Jeff Musser was an artistic child who went on to graduate from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000 with his bachelor’s degree in graphic design. He then spent two years at an ad agency in Chicago managing creative for McDonald’s Happy Meals. Despite a respectable salary, Musser was anything but happy.

We at Comstock’s don’t do this very often, but in honor of the New Year holiday: We’ve made a top 10 list, to ring in 2019.

Pamela Marrone, CEO and founder of Marrone Bio Innovations, on biotech innovation. 

Local gift and specialty shops are super helpful if you’re short on ideas this holiday season. While Amazon’s vast selection and unparalleled convenience are understandably tempting, the volume of cheap knock-offs and reviews of questionable authenticity can be a bit much to weed through.

Just three years after Sarah Golden shared the first block-printed fabric she ever made on Instagram, she has amassed nearly 35,000 followers and established a successful creative career in surface design. Today, Golden works full-time producing her signature simple, muted designs in both fabric prints and original paintings from her Oak Park studio. “I love a real simple two-color print and I will work a polka dot into every project, unabashedly,” she jokes.

Maggie Merritt, executive director of the Steinberg Institute, offers her insight into mental health advocacy. For more from the Steinberg Institute, check out “Minding the Gap” in our November issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

More open discussions on mental health are welcome. 

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs has become one of the most scrutinized public officials in the U.S., in part because at 28 years old he is one of the youngest mayors of a large city in the country. He also has far-reaching ideas that have some folks cheering and others jeering. Comstock’s sat down with Tubbs to talk about his efforts to transform his hometown.

Jim Parks, director of customer care and marketing at Valley Clean Energy offers his insight into community choice aggregators. For more from Parks, check out “Power Politics” in our November issue. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you when it’s available online.

Manufacturing is too important to ignore, and the Capital Region needs to harness this sector for prosperity