KNOW YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES

After ten years in the auto-immunity field with headquarters in Wendelsheim, Germany, and a subsidiary in the eastern US, AESKU is opening a new office in West Oakland. Their president, Dr. Matthias, is shown above. To increase their presence and support in America, they thought it wise to locate in the regional heart of the US life-science and healthcare market.

AESKU is a research-focused supplier of innovative products and services for the early detection and diagnosis of auto-immune diseases. Besides its own commitment to research and development, AESKU Diagnostics created the AESKU Kipp Institute, a non-profit organization, active in research in and information dissemination about autoimmunity.

The Oakland office will be headed by Mr. Bruno Larida (shown above), AEKSU Vice President of Commercial Operations. Specializing in global marketing for in-vitro diagnostics, he holds an MBA from York University and has more than 10 years experience in autoimmune diagnostics, international marketing, sales and product development. He will lead the company’s sales, export, marketing and product development divisions.

Prior to joining AEKSU, Mr. Larida served as the business marketing manager for Bio-Rad Laboratories, directing the autoimmune unit, in France. He also worked for Sanofi Diagnostics as an instrument sales specialist, directing sales and account management in southern France. Mr. Larida has also published numerous articles in his field of autoimmunity.

The City delivers a warm welcome to Mr. Larida. As a good friend of the Soja Martial Arts studio, down the street in Jack London Square, you will find Bruno practicing his passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Aikido (black belt) and Yoga Vinyasa. With best wishes for the success of this important medical venture.

Back to the Roots is Mushrooming

Back to the Roots/BTTR Ventures was founded in 2009 by Alejandro Velez (below, left) and Nikhil Arora as a 100% sustainable urban mushroom farm. They met at UC Berkeley and started it as a school project. Focusing on bringing sustainable grow-at-home products into households across the country, the company’s vision is to serve as a standard bearer of innovation in our community and to inspire others to work towards a more sustainable future.

As UCB graduates, Velez and Arora had offers in investment banking and consulting but turned their back on that after hearing, in one of our business ethics courses, that gourmet mushrooms can be grown entirely on recycled coffee grounds. Together they embarked on an adventure that has led them to oversee a staff of 14 in a 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse at 28th and Adeline, where they are neighbors to Hodo Soy Beanery, Kaia Foods and Fargo Choice. They are happy to have employed locals, and elated to have won the “Innovators” award at the Oakland Indie Awards on May 13th.

American Steel Artists' Manager Cusalito

American Steel Studios, Manager Cusolito Many have noticed that the streets of West Oakland are sprouting sculptures of significant grandeur—kneeling or standing giants, often female, composed of welded iron, often reaching out to a greater artistic vision (shown below). These are the products of Karen Cusolito and the sculptors of the space she manages — American Steel Studios — within the former American Steel building at 20th and Mandela Parkway.

Ms. Cusolito began working in a small space within the nearly vacant American Steel building in 2005. In 2009, she signed a lease on the entire 6 acre property and has been running "American Steel Studios, LLC," which provides studio and gallery space to over 100 artists, innovators and small green businesses, ever since. American Steel is an incubator of creative cross-pollination and inspiration for innovators focused on art, sustainability and cultural enrichment.

Of late, American Steel artists participated in the first "Oakland art ride;" Amsteel artists exhibited in a new space in the Oakland Art Murmur; and Cusolito recently had an opening on Market Street, San Francisco, with two sculptures from "The Infinitarium." She has been approached by several Oakland neighborhoods and communities to bring large scale art to their neighborhoods, and is working towards the production of a "trade show" type of event, focusing on re-use and green innovation.

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and Massachusetts College of Art, Ms. Cusolito's thesis focused on public art, specifically in public transit environments, and the long term benefit of the percent-for-arts program for cultural enrichment. She has produced several public art installations in and around the Boston area, including permanent murals and three-dimensional wall sculptures.

After relocating to the Bay Area in 1996 in search of a wider creative horizons, Ms. Cusolito has been producing monumental sculptures which have enjoyed installations on The Embarcadero and in Hayes Valley, San Francisco, CA, The Institute for Solar Living, Hopland, CA, and Cardwell, North Queensland Australia, along with numerous events such as The Dumbo Arts Festival, The Makers Faire, The Fire Arts Festival, Burning Man, Electric Daisy Carnival, Nocturnal and Outside Lands. She will soon be exhibiting two monumental sculptures on Market Street, as part of the Artery's Lights on Market program, and other pieces in the 2011 San Francisco Marathon, a new local music venue and the 2011 EarthDance Festival.

To learn more about American Steel Studios, you can see their website at americansteelstudios.com, or send an email to info@americansteelstudios.com.

Happy Hounds

"I found West Oakland to be very centrally located and the local government services were very helpful," said Suzanne Golter, who brought her Happy Hound Play & Daycare to West Oakland in 2004 after assessing that the East Bay needed a place for dog daycare, boarding & training.

Seven years later, it is a thriving place at 1695 34th Street on the top end of Mandela. It has room for over 100 dogs and also provides training, baths and other services. "Dogs love it here," says Ms Gotler, "And we love them right back!"