I met Peter Sandvig recently in his garage turned workshop at his Woodinville home.
As he says, “I’m semi-retired.” He was in the “fish business” all his life and has now found a new calling creating furniture that could easily pass as art in some circles. He also works at McClendon’s in the garden shop in case his photo accompanying this article looks familiar.
Sandvig has started Woodinville Barrel Works where he takes authentic reclaimed oak wine barrels and creates some beautiful hand-crafted pieces that most certainty will find their way into many Woodinville homes and businesses in the coming months.
 “It started with spheres”, stated Peter. He’s referring to a hanging globe that uses the metal bands from the wine barrel that when connected, form into a sphere shape with the possibilities of lights in the middle.  His wife, Kathryn, saw a similar design and encouraged him to give it a try and create one for their home. From there Sandvig pulled apart the wine barrels and started creating hand-crafted pieces from every part of the barrel including the top, bottom, wood stays (the wood strips used to form the barrel), and the metal bands.
As he explained, “After a wine barrel imparts oak into fine wines, they lose the ability to do so after 3-5 years, and they start to leak.” This deems them unusable for wine and that’s when Sandvig steps in by giving those barrels new life.  As we all know, there isn’t a shortage of wineries in the area, and he works with many of the Woodinville wineries in finding barrels to use for his creations.
Every piece Sandvig makes is unique because every barrel is a little different. The width of the wood stays determine whether each can be best utilized to create such items as a candleholder, table, plant stand, or even a hammock (my favorite piece). The tops can be used for a table top, of course, but also as a clock face or lazy Susan. There were so many unique items that he had created and each one was reminiscent of the original wine barrel.
How does he come up with the ideas on what to make? He said “my wife has helped me with the creative side of the many pieces.”
Recently Icon Cellars in the Artisan Hill wine district of Woodinville gave Sandvig a used wine barrel and commissioned him to make a fire pit for their tasting room.  Jim Garner of Icon said “Peter [Sandvig] is a marvelous craftsman with a great eye for detail. His custom wine barrel fire pit has received rave reviews from all customers coming into the winery. It has added beauty to the ambiance at Icon Cellars.  I would highly recommend commissioning him.”
You can find Sandvig along with his wife at the Woodinville Barrel Works booth at the Woodinville Farmers Market starting May 5th when they open for the season.  You can also reach him at [email protected].
See below for information on the Woodinville Farmers Market including the new 2018 location.
_____________________________________________

​The Woodinville Farmers Market will open its 25th anniversary season on May 5th at a new location.  The Woodinville Community Church United Methodist (17110 140th Ave NE, Woodinville) will welcome friends and neighbors to the farmers market every Saturday through September from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
Lea Jones, President of the Woodinville Farmers Market, said, “We are excited to bring you several returning vendors, as well as, many new vendors.  We are even working on bringing in a few food trucks!   Each week will see something different at the market.”  Live music is planned for the weekly farmers market as well. 
At press time, there are 23 confirmed vendors and the organization is continuing to accept applications.   Visit www.woodinvillefarmersmarket.com if you are interested in becoming a vendor.
Once again kids can enjoy the Community Play Zone booth, which will have some great activities!  New this year will be painted rocks that will be placed throughout the city [Woodinville] and some will have a surprise note on the bottom.  Jones said “If you find a rock with a special note, bring the painted rock to the market information booth and we will exchange it for a fantastic prize!” 
Be sure to “like” the Woodinville Farmers Market Facebook page for the most up to date information on the Saturday market.

Dave Hunter, Founder/Owner of Crown Bees in Woodinville, is excited.  He’s excited about bees and the new nationwide research program that he and his small staff of seven have launched to find, protect, and increase the native hole-nesting bee population across the U.S.
 
Hunter’s interest in bees happened by chance over 20 years ago when his wife saw a friend’s apple tree was producing twice as much fruit as their apple tree.  After his wife had a conversation with her friend, they discovered the culprit to be bees.  Not just any bee but native mason bees that are non-aggressive, hive-less solitary bees that are super pollinators. 
 
As he described it to me, “Mason bees are different than honey bees.  When they pollinate, they do a belly flop into the flower, grab the pollen, and spread the pollen on their way to the next flower.”  That process means the mason bees have the pollination ability of 100 honeybees; therefore more food will grow. 
 
So following a fateful layoff about 10 years ago, Hunter took his project management experience and severance pay and started Crown Bees.  It wasn’t just about bees; it was about “inventing products that solve problems.” 
 
Over the course of an hour, I learned more about bees than I had learned in my prior 50 years from Hunter and his marketing expert, Demarus Sandlin.
 
