The Biscuit: Charlotte creative news, food, music, art, entertainment, culture & community

Charlotte’s crown logo reigns across the Queen City. But when a modern iteration of the Queen City’s crown was unveiled to city council members in 1981, the royal emblem was met with little love, a pinch of controversy and a wealth of opinions.⁣
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𝗔 𝗥𝗢𝗬𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡⁣
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Joe Sonderman, founder of the graphics and designs firm Design/Joe Sonderman, won a $10,000 contract with the City to design a sign system for city buildings in the government plaza. Phase one of the project included designing a new logo. He and his team worked on it for months, developing many variations, before unveiling their design.⁣
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The first “modern” crown design was met with skepticism from council members when Sonderman presented it at a council meeting in September 1981. “Jester’s hat,” “circus tent” and “general’s stripes” were among the biting feedback.⁣
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Council members sent Sonderman and his staff back to the drawing board. While they worked, citizens sent in their own designs. A contest in the 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴 yielded over 100 entries.⁣
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𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗪𝗢⁣
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Sonderman returned in Jan. 1982, this time receiving council’s approval. It was the crown logo we know and love today. ⁣
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But the next day, the Queen Charlotte chapter of the Sweet Adelines — a 65-women, barbershop-style singing group — said Sonderman’s crown was suspiciously similar to their logo. (Alice Guy, the chapter’s president, was particularly aggrieved since she had sent city officials a copy of the group’s crown design with suggestions on how to improve.)⁣
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In a meeting of the Sweet Adelines and the City, Sonderman said he hadn’t seen the design, nor did Mary Head, the designer who made the crown. The Sweet Adelines were assured there was no ill intent and certainly no copycatting intended.⁣
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With a truce reached, the crown was put to work.⁣
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𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗞𝗘𝗬 𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗔𝗖𝗬 ⁣
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Sonderman retired in 2003 and sold the firm to longtime associates Tim Gilland and Rodger Motiska.⁣
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Sonderman and his wife moved to Vermont and spent time with their four grown sons. Sonderman passed away suddenly in 2012 at 75 years old while visiting family in England. ⁣
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But, his legacy — and the crown - lives on. ...

There’s an awful lot of Charlotte in Heather Locklear’s new Lifetime movie, "Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story." Three of Locklear’s co-stars are from the Queen City. It premieres on Lifetime TONIGHT, Oct. 16, at 8 p.m. EST.⁣
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Avynlee Howley Wood, 6, is among them. The Grace Covenant Academy student plays young Kenna – a daughter of Locklear’s character. ⁣
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Don’t Believe Melrose Place⁣
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If you recall Locklear from the 1980s and 1990s, you may assume Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff is another nighttime soap opera filled with beautiful people chasing and cheating on each other. That’s sort of the fare Locklear was known for. (Remember Dynasty, T.J. Hooker and Melrose Place?) ⁣
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But no.⁣
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This is wholesome and heartwarming. “It’s a movie about strength, healing and moving forward,” said Cassandra Howley Wood, Avynlee’s mom. ⁣
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“It is a true depiction of the power of love and family.” It is also produced by Meghan McCain, so you can bet it’s got “family values” written all over it.⁣
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The film tells the true story of Kristine Carlson, co-author of the best-selling book series Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with her husband, Dr. Richard Carlson, who finds herself unmoored after Richard’s unexpected death. ⁣
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Charlotte Answered the Call(back)⁣
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Ella Dorsch, 14 and a Northwest School of the Arts student, plays the teen version of Kenna – the same daughter Avynlee Howley Wood plays the younger version of.⁣
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Ella, has been acting professionally for four years. She’s been in short films and had background roles, but she's a main character here and has a speaking part in the Halloween Kills, which opened yesterday.⁣
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If you’re anything like me, you have one burning question related to this movie: What’s Heather Locklear like IRL?⁣
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Anyone hoping for dirt on Locklear will not find it from her Charlotte colleagues. Amelia Rose (a stage name), a 14-year-old Ardrey Kell student who plays Akira — the teen Kenna’s soccer teammate, said, “Working with Heather Locklear was so cool! You sometimes think that big stars can be egotistical, but no way! Heather was the most down-to-earth person I’ve ever met – so sweet, and she loved helping everyone.”⁣ ...

To close out Latin-American Heritage month, here are 2 Latinx creatives you should know!⁣
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𝗔𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗗𝗢 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗦 (@ajsjunior)⁣
“Fierro Pariente!” — Santos ⁣
[Translation: “Let’s do it!” ]⁣
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Aguinaldo is a Brazilian architect and photographer trained at Central Piedmont Community College. His creative is to “make experiences with different materials, colors & ways.”⁣
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Today, he' s finishing a project that combines architecture and photography. He's building a giant (so big you can climb into it) box camera based on a daguerreotype, the world’s first commercial camera from1839. Visitors enter the camera to see projected photos and videos of the history of cameras and photos of Charlotte. ⁣
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With the help of the team at @BlumenthalArts, Santos is hoping to install the camera, called Project 1839, on S. Tryon St. in the coming weeks.⁣
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What does art mean to you?⁣
“Drawing made me architect⁣
Drawing gave me many friends.⁣
Drawing gives me much hope and too many dreams.⁣
Drawing brings me to the USA.”⁣
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𝗣𝗔𝗠 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗦 (@__ruido__ )⁣
⁣”Aunque dispersos estamos presentes. La comunidad latina es el canto de un millón de voces al unísono que canta, grita y llora con la misma pasión. Jamás perdamos la severidad de nuestro espíritu y nuestros genes.” — Torres⁣
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[Translation: “Even though we’re scattered/dispersed, we’re present. The Hispanic community is the chant of a million voices that sing, yell and cry in unison with the same passion. Let’s never lose the rigor/severity of our genes and spirit.” ]⁣
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Pam moved to Charlotte 4 years ago. Also like him, Torres indulges in a wide array of creative disciplines, including photography, graphic design, illustration & painting.”⁣
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But, like so many creatives, she let her artistic pursuits lapse. Over the last year, she’s gotten back into the game, pursuing a full-time creative career and studying graphic design and advertising at Central Piedmont Community College.⁣
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Please describe your Artistic style.⁣
“Humorously hostile and sometimes not necessarily beautiful. I’m not good with my words. That’s why I use art — to express & [convey] my feelings.”⁣
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These profiles were sponsored by @orthocarolina ...