ISSUE 04 $10
A Portion of Proceeds Donated to P.I.N.K. of Terre Haute
A1
Vintage Never Circa 2001. The young couple earnestly pulls up to the house. Living in a 250-square-foot apartment, these last few months has been trying. At first glance, the two-story structure looks both foreboding and promising at the same time.
The couple was eager to begin their lives in a house with more than a little history. They weren’t looking for something perfect, just something they could fill with thrifty finds, painted furniture, and eventually 2.2 kids. It was our American dream. There are so many things we loved about this particular home. We knew at first glance this was going to be a place to define our style, grow our family, and ultimately shape into our own eclectic space. Unlike the average couple on HGTV’s “House Hunters,” we could see beyond the dated wallpaper, the ancient appliances and yes, even the rust-colored shag carpet. We could tell this house had good bones. Our hope was to restyle and update this home on a budget while also keeping the integrity of the charm and character that attracted us to this house from the start. I fully believe that DIY is good for the soul. In those early years, before kids and blogs, we devoured DIY projects like it was our job. We both had demanding day jobs but we also found solace and peace working to make our house into a home. I clipped pictures from magazines and filled binders with our ideas. I didn’t know it at the time but it was my own version of Pinterest. It was then that we discovered that we had a hard time finding home decor pieces that embraced the eclectic aesthetic and also fit into our budget. We also unearthed a passion for making. We enjoyed searching for thrifty vintage pieces or architectural salvage - like rusty metal, chippy paint, and aged wood - and also repurposing them into unique home furnishings and accessories. For some, a house is just a place to live. For us, it’s a well-curated gallery of finds that make us happy, tell a story, and cost far less than what we could find in a store. Here are a few rooms in our home that assert our vintage obsession and maker talents.
Farmhouse-Inspired Kitchen To create a unique farmhouse-inspired kitchen, we mixed equal parts rustic salvage, metal textures, pops of color, and hand-picked vintage accessories into a recipe that fit both our storage needs and diverse style. When we told people our plans to cover a wall in our kitchen entirely with old chippy barnwood, we got some questionable looks. But the wood paneling we salvaged from a 1800s farmhouse porch blends effortlessly with galvanized metal, pendant barn lights and granite countertops. Using the chippy beadboard as a backsplash gives our kitchen a sense of farmhouse, while also feeling rooted in our community’s history. For a more casual look, we combined traditional schoolhouse lights and barn light pendants instead of canned lights all over our beautiful tin ceiling. One of my favorite details in the kitchen is this old corbel as a bracket for our kitchen island-peninsula countertop. This counter has long been a gathering spot for breakfast, conversations, cocktails, and homework. We tried to create a flexible and engaging place to gather that also had that vintage vibe we desire. This old found corbel was the perfect solution.
Gets Old
Cast iron shelf brackets turn two pieces of chippy scrap wood into a beautiful set of shelves. An old frame becomes a chic piece of hand-lettered art. We purchased a lot of old school maps and I thought it would add a vibrant punch of color to the television wall. These are just simple ways that inexpensive finds can be converted into unique home decor.
Retro Eat-In Kitchen Space
We are lucky to have this little space next to the kitchen. It’s a cozy place for a table. I recovered this old Formica dinette with sparkly aqua vinyl. Nothing says vintage charm like beadboard paneling. It’s not just pretty; it’s incredibly practical - especially in a high-traffic area. It looks more chic than shabby with a coat of bright white semigloss paint. The design inspiration for this space is more 50s retro than farmhouse. I love the juxtaposition of the farmhouse light with the atomic-era dinette. Vintage camping-theme accessories blend the two looks.
Hardworking Dining Room
Old paper travel maps are full of color and nostalgia. We simply tucked one behind an old window for a unique piece of art.
Where there’s whimsy, there’s fortitude. Your ability to be confident in your own style choices must prevail - like hanging paper fans on a wall. We used these decorations for a pop-up market but I couldn’t put them away after the market was over. Instead, I created a wall sculpture by stacking and staggering them. This created such a playful element over my desk. I absolutely adore it.
It’s not uncommon for rooms in old houses to serve more than one purpose. This house does not have any downstairs closets, or a home office. So we used our creativity to carve out a home office in the corner of our dining room.