Sandlin has a degree in Environmental Studies and develops the education content for Crown Bees.  It is clear that they are interested in educating consumers and advocating the importance of bees to the environment and the future of food production.
 
Crown Bees produce and sell products that will help your crops, garden, and trees grow.  “We are a food company masquerading as a bee company,” said Hunter. 
 
Products include healthy mason and leafcutter bee cocoons, kits and nesting materials, accessories to raise solitary bees, and all the written reference materials to help you succeed including the Native Bee Guide produced by Sandlin.
 
They sell products directly to the public at their Woodinville location and online but most of their products are sold at garden shops, farms, orchards, and nurseries.  Crown Bees has a nationwide presence in these types of stores although they greatly value their local partnerships with businesses like Molbak’s Garden + Home, Swansons Nursery, 21 Acres, KIS (Keep It Simple) Farms, Ox Bow Farms, and Briotech.
 
Over the past 10 years, Hunter asked a lot of questions about bees to national native bee researchers, their habitats, their patterns, and numerous other things.  He said he heard a lot of “we don’t know.”  That is when he decided that the next step had to be getting answers to his questions. That is why he and his team launched The Native Bee Network.  Research was needed and Crown Bees is taking the lead.  Hunter said “We are leading the charge but we are not doing it alone.”
 
The Native Bee Network is a unique national program that provides the education and tools to find, protect and increase populations of native hole-nesting bees in backyards, farms and orchards across the U.S.  When describing the program, Hunter says, “It has to be ethical.  We want to work with the bees.”
 
This long-term program plans to locate and identify hole-nesting native bees, partner with researchers, raise them, and ultimately place them into our agricultural system. The goal is to find the majority of the hole-nesting species of our roughly 4,000 native bee species in North America.
 
Groups and individuals are placing bee houses in backyards, fields and right of ways across the US, using a unique nest identifier which adds them to a nationwide database and bee map using a custom web application.  The database will be available to everyone.  Hunter added, “This is our gift to science.”
 
The Native Bee Network was recently selected by the philanthropic fundraising organization, Projects For Good.  Hunter explained they are working with Projects for Good to fund the first 500 BeeHuts and to hire a temporary Bee Ambassador for the project. You can help the cause by visiting https://projectsforgood.com/projects/509/story.
 
Hunter concluded by saying “We want to find out what bees are where with the end game being increased food for North America.”
 
Crown Bees is located at 13410 NE 177th Place in Woodinville.  For more information visit https://crownbees.com.

​Imagine moving to the United States as you are getting ready to start fourth grade and having to learn English as a second language at the same time.   That’s what local hip hop & rapper artist/producer Ryan Gonie known as Kenz was faced with over eight years ago as he and his family moved to our area from Indonesia. 
 
As he matured, he needed not only to learn the language, but he also wanted to fit in and didn’t want an accent so he listened to music and watched YouTube videos in an attempt to submerge into our culture.  In speaking with Kenz during a recent telephone interview, his method worked as he has no discernible accent and sounds like the average senior at Bothell high school.
 
But Kenz is far from average having just released his new album Hotel Mega.  An album that he not only used his own beats on (music), but wrote all the lyrics, and produced all at only 17-years-old.
 
The reviews are excellent, and Kenz is gaining followers (and fans) daily.  Not having a lot of background in what makes for a strong hip hop/rap album, I went to my personal contact and a big music fan, my son.  He’s only a few years older than Kenz and loves the genre.  They also share the same favorite artist, Frank Ocean.  My son agreed with the reviews and commented that going the extra mile to produce the album takes real courage and hard work. 
 
Kenz started to take music seriously in 9th grade and has been creating songs and performing at concerts throughout high school.  He’s also been involved in acting and choir at school.   He mentioned Israel Banda, one of his high school English teachers, as being an influential figure that he’s really appreciated.  Additionally, Kenz says his parents have been “very supportive.”
 
In creating his beats or writing lyrics for a song, Kenz uses imagery he said.  He’s very influenced by pop culture and movies.  He’ll make a sound track in his head then see where it flows.  For Hotel Mega, he got a new program for mixing music last October and spent time learning how to use it via tutorials.  He took his time in creating the sound he wanted and is very proud of the finished product that dropped just last month. “I was focused on the whole project”, says Kenz.
 
I asked Kenz what he thought listeners got out of his music.  For younger kids he said, “I hope to inspire them.  You can do it.  Both produce and perform.”  For foreign kids, he commented that it is a great way to learn English like he did.
 
What does Kenz think the most difficult aspect of the music industry is?  “Hip hop is a big trend lately.  The technology is available [for everyone].  Separate yourself from others by having your own sound.”
 
