SOWAL House

On Sept 9, 2022, SOWAL House showcased some of South Walton's most renowned artists for a 24 hour pop up art exhibition. Alongside the artists listed below, this limited experience featured a string quartet that played Radiohead & Nirvana covers. Oh, and we asked Christine Tarpey from Better Together Beverage to man the bar.

In this special episode, co-producers (Christy Milliken, Chris Tipton, Dheron Winfield and I) discuss the origins of this remarkable event as well as some of the logistics, and lessons learned. Enjoy!

SELECTIONS: A Gallery Experience at SOWAL House featured the following artists:

Allison Wickey Chandler Williams Chris Coleman David Alllen King Dheron Winfield Jim Clark Jonah Allen Justin Gaffrey Justin Gaffrey Jr. Lindsay Tobias Mark Little Nicole Paloma

Honorable artist mentions: Aria Gaffrey Tommy Crow

There's something magical about South Walton. I'm not sure what it is, but something about this place INSPIRES people. It makes them want to CREATE. People who have never painted before all the sudden start painting. People who have never written creatively before start... well, writing. They're writing memoirs, novels, poetry, songs in prose and so on.

And at just the perfect time, aspiring novelists Ali Diamond and Kristy Gustafson create Emerald Coast Storytellers as the perfect mechanism to bring these inspired artists together.

In this episode, we talk about how Emerald Coast Storytellers came to be and where its headed.

Honorable menions in this episode include:

Distillery 98 30a.com Mike Ragsdale Snowden Wright

Lindsay Tobias is an incredible, multifaceted creative entrepreneur (as evidenced by her two Instagram handles: @artbydoman and @keepyourplantson).

Lindsay is one of the few artists I've met who nourishes both sides of her brain simultaneously through art and science. As a hyper-realist painter, illustrator and muralist, Lindsay has a full-time job producing commissioned works. Each work is detailed, time consuming, and almost surreal to witness a time-lapse of. But that's not all…

Lindsay is also a Certified Holistic Health Coach and Exercise Physiologist. It is in this capacity that she started Keep Your Plants On, a nutritional consulting agency that already has a respectable number of clients who seek her coaching and valuable advice on healthy living.

Let's appreciate that these are two successful, unrelated careers. Yet, she doesn't seem torn between them. There's a level of discipline to her work ethic that is simply remarkable. You'll hear all about how she stays busy & fulfilled without picking sides in this episode.

Oh… and Lindsay has her own podcast too, which you can find here:

https://www.howtokeepyourplantson.com/podcast

I hope you get as much inspiration out of this conversation than I did!

Honorable mentions this episode include: Lisa Burwell VIE Magazine Emerald Coast Storytellers Choonah Clothing

Jonah Allen will do whatever it takes to capture his vision of the "perfect moment": A humanless seascape that backdrops the infinate currents and outflows of South Walton's beaches... even if it means hanging from a helicopter to get his shot.

In this episode, Jonah talks about his challenges and experiences as one of South Walton's finest creative entrepreneurs. He also gives us a "behind the scenes" look at the level of disipline that goes into each and every shot that eventually gets put up for sale.

This disipline is the secret to his success at such an early age.

Allison Wickey is the living embodiment of what it means to be a successful creative entrepreneur. In this episode, she shares her humble beginnings as a painter in South Walton, the methods of her craft, and her volunteer work with Cultural Arts Alliance & South Walton Artificial Reef Association. Ever inspirational, Allison serves as a true beacon for up & coming local artists.

Honorable mentions include: Justin Gaffrey Mary Hong Andy Skazinski Francisco Adaro Justin Lyons Chandler Williams Kurt Lischka Fletcher Isacks Jeff Archer Mary Beth Myrick Anne Hunter Rosemary Beach Grayton Beach Alys Beach Amavida Yolo Boards & Bikes Cultural Arts Alliance South Walton Artificial Reef Association

As one of South Walton's creative entrepreneur pioneers, few photographers are more prolific than Chandler Williams. One of the things that's so inspiring about Chandler is his refusal to stay comfortable in his craft. He's always pushing his boundaries and testing his limits, which is essential to leveling up in the world of high-end fine art photography.

In this episode, we dive deep into Chandler's history, craft, and methods as both an entrepreneur and as an artist.

Here's what's most amazing about Gaffrey Art Material (GAM): Their sculptural acrylic paints are effectively a NEW ART MEDIUM! GAM is also an intergenerational visual arts business. It started as world-class painter Justin Gaffrey's paint manufacturing experiment, then led to Justin Jr and Aria (accomplished artists in their own right) turning it into an incredible paint company.

Listen now to learn more about their trials & tribulations of starting one of the most exciting artists run manufacturing companies of our time.

What do you get when you mix home-brewed talent with keen marketing & operational skills? You get one of the area's tastiest breweries... seemingly overnight! Hunter & Anne Margaret share the curious origin story of Odd Pelican, South Walton's latest brewery!

Honorable mentions in this episode include: Reese Harrison Robert Davis Reese Sharp with Beer Marketiers Seaside Bud & Alley's Westonwood Ranch Amici's and Amigo's

TRUE STORY: Tamales are a uniquely American dish that dates back to 6000BC. During that time, they were considered SACRED… as in the FOOD OF THE GODS! This week J.R. McKinny, owner of It's Tamale Time, shares an amazing entrepreneurial story that is filled with history & fate.

J.R. walks us through the provenance of his business, starting with his late grandmother, Maw Maw Subia's cherished recipe. We talk about the trials & tribulations of starting a business in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael and then GROWING it during a pandemic. Truly inspiring!

If this episode made you hungry, you can order J.R.'s tamales here! https://www.itstamaletime.com

Whoever said "Do what you love and you'll never work another day" is full of S#%T. Everyone, meet serial entrepreneur and CEO of Hey Mama Wines, Mrs. Lauren Stokes!

We laugh and we cry in this episode... literally... about what it takes to start a successful business. Lauren shares SO MANY INSIGHTS about running one of the fastest growing apparel companies in the country before having the epiphany that what the world really needs is a brand that CELEBRATES MOMS!

This is a truly heartwarming and inspirational discussion. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share it with you!

You can find out more about Hey Mama Wines here: https://www.heymamawines.com IG: @heymamawines