Bold and Bright Living Room When you step inside this room, vintage treasures abound. I swoon for flea market finds like vintage metal fans, toy trucks, globes, and anything aqua. And it shows around here. Bold color combinations seen at a traditional summer flea market are the inspiration for this room’s style. I’ve always felt like this room gave off a cottage lakefront sensation - not so much for the decor - but rather the long shape of the room paired with several wide windows across the front of the house. It doesn’t leave me a lot of wall space for decorating but provides necessary light. One way we tried to make a bold impact in this room without painting the walls a bright color was with a colorful rug. Because we decorate with an eclectic mix of vintage goods, I was initially afraid that a bold-hued rug would be too much. The rug not only anchors this room, it pulls out the colors of my accessories and seamlessly harmonizes the industrial vintage furnishings with old house charm.
Photography by Kristy Robb
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Sweet as Honey Jodi Lohrman has dreamed of owning a restaurant since high school, but not just any normal restaurant. By locating the establishment inside her house, diners would feel like guests. This dream became a reality in 2016 when Lohrman’s husband, Andy, built a woodshop and supply store on their property at 6367 N. Murphy Rd. in Brazil, Indiana for his beekeeping operation, Honeysuckle Hill Bee. The bee supply company specializes in building beekeeping equipment and providing valuable information to help beekeepers maintain healthy productive hives. The business’ success brought the opportunity for Jodi to realize her passion of finally having a restaurant. “We both realized we could marry both of our passions and dreams—his being honey bees and the beekeeping supply store, and mine being cooking and owning a restaurant—into one building,” Jodi shared. “We both enjoy practicing hospitality and making guests feel at home. Several guests tell us they don’t feel like they are at a restaurant, but they are at grandma’s house.”
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The restaurant, appropriately named Honeysuckle Hill Bee-stro, utilizes meals whose recipes have been passed down from Jodi’s aunt, mother and grandmother. Those meals are named after the person who developed the recipe: Dollie’s Potato Salad is named after Dollie Corder Phelps, who gave Jodi’s mother the delicious mixture of potatoes, onion, sweet pickle slices, eggs and mayonnaise. “Generational recipes are a big foundation of what we serve here,” said Jodi, who designs each dish. “My aunt used to call this type of food ‘Good Old Hoosier Grubb.’ Using the old recipes from past generations is a way to honor those who have impacted our lives.” While Andy operates the beekeeping supply business, Jodi creatively adds new recipes to the Honeysuckle Hill Bee-stro’s menus for lunch (available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and dinner (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.) each Friday and Saturday. Three entrees are featured each week, allowing customers to have a new dining experience each visit to grandma’s house. (Contact the restaurant at 812-443-3003 or visit www.honeysucklehillbee.com/bee-stro to see each week’s lunch or dinner menus.)
Current Hours: Thursday lunch 11:00-2:00 Friday lunch 11:00-2:00 Friday dinner 5:00-8:00 Saturday Bee-stro Breakfast Buffet 7:00-10:00 Saturday dinner 5:00-8:00 Our lunch meals run between $7.50- $10 Dinner meals run around $15 Bee-stro Breakfast Buffet is $9.99. There are over a dozen items on the buffet including biscuits and gravy, fried mush, and carrot cake pancakes with cream cheese sauce. We do private openings for groups of 15 or more. The Bee-stro will be closed January and February, but will reopen in March. One-third of the menu items utilize honey as an ingredient. A special element to the dining experience is the observation beehive located in the Bee-stro, giving customers the unique opportunity to watch bees at work producing the honey that will be featured in future meals. The restaurant’s Company’s Coming honey oat bread comes with honey cinnamon butter. Such homemade salad dressings as poppy seed, honey mustard and a special house dressing incorporate honey into the recipe. Guests are surprised to learn that there’s a touch of honey in the restaurant’s popular pie crust. Other popular menu items include Mee and Ewe broccoli cheese soup, mandarin chicken salad with honey, pan fried chicken, John’s marinated turkey breasts, meatloaf, Marjorie’s ham, and Joyce’s mashed potatoes. continued on page 42
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Let’s Get Cozy! Front porches are a “must do” in the fall, and everyone I know takes to the porch to create a cozy and inviting space for your family and guests. You can easily incorporate your “indoor style” into an outdoor entrance that’s unique and beautiful. Instead of the traditional orange, brown, and rust colors that most of us are drawn to during the fall season, I think it’s important to mix it up and step outside the box. You can add layers, height, and a color scheme you wouldn’t normally go with to create a fun space that will take you through the fall season. I’m usually drawn toward things that are a little “off the beaten path”, and I love mixing patterns and a punch of color. I get my inspiration from magazines, Pinterest, and some of my favorite home decor bloggers. No matter where you get your inspiration, I’ve chosen a few of my favorite looks that spoke to me and I hope you find something that appeals to you. Here are some tips that I have found helpful: 1. Walk outside, look at your front porch and check out your front door… does it need repainted or retouched? Look at the siding and the brick color and think about your color scheme before you go out and splurge.
