Business

Sculptor Opens ‘Refine Design 3D’ Studio and Gallery on Pine Street

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For Derek Uhlman, a sculptor of 40-plus years’ experience, computer-aided design or “CAD” technology has dramatically changed the artist’s ability to visualize ideas and make them a reality. A Michigan native who trained as an apprentice under Reuben Nakian and earned his first major commission in 1982 from the General Food Corporation (a 37,000-pound marble sculpture), Uhlman also acknowledges that 3D design and fabrication also have “accelerated the design and visualization process, so an idea can form much quicker.”

“There are aesthetic struggles in the fine arts,” Uhlman told NewCanaanite.com on Monday afternoon. “One of the things about 3D printed objects is that they are geometrically perfect because the CAD system is very, very precise. Thousandths of an inch or thousandths of a millimeter if you want it to be. One of the beauties of a handmade artwork is its handmade characteristics.

Who Knew: Taking the Eight Sandwich Challenge

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‘Who Knew?’ is sponsored by Walter Stewart’s Market. Once upon a time, men dressed like Cary Grant, and sandwiches were what people ate for lunch. From kindergarten classrooms to corporate boardrooms, one could observe people at midday consuming an ingeniously portable combination of ‘bread’ and ‘things.’ There was an order to life, and while I’m not suggesting that correlation is causation, it’s worth noting that, back when we all ate sandwiches, nobody wore Celtics jerseys on airplanes or flossed their teeth on the subway. 



Perhaps it’s a profusion of choice–granted, much of it positive and health-minded—that’s gotten us away from such norms. Kindergarteners, if Instagram is to be believed, now dine on elaborate bento boxes of hand-shelled edamame, hummus, and gluten-free, organic pretzels. Office folks can now Uber Eats an uninspired hexagonal tub from Sweetgreen, undertip the guy in the lobby, and sprint back to volley emails into oblivion. 

It’s also the sandwich’s fault, or at least the modern fast-casual incarnation of the sandwich’s fault, that our ardor for a handheld square of lunchtime bliss has cooled. Have you ever been to a Panera?

Business

Migoto Boba Tea Marks One Year on Main Street

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Migoto Boba Tea is not Amanda Cui’s first business venture, but so far, it has been her most popular. 

Cui first entered New Canaan’s competitive retail scene back in 2016 with Funky Monkey, which she described as a “high-end kids’ store,” but decided to shut the business down as the COVID-19 pandemic approached, just two years after it opened. 

Last August, Migoto first opened its doors at 168 Main St. across from the New Canaan Library, and since then it has found itself many regular customers. Cui attributed the success to the “artificial free” ingredients used by the store. “Everything is real fruits, real ingredients,” she said. “The customers keep coming back, they stick with the same drink, they like it so much.”

A former New York City resident, Cui moved to New Canaan with her family eight years ago, seeking as safe as possible an environment for her children.

Business

P&Z Approves Optometrist Use at Former Pet Valu Space Downtown

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The Planning & Zoning Commission at its most recent meeting approved a change of use for a vacant commercial space on Forest Street, formerly occupied by pet store chain Pet Valu. The 1,875-square-foot property at 21 Forest St. sits next to Green and Tonic, and has remained empty since Pet Valu shut down 358 of its stores across the nation, facing challenges brought on by the pandemic. There has been little news about the building’s use until July, when Paul Tully, a representative of the building’s owner, brought a change of use request to P&Z for the building’s designation to be changed from retail to service establishment. On an application, Tully states that he has a tenant who has signed a lease to open an optometrist practice at the location, selling “optical retail products, i.e. glasses, sunglasses, and related material with limited optometric services.”  

Renovations for the building are still underway, but the fire marshal has already approved several features such as the building’s sprinkler system, Tully said during P&Z’s July 26 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

It will be ADA-compliant, and include parking spaces in the rear, he said.

Business

New Canaan Music Marks 10 Years Downtown

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Ten years ago, New Canaan resident Phil Williams opened up a music shop with nothing but what he calls “hope and a dream.”

Today, New Canaan Music has expanded to two stores and, here in town, has become a hub for music lessons and instruments while Williams has become deeply involved with the community as a business owner. After seeing an opportunity in New Canaan at a time when it had no music store, Williams built a business plan to “give back to the community,” he said. 

New Canaan Music provides customers with music lessons and the option to rent or buy instruments, catering to a variety of music needs and experiences. They have had “known celebrity music people come in as customers as well as the aspiring beginner,” Williams said. 

Whether it’s doing “set up work for a band going on the road that’s been a national act since the 1970’s” or having “a child break a string on a ukulele,” New Canaan Music offers a place for every age of music lover. Starting in 2013 in a smaller shop on Elm Street, New Canaan Music soon outgrew its space and moved to a new location at 90 Main St. “From our first location we had three lesson studios that we had converted into four—here we have eight lesson studios where we do lessons six times a week from Monday through Saturday,” Williams said.