What are his next steps?  He plans to finish high school this spring and is looking at college in the fall.  He wants to pursue Audio Engineering and eventually Mix & Mastering.  He wants to continue to grow in the music industry, and he will continue to create and perform in the meantime.
 
To keep up to date on future concert performances or give a listen to his music:
 
Instagram & Twitter: @glitterboykenz
 
Search “Hotel Mega” by Kenz on ITunes, Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Available on all music platforms! 

​The options for teens interested in pursuing careers in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subject seem to grow every year. For a kid whose parent works at Honeywell, the odds are even greater to find one of these opportunities.
 
Meet Michael Mendoza, a 17-year-old junior at Cedarcrest High School who lives in Duvall with his family. He was one of 120 students chosen throughout the world to participate in the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy (HLCA), also referred to as Space Camp, February 24-March 2, 2018.
 
HLCA is a week-long camp that takes place at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. It promises to provide innovative activities that develop students’ leadership skills through technology and science-oriented workshops, lectures, and team exercises. Activities are delivered in fun and exciting ways that bring STEM studies to life.
 
After speaking with Michael about his experience, I’d say that HLCA delivered on its promise.
 
The program is offered to students whose parents are one of the 130,000+ full-time employees of Honeywell at any location around the world. Michael’s dad works as a Senior RF Design Engineer for Honeywell in Redmond, Wash. and he learned about the program through an employee email. He encouraged Michael to apply.
 
Michael had to complete an extensive application and three essays for consideration in the program. Winners were chosen based on academic achievement and community involvement. He is very interested in pursuing an electrical engineering degree in college. Michael also mentioned that his older brother is currently studying engineering at the UW Bothell campus. He would be proud to follow in his dad’s and brother’s footsteps.
 
Although he was initially nervous about making the trek from Duvall to Huntsville by himself, Michael said everyone was so nice that he settled in quickly. At the camp he met students and made new friends with kids around the world including Korea, Norway, and Poland. He also met some fellow Washingtonians from Lake Stevens and Spokane.
 
Throughout the week the students worked in teams and were presented with multiple challenges that they worked through together. These team-building challenges included building and testing model rockets; participating in simulated astronaut training sessions; a moonwalk; shuttle missions; and scientific experiments. In one challenge, Michael was an Incident Commander and leader over 32 other students. He said that the challenge required him to work outside his comfort zone and he was relieved when it was done but really enjoyed the experience.  Overall, during the week he felt as though he became a better leader and was not afraid to take charge. He also really felt like he was part of a team. At the end of the week, Michael was presented with the “Problem Solving Award.”
 
I asked Michael if he had an advice that he’d offer to other students that may be interested in a similar program. He said, “Be open minded and have fun.” I would say this experience for Michael hit on all cylinders.
 
For more information about the HLCA program, visit http://leadership.honeywell.com.

You’ve likely met Carmin Dalziel at an event in Northshore.  She might have sat next to you at a chamber of commerce luncheon, or perhaps you’ve seen her at an event auction where she jumped in to help the auctioneer see the bidders in the crowd.  
 
One way or another, Dalziel likely had a welcoming smile on her face, and you were probably compelled to smile back and even strike up a conversation.
 
She grew up in Northshore and following her graduation from Washington State University she joined the workforce in the nonprofit sector.  She’s been succeeding in this area every since.  This August, she’ll be celebrating her eighth year as the Executive Director of the Northshore Schools Foundation (NSDF).
 
In this position, Dalziel is responsible for managing a $500,000 annual budget, fund-raising, board development and recruitment, community relations (internally and externally), and organizing numerous events annually for the foundation.
 
It is no small task, but she takes it in stride. “I live my work…always do,” she said. 
 
Dalziel stated that she really focuses on nurturing authentic relationships in all aspects of her life. Developing this authenticity leads to good communication and problem solving.  When faced with an issue, she always works to find a solution that works well for all the parties involved. 
 
I was impressed with her philosophy on fund raising.  She said, “It has to be good for someone to donate.”  She tries to find a real fit on what a donor may want to fund (or be interested in) matched with what the school needs.   If you are not necessarily interested in the NSDF or kids, she’ll help you find a charity to help.  To Dalziel, donors become partners so it has to be a fit. She referenced the $200 emergency fund that is available to families in the school district as an example of a great partnership.  She said, “It is really a matter of meeting the needs.” 
 
The NSDF is completely funded by private contributions and operates separately from the school district. Ultimately, everything they are involved in supports children, teachers and administration in the district in areas that the regular budget cannot support.
 
She is very proud of her camaraderie with the Northshore School District (NSD) and its’ administration. They have been working together on plans for the future.  Dalziel said, “The new strategic plan is mind boggling.”  She is very excited about what is coming in the future with the school district working towards finding solutions and helping those who are less fortunate in the area.  “It is paradigm shifting,” she said.  “Stay tuned and pay attention to your schools.”
 
We talked about working with a nonprofit board of directors, and how it isn’t always easy.  Dalziel has created a thorough vetting process and due to that she has recruited a very passionate board that is really a great fit for the NSDF.
 
She’s grateful for her parents and looks forward to her annual backpacking trip with her dad.  They have gone on some wonderful adventures together.  “It means the world to me,” she said.  This fall they are venturing further and taking a trip to Scotland.
 
Dalziel’s eyes lit up when asked about her grown foster daughter, Dominique.  They met when Dominique was 16 at the Boys and Girls club and Dalziel become her co-guardian.  When Dominique turned 18, Dalziel became her foster mother.  “She brings me more joy than I can explain.  It is a great equalizer in my life,” she said.  She explained that they have a great relationship and you can see her pride in her daughter now 33 years old.
 
Regarding Dominique and with a smile, she said, “I want to be the person she thinks I am.”
 
Lastly, on more of a self-serving sidebar, I asked Dalziel if she thought locally owned, community minded newspapers were important?  “You can’t have a community without a small town paper,” she said.  “It gives us the opportunity to see our neighbors and their accomplishments.” 
 
For more information on the Northshore Schools Foundation, visit www.northshoreschoolsfoundation.org or call 425-408-7680.

When I think of the YMCA, I can’t help but think of the Village People and their hit song from the late 70’s. To this day, it is still a really popular song for parties and weddings with young and old alike.

Here’s a verse from the song…
Young man, there’s a place you can go
I said, young man, when you’re short on your dough
You can stay there, and I’m sure you will find 
Many ways to have a good time 
 
It’s fun to stay at the YMCA.
 
After having a recent phone interview with Cynthia Klever, executive director of the Northshore YMCA, I am convinced that you will find “many ways to have a good time” at the YMCA.
 
You might say that Klever is a bona fide expert on the YMCA subject as she has spent the last 20 years working in many different capacities throughout the United States for YMCA.  She started as an exercise instructor in Boston, and from there worked in Los Angeles, Denver and downtown Seattle before settling into her current position at the Northshore YMCA a year ago.
 
There are facilities and programs for young children through seniors at their two main campuses (Bothell and Woodinville at the Carol Edwards Center) as well as many other locations for programs that the YMCA supports.
 
“We are a place for families and for the community,” Klever said. 
 
You can take an exercise class (including yoga, Pilates, Zumba, cycling class, etc.), swim lessons and open swims, family dance classes, or join an adult pickup basketball game. While you get a workout, you can leave your kids in the Kids Zone where staff is on hand to keep them happy and busy. After school, a teen drop-in provides an opportunity for 10-16 year olds to socialize and participate in safe programs.
 
Of course, very soon summer will be upon us, and it will be time for camps.  Klever said “We will have 500 kids in camp this summer.”  They have a daily Discovery camp as well as outdoor camps, sports camps, and teen camps.  She added “It is a really fun time for us.”  For more information on YMCA summer camps, visit ykids.org.
 
YMCA also hosts some nontraditional sessions such as ELL (English Language Learner) to help reduce summer learning loss of English for second language students. Other programs include the Hunger Initiative, holiday baskets, and the Bold & Gold weeklong camp for teens. The Bold & Gold adventures focus on leadership development while exploring some of the most beautiful and natural places in the Pacific Northwest. According to Klever, scholarships are available for qualifying teens. For more information on Bold & Gold, visit ymcaleadership.org.
 
She also mentioned a program that is in the works with the Northshore School District and the NSD Foundation to offer swimming (lessons and programs) for all 4th grade students in the district starting next fall.
 
With all the camps and programs, the Northshore YMCA’s staff increases to 400 over the summer months. If a student in your household is looking for a summer job, have them visit seattleymca.org to complete an online application.
 
The YMCA wants to be the place where families and our community can always feel welcome regardless of financial ability to pay. A recent fundraiser will help support YMCA’s programs and provide financial assistance to those in need but the support is needed throughout the year. Keep in mind that the YMCA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit if you want to include them in your future giving plans.
 
“We want to make the community better,” Klever said.  She encourages you to stop by and discover all of the programs and services the YMCA offers.
 
Northshore YMCA serves North King and South Snohomish counties, including the communities of Bothell, Woodinville, Kenmore, Duvall and Carnation, 11811 NE 195th St, Bothell, www.seattleymca.org/locations/northshore-ymca, 425-485-9797.