshop will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Benicia Public Library, 150 East L St. Those interested may visit the group’s website, www.beniciamakerspace.org. Founding memberships are available for $20 a month and can be purchased on the website; meetings are announced at www.meetup.com/beniciamakerspace.
Long-time manager to leave Bookshop Benicia
STEPHANIE ELLIS has been a manager at Bookshop Benicia for 11 years.
Courtesy photo
Ellis was featured in the April 2013 edition of “O Magazine” as a woman of courage and confidence.
“My decision to leave didn’t come easily. The bookstore has been an integral part of my life and the lives of my kids, and it took me a long time to even be able to consider not working there any longer,” Ellis said. “I reached a point where I finally had to recognize that it was time for me to move on, and even though change can be scary and intimidating, it can also be exciting and freeing.
“I am hopeful that by making these changes, new opportunities will arise and good things will happen.”
Ellis expressed admiration for the store’s customers for their commitment to shop locally and for following the store in its move from Southampton Shopping Center. Noting the financial challenges of independent retail businesses, she said they welcomed her into their lives and made shopping at the store part of their and their families’ routine — which made her job more meaningful.
“I cannot properly express to you the depth of my feelings and my thankfulness for the experiences I have amassed in my time at Bookshop Benicia,” she said. “All I can say is thank you.”
Those interested can follow Ellis at http://www.bookloveistruelove.com/ or email her at supersteph80@yahoo.com.
Discover Yesterday prepares for move
Discover Yesterday, 364 First St., is moving to a smaller storefront after 19 years at its current site, and will have an inventory reduction sale of 20 percent to 50 percent off inventory in preparation for the move.
The store specializes in antiques and vintage linens, apparel, lace and jewelry. Some of the items are museum quality.
Benicia writer publishes second volume of stories
Benicia resident Benita Schontag has electronically published a second volume of short stores, including “Halloween Schemes,” “Eve’s-Drop Cafe” and “Flight to Cydonia.” They are available for download from the online bookstores Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iBooks, and can be found by searching “Schontag’s Short Stories,” the author said.
A graduate of the University of California-Berkeley, Schontag studied writing, including the course “Method Writing by Mail,” at the University of Massachusetts.
After retirement as a legal administrative secretary at Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp., she wrote short articles for “Animal Voice” and the Sierra Club’s San Francisco Bay Chapter while she was the chairperson of the Wildlife Subcommittee.
The first volume of Schontag’s short stories also has been published electronically and is available from the same sites.
Baskin Robbins employee apprenticing as cake decorator
Gina Schauffert, an employee at Baskin-Robbins, 191 Military East, will apprentice as a cake decorator, franchisee Greg Marek said.
“She was hired to work behind the counter on customer services. Gina has been branching herself out to look after the shop and the crew,” Marek said.
“Gina is a college student. Last spring, the shop faced a string of difficulties, and she stepped up to help. Through this adversity, she proved herself reliable and capable of taking on new tasks. She basically worked her way into the role of a shift leader.”
Schauffert has been working at the store for 16 months.
The apprenticeship will last several months, Marek said.
“She’s got what it takes,” he said.
The Benicia Herald’s weekly Benicia Business Beat column is an opportunity for local businesses and companies to tell our readers about such news as moves, grand openings, awards, promotion of employees, staff changes and changes in goods and services.
Submissions need to answer the questions who, what, when, where, why and how, preferably in the body of an email, and provide contact information.
Deadline is 3 p.m. Friday for news items that will appear in the next Tuesday edition’s Benicia Business Beat. Please email news releases and accompanying high-resolution photographs and logos to beniciaherald@gmail.com, and put “Attn. Business Beat” in the subject line, as well as the name of the business.
The Benicia Herald also appreciates area companies’ advertising patronage. For advertising services, call 707-745-0733 or email adsbenicia@yahoo.com.
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