5. Take a good look at what you already have before you go out and spend more money. You can always retouch and add new life to anything with just spray paint. 6. Greet your guest with something beautiful on your front door... either a handmade wreath, faux or fresh, and think about different elements to create instead of a grapevine or straw wreath. 7. Make the most out of your space even if you have the smallest front porch in your neighborhood. Re-purpose an old chair by painting and reviving the seat with a punchy fabric. Stack pumpkins on them to add a whimsical touch, or go bold and do the corner of your porch with a wheelbarrow filled with pumpkins. 8. Remember that you can buy a lot of fun items at different price points to add to your porch. Use lanterns, mini pumpkins and gourds, mums, branches, apples, feathers and sticks to add drama. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get these looks - just roll up your sleeves, see what you already have and go from there. Be creative and enjoy the transition from late summer to fall.
2. Bring some unexpected items out from the garage or basement like an old ladder, planks of wood or old dresser. These pieces can be a fun way to add character to a small or large space. 3. Stacking and layering are key to creating small vignettes. Stack hay bales to add height, use old frames, re-purpose old wood planks by painting and/or stenciling them.
Photos Courtesy of Pinterest
4. The front porch can also be a place to read, drink your morning coffee or spend time with family. Depending on the size of your porch, I love to incorporate indoor items to my outdoor space. I love bringing in a throw to place on a chair, and pillows add a coziness to the space. Stools are always a great place to display a book or use as extra seating.
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Holiday Greenery
Pine Cones Add Punch
- Yvette Morgan
Whimsical Holiday Entranc eS
Grey Tones Set The Stage
Natural Elements Winter Wonderland Traditional Fall Jewel Tones With a Punch
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Fit For a Queen
When we were younger, one stop for us after-hours was the tattoo shop...and that was when tattoo shops were just becoming a thing. Now we have several tattoo shops in town, but one stands out as an eccentric, interesting, and quirky businesses here in the Haute, and we love it. Having opened 4 years ago, Queen City started out with a specific focus and “brand” that they wanted to portray. Now they are expanding their space and their services to offer not just amazing art and piercings, but aesthetic services to make us look and feel our very best. We were thrilled to speak with owner Carrie House-Clarke and new team member Ceci Spoonmore to find out more about their business and services…
- Lori Mitchell
Tell me a little about yourselves and how you decided to open Queen City… Carrie: I’m originally from Cincinnati (commonly known as the Queen City) and moved to the Terre Haute area when I was a kid and have been here ever since. I started getting interested in American tattoo culture shortly after college and became obsessed with the history and intrigue surrounding tattoos. I started tattooing in 2007, and my husband Jeremy and I starting dreaming of owning our own tattoo shop and doing things a little bit differently. That dream became a reality in August of 2013 when we opened the doors to Queen City. We had a very clear vision of how we wanted to present ourselves to the community and how we wanted to set ourselves apart. We take a lot of pride in our team and are really grateful for what has grown to be a pretty huge Queen City family!
