Alchemy brochure - 2009
[An overview of Alchemy clients and projects, PDF 2.9 mb]

Welcome

What do we do? We help you find and focus the power of your Story. Or your Community's. Then we help you find ways to tell it and build it.

Alchemy is a team of consultant problem solvers and designers located in Richmond, Virginia. Our partners are principals merged from marketing and branding, architecture and urban design firms. We focus on building Communities, Brands and Experiences that are both relevant and compelling in today's rapidly changing cultural marketplace.
 

You'll find us helping small and medium-sized businesses, educators, arts organizations and non-profits. Anyone who needs smart help and fresh eyes, ears and energy but can't afford a cast of thousands to make their vision happen. A few requests:
  • Community/Brand Facilitation, Positioning & Creative
  • Repositioning & Adaptive Reuse of Brands or Spaces
  • Speculative Properties, Re-zoning and Pre-branding
  • Brand & Product Development
  • Company Restructuring & Repositioning
  • Educational Development & Coaching
  • Strategic & Leadership Consulting
A wild mix? Not really. They're all about good story and who gets to play and enjoy the benefits. Welcome to our website. We try to  leverage thoughtfulness and resourcefulness around here, and we admire people who share what they know. You'll find lots of ideas, messages, and people tools we've developed that you might find thought provoking. Look around. See what we do and why, learn who we are or leave us a message. Expect a reply. Probably questions, too. And thanks for visiting.

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Find us in other places:
twitter Facebook - Mark fouroboros blog Shared Air - Richmond flickr Alchemy on Youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/user/fouro



Elements of Innovation - Coming Fall 2010

A study in flow and the meaning of innovation
©2010 alchemy, llc
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alchemy logo
© alchemy, llc
hearts link buttonminds nav link

Most any image on this site is a link, so click away.
Try any of the above for ideas on leading businesses and
tackling some of the challenges organizations face.
Or go straight to some examples and tools:
Message & Coherence. Problem Solving.
Value Creation. Strategy & Demographics.
Brain & Brand

For a concise explanation of the above 5 blocks, check out...
What are The Elements of Purposefully Successful Effort?



What's new:

2010 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Muuse AwardsWe're pleased as punch and honored to be among the  semi-finalists for the 2010 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Muse Awards for creativity and innovation in business. The Un-Gala is June 16th and we have nothing to wear!  The Muse Awards site
Highlight Richmond as an innovation centerAlchemy will be presenting and participating in Richmond Innovation Celebration, an exciting conversation and workshop hosted by GRPVa, Catch your limit, and VCU's da Vinci Center. Floricane has some insight and detail
Young History Makers
Hero's Journey has 4 simple requirements
In May, we're wrapping a documentary for The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. It's about applying the ideas of Joseph Campbell and The Hero's Journey to African American icons of yesterday and today while helping young people become more powerful, confident communicators. Until it's ready, check out the Young History Maker's program premise and kids' Hero's Journey guide? (PDFs)
MLW thumb Pride of Place. Candidly, that Prize is missing in the region and its absence is harshly felt in many ways. Richmond Matters is an aspirational & practical-minded grass-roots strategy with some example stories begun by Alchemy partners to address this long-standing gap. Join the Facebook Group, or hit Shared Air to see & learn more. Or try the short presentation video.
2009 River City Saunter Bus TourPartnership for Smarter Growth asked for help refocusing their strategic message via the 2nd Annual River City Saunter Bus Tour for RE Developers, PSG Partner orgs and Regional Political Decision-makers. See Hearts, Minds, Hands, Actions, Prizes, ahem, in motion. (jpeg)
Mark Brady, Alchemy - Richmond Times-Dispatch interviewOur Creative Director, Mark Brady, spoke to the Richmond Times-Dispatch for its 2010 series on Race, Richmond and History. Premise? Our stories of struggle need not be embarrasing or downplayed. Just the opposite: commonly admired human ambitions to achieve and overcome define and bind us and our many historic examples make the Richmond region special. Go here for articles and the video of Mark and others. 
Little Red Wagon Zach's Walk On June 29, we were pleased to coordinate and host Zach Bonner's Richmond stop on his Walk to the Whitehouse for children's homelessness. Virginia’s First Lady Anne Holton, Mayor Dwight Jones, RPS Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Brandon, and Richmond Community Leaders all came out to support Zach @ the State Capitol. View the Youtube videos of the event and speakers here
shrimp_thumb When you're all about helping companies and teams find resilience and resourcefulness, it helps to be able to laugh --mua-hahaha!-- at the opposite of those traits. It's a work in progress, but take a peek and see if you recognize your company or co-workers, or maybe someone else's: "The Executive Lexicon & Big Book of Business Wisdom."
helpdesk_thumb Speakers and Customer Service Experts Phil Gerbyshak & Jeffrey Brooks wrote a cool book, Help Desk Manager's Crash Course, all about creating and managing high-performing customer service teams. They came to us for a book design and marketing ideas. It's a hit, and turning into micro-books and a package for new-hires.
mindgames_thumb This is the sixth season Alchemy partners have coached J.B. Fisher Elementary School teams in the citywide MindGames. After a 1-2 finish in 2007, the 2009 2nd-3rd and 4th-5th Grade teams claimed both First Places overall against a strong field of all 29 Richmond Elementaries. Link to pics.


Alchemy Partners' bios & contact info