Oh what a feeling!

Today I sat down with Crystal and Steve from Lemonwood Soap Company (formerly Blue Bubble Soap) and got to chat with them about their origin story, where they are now, and where they are heading! It was super fun to get to play catch up with these two wonderful humans that I only get to see about twice a year when they mosey into town for the Bloomington Handmade Market. I learned a lot about what it's like to be a 'soaper' and it pretty much solidified my Love for handmade soap, but for them as a brand!

I hope you enjoy this little conversation with Lemonwood Soap Co as much as I did. And I hope you learn a little too (for example, what's a loofah??).

Last week I got to sit down and chat with a maker from one of my favorite places; Oregon! I met Nick Wheeler a couple of years ago while wearing my Conduit Press hat, at a Philly trade show. Nick was there slinging his own bags to the trade, and I knew, even from afar, that he was to be one of our tribe!

Tune in and listen to Nick chat a little bit about the maker scene in Oregon as well as what motivates and inspires his gorgeous, durable, last a lifetime waxed canvas bags.

Gather Stories returns with a sit-down with my friend Martha Latta from Sunday Afternoon Housewife (and Naplab as well as Handmade Promenade and soon to be Stomping Ground) - she's clearly a woman after my own heart.

Martha and I chat about what it's like to have a handmade business and a toddler (her adorable Scout is three, and inching toward 13 every day), alongside being ever-present and active in her community at-large with her Naplab 'take-over' and the construction that is her life as she watches from her kitchen window her soon-to-be studio and brick and mortar take root. Martha stays busy and grounded in her family and village and is a force to be reckoned with. I hope you enjoy this episode of Gather stories and getting to learn a little bit more behind the business of our indie makers.

Episode 6 w/ Jessica Messmer and Kayla Maldonado of Cup & Kettle Tea Company: In this episode of Gather Stories I get to sit down with my dear friends with Jessica and Kayla who own the tea shop, Cup & Kettle located at 208 N Walnut St Suite 100, just down the street from us at Gather in Bloomington, IN.

The ladies behind Cup and Kettle Tea met while serving at a Bloomington restaurant. They both had their own handmade businesses at the time. Jessica and Kayla are long-time Lovers of all things tea and after having searched for places to enjoy tea and coming up empty-handed, they decided to go into the tea business themselves. Creating much buzz around their tea line while searching for a permanent home, Jessica and Kayla took it slow and relied on social media to get the word out about their tea line, and future tea shop. Just a few years later, here they are, serving delicious teas and scrumptious treats out of the cutest tea shop Bloomington has to offer. 

You can visit their tea shop in person at 208 N Walnut and enjoy a relaxing cup of tea with some locally made treats. You can also find their teas for sale at Gather. 

Cup & Kettle Tea Shop

Episode 5 w/ J.D. Grove of Teehaus Bath & Body and Conspire Contemporary Craft : In this episode of Gather Stories I had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with JD Grove about her life and the adventures that have brought her thus far in this world. JD is the maker behind Teehaus Bath and Body - a brand of all-natural skincare and bath and body made in Greencastle, IN and of course, carried at Gather. But sitting down with JD is never just about homemade bath and body - JD's life encomasses not just farm-life, but also activating very important political and social change in her space in the world. Talking with JD inspires me to do better, to make change, and to continue creating community. 

I hope you'll listen closely to JD's story here - her voice so peaceful and accepting, telling the story of growing up in rural Missouri with a 'witch' for a mom, learning about her queerness and then through her twenties traveling and homeless, becoming a farmer and then a business owner. JD's story is incredibly empowering and she's amazing to listen to. I really didn't want to stop, and I relish in each time I get to sit down and chat with JD - I hope you will to. I can't wait to see where JD, Teehaus, and Conspire continue to grow. 

 

You can find Teehaus in our store, and online here: http://www.teehaussoaps.comVisit Conspire at 2 W Washington St, Greencastle, IN 46135 and online at https://www.conspireindiana.com/

 

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As always, music from Katie Siefker - https://soundcloud.com/folliesmusic.

Gather Stories: Carrie Burnett of Beri Bee Designs - In this episode of Gather Stories I sit down with my friend and Gather maker Carrie Burnett of Beri Bee Designs to chat about all things kiddo and fabric and what makes Beri Bee Designs, Beri Bee. I met Carrie a few years ago in our former location inside Fountain Square Mall in that great little community we created between The Green Nursery, O'Child Children's Boutique and Gather. Her kiddos were little and she was busy making character-based, mostly one-of-a-kind kids' clothes for her friends and her babies. Carrie is one of those ride or die friends, and I absolutely adore that about her, and I can't wait for you to hear all about where Beri Bee started and where it's going! 

In the meantime, you can check out Carrie's website here: http://beribeedesigns.com/. 

And find her on FB here: https://www.facebook.com/BeriBeeDesigns/

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As always, music from Katie Siefker - https://soundcloud.com/folliesmusic.

Gather Stories: Bethany Lumsdaine of Itchy Co, Shut up and Listen, The Bills, & More - In this episode of Gather Stories I sit down with local artist Bethany Lumsdaine to have a conversation about her art and where it comes from and where it's going. Bethany is an amazing human whom I had the pleasure of meeting through her mother a couple of years ago. Bethany was one of our first Emerging Artists through the BHM in 2016, and since, she's grown her business Itchy Co and her zine Shut up and Listen leaps and bounds. She's also been working the counter (and the camera) at Gather for nearly a year, as well as fronting her band The Bills for about the same amount of time. Bethany is a person of many talents, and she's definitely one to watch out for. I hope you enjoy our little conversation and a peak into the world of a 21 year old artist. 

You can find Bethany's work at Itchy here: https://www.instagram.com/itchy.co/

Shut Up and Listen Zine: https://www.shutupandlistenzine.com/

The Bills: https://bill.bandcamp.com/releases

Eve-il:https://xlhell.bandcamp.com/album/evel-demo

BCC: https://bccband.bandcamp.com/releases

Music from Katie Siefker - https://soundcloud.com/folliesmusic.

Gather Stories: Chelsea Jones of Tactile Melodies - In this episode of Gather Stories I get to sit down with my friend Chelsea and chat about the beginnings of her arts business and how Tactile Melodies came to be. We laugh a lot. Maybe too much, but we sure did have fun. Chelsea and I chat about art school, small business, travel, the DAR, and so much more. We end our chat talking about Chelsea's participation in the Bloomington Handmade Market and just how much we're looking forward to it. 

Music from Katie Siefker - https://soundcloud.com/folliesmusic.

Gather Stories: A brief introduction to where Gather Stories is coming from, and the woman behind the interviews. Hi! My name is Talia Halliday and I own Gather, a brick and mortar store in downtown Bloomington that carries modern handmade goods from over 300 makers and artists from ... everywhere. Gather Stories will be a collection of interviews with those makers and artists.

Music from Katie Siefker - https://soundcloud.com/folliesmusic.

Gather Stories: Nicole Buckenwolf and the beginning of the Bloomington Handmade Market -- in this episode I sit down for a chat with (now) Seattle-based arts advocate Nicole Buckenwolf who is one of the founding members of the BHM. We talk a little about the history of the Market and how it came to be, as well as reminiscing about Nicole's favorite makers and artists from years past. It's a great place to start when telling the story of Gather, to start telling the stories of our makers! Because, without BHM, there would be no Gather.

Music from Katie Siefker - https://soundcloud.com/folliesmusic.