We really felt like there needed to be a shop that focused on the client’s story, and really tune in to the fact that they are coming to a tattoo shop for far more than a piece of art. They are commemorating a story, a legacy, or a chapter in their life. To say that it is an honor to be a part of our client’s experience is an understatement. Every day we have clients that give us access to a really personal and significant part of their story and it’s a really special thing. Our clients are amazing, and it really does make our day to get to know them. Fortunately for us, that’s a pretty easy feat to accomplish. Nothing distracts from the feeling of getting a tattoo like a good chat :)
How do you differentiate yourselves from the other tattoo shops in our area? Carrie: We’ve really tried to create an environment that is friendly, inviting and comfortable. One huge piece of that puzzle is the layout of the building itself. We’re located at 1323 Wabash Avenue in what used to be Artisan Glass. The way the building was set up when we bought it had a lot of small individual rooms with a large workspace in the back. Fortunately for us, there were no supporting walls so we were able to open it up completely. We wanted to make sure that we had a space that was wide open and super bright. The fact that we are a tattoo shop means some people may have reservations about the nature of what we do. We completely understand and respect those concerns, so we wanted to make sure that the cleaning room was above and beyond the standard and in full view. We take an enormous amount of pride in the safety and sanitation practices that we implement. Obviously I’m biased, but I really feel that what sets us apart more than anything is the fact that we make it a point to excel in every part of the experience - from the building itself, to our top notch desk staff, to what I believe to be the best artists in the area.
What services do you offer besides tattoos?
Photography by Mallory Eilbracht
Carrie: While the official name is Queen City Classic Tattoos, we also offer a wide variety of piercings, including micro-dermals, and with the recent addition of Ceci Spoonmore to the family we now offer eyebrow micro-blading, lash services, permanent eyeliner, freckles, and ombre lip tinting. Ceci is the first member of the growing team at Queen City Signature.
Many don’t realize this, but my now 9-year-old daughter had her ears pierced there, and it was an amazing experience. Can you share with our readers why it’s safer to get our children’s ears pierced there, rather than the alternative? Carrie: I’m so glad that you asked! This is something that a lot of parents don’t consider, and there really is quite a difference. There are a number of reasons why it’s much better to get your ears pierced by a professional piercer rather than the alternative. The first would be the fact that, as a tattoo shop, we are regulated by the Department of Health. They do not differentiate between a piercing and a tattoo, and neither do we. That means we use the same practices when performing a piercing that we do when performing a tattoo. The needle used is brand new, sterile and single use, and the tools that are used are sterilized for each use as well. By adhering to these standards it also means that the piercing jewelry that we use is sterile and hypoallergenic. The alternative is barely regulated at all, with not so much as a hand washing sink required, and no requirements at all to clean and sterilize the piercing gun itself after each use. Another difference between a professional piercing and the alternative is in the equipment itself. A piercing needle is just that - a piercing needle. That means it comes to a point and is designed for piercing, or separating, the tissue. A piercing gun uses the jewelry itself to perform the piercing, for which it was not designed. The jewelry is blunt on the end, which means it removes the tissue during the piercing rather than separating it. That is the very definition of blunt force trauma to the tissue. Think of this as an analogy: Run a sewing needle through a piece of paper versus a hole punch.
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Lastly, a professional piercer is trained. Not only are they trained in the art of piercing, which is important not just for ears but especially for body piercings. They are also trained in the anatomical nature of those tissues being pierced. They understand the physiology of the tissue and how to care for it. When you add all of these factors together, it really makes a big difference for both the experience itself and the healing of your piercing.
perfect shape for your specific features, you are then numbed completely. Depending on your existing brows, length of the actual procedure will vary. After all spaces are filled with new ‘blades’ and the desired look is achieved, you are given an after care package complete with instructions and a quality recovery product to aid in the healing process. After 3-4 weeks, you’ll be scheduled for a full retouch that is included in the upfront cost. Generally you will have great color for 1-2 years, sometimes longer. Some clients may have their results fade quicker than others depending on their skin, sun exposure, the quality of after care they give them, etc. It’s absolutely an investment, but one that is totally worth it for years to come.
You’re expanding your space to accommodate all of your new clients – tell us about that? Carrie: This is our most recent development and definitely an exciting one! We’ve been bursting at the seams for some time at Queen City, and with the addition of Ceci in May, it became apparent that we needed to expand beyond tattoos and piercings. Queen City is a two-story building and we’ve never utilized the upstairs portion. Now that we offer such an extensive line of services that go beyond tattoos and piercings, we’ve decided to completely renovate the second floor and launch Queen City Signature. Queen City Signature shares the same standards of excellence of Queen City Classic Tattoos, but with a completely different aesthetic and atmosphere.
You recently introduced Ceci Spoonmore to your staff. Ceci – tell us a little bit about what you do at QC? Ceci: My focus is on building the Queen City Signