The Sewing Machine Project is our first nonprofit spotlight of 2026. Having just celebrated its 20th anniversary, this organization was founded - and continues to operate - with a vigor that captures the spirit of the new year.

In the spring of 2005, Margaret Jankowski read a BBC news article that particularly touched her. It was about a woman in Southeast Asia who had just endured the devastating tsunami and lost her sewing machine in the tragedy. However, this sewing machine was her essential tool for making a living that she had saved up for years to purchase, so the impact was profound and pervasive. Margaret was sure she could help. She quickly connected with the American Hindu Association to send 25 sewing machines to Sri Lanka and

Are you ready to move into urban living, where your shopping, dining, entertainment and recreational activities are just a short stroll from home? Here are some popular pedestrian-friendly condos for your consideration, both within and around the city of Madison. 

Near east side condos

The near east side of Madison offers over a dozen pedestrian-friendly condo communities, including the Livingston Condos on Williamson Street, and the Park East Condos on Atwood Avenue. Dining, biking, and lake activities abound on this side of town. The East Washington Avenue corridor, with shopping and entertainment options, is just a short stroll from home. 

Hilldale Mall condos

On the near west side, Weston Place, Hilldale Row, and the Coventry Condos

This month, we would like to highlight a moving company that does their job with skill and integrity: A1 Movers. 

Amanda recently sent the owner of A1 Movers, Brandon, an email about a fantastic client testimonial - from a client who hadn't even hired them. Here's a slightly edited snippet of that email:

"[My past client's condo] unit faces the parking lot. We were reminiscing about when her friend down the hall moved out two summers ago, and she commented on how stellar of work your team did. Since [her] place faces the parking lot, she told me she sees a lot of bad behavior from moving companies who "don't think anyone is watching." However, she reported the A1 crew did a thorough, careful, and conscientious job even when they probably suspected no one

We're all acutely aware that nearly everything costs a lot more these days. Sometimes, it's almost shocking to learn how much some companies are charging for their services. 

We're noticing this more and more in our real estate work, especially in the trades: There's a local HVAC company, for example, that consistently charges around 50 percent more than their competitors. And a chimney repair company whose estimates consistently come in thousands of dollars higher. 

Even though many companies are charging a lot more for their services, the good news is we continue to cultivate good relationships with many excellent contractors. Contractors who approach their work with skill and care, and who charge a fair fee for their service. 

So if you have

This year, the majority of our clients came to us through referrals -- friends recommending friends and family to us. That means everything to us, because it says you believe we'll treat the people you care about with the same honesty and care we've shown you.

Working by referral allows us to do what we love: spending our time helping people navigate one of the biggest decisions of their lives. We get to focus on serving and truly understanding what matters to each client.

As we head into 2026, we want you to know how much we appreciate your trust in us. If someone you care about mentions thinking about buying or selling in the year ahead, we'd be honored if we came to mind. We promise to take care of them the same way we've taken care of you.

We have plenty of real estate insights and views to share with you, so all of the content you see in our newsletters and on our blog will continue to be created by members of our team -- not someone, or something, else. 

Why does this matter? 

First and foremost, writing about real estate keeps us current on all of the latest industry trends. We're better realtors because we're constantly studying and communicating what's going on in the market. 

Another motivation is clarifying our values. When we invest time into articulating our philosophies -- in other words why we do what we do -- we become more clear on the type of professionals we are choosing to be. At the root of it all, we're professionals who choose to serve others and invest in

For many of our neighbors in Dane County, the answer to this question depends on more than their symptoms. For low-income, uninsured Madisonians, receiving specialized medical care could result in bills high enough to topple their monthly budget, leaving families to decide whether to pay rent that month or treat an ailment. It goes without saying that this unfortunate dilemma leads to our community members delaying - or altogether foregoing - treatment that could significantly improve their lives, or even save them.

Specialty Care Free Clinic is a nonprofit specialty clinic funded entirely by donations that has been addressing this need since 2001. It was founded by three local doctors who saw these disparities reflected in their

Our Madison area clients are loving Ed Johnson for his lawn and yard care services. Ed handles a wide variety of outside needs, including: mowing, trimming, mulching, yard clean-up, various landscaping projects, and even power washing.  

We encourage you to call Ed at 920-691-2097 to discuss your lawn and yard care needs. We're confident you'll be glad you called Ed! 

Ed recently spread 15 tons of river rock throughout our clients' perennial beds on their one-acre lot. 

We’ve come to love the Ice Age Trail as a nature-filled hiking path that hugs the western border of some Madison’s suburbs. But did you know that the Ice Age Trail is so expansive that 60% of Wisconsinites live within 20 minutes of it? Over 700 miles, made up of over 100 different segments, laces through the state. And that’s, of course, by design! 

(Photo: Dan and Kellie Miller on the Ice Age Trail in Door County)

Around 100 years ago, Raymond Zillmer had a dream to preserve and expand Kettle Moraine State Park so its beautiful glacial features could be enjoyed by more people than would otherwise travel to another distant national park. A lawyer by trade and an avid walker by hobby, Zillmer founded the Ice Age Park & Trail Foundation (now

We have another enthusiastic recommendation to share with you -- Trash First -- a local company that helps you donate, recycle, and properly dispose of the contents that you no longer want in your home. Trash First is owned and operated by Shlomo Calvo, who has proven to be an incredibly reliable resource for our clients. Even better, Shlomo charges a fair fee for his service, which costs much less than what you would pay by hiring a franchise company to do the same work

You can call Shlomo directly at 608-422-3336 to schedule your own estimate. We're confident you will appreciate working with Shlomo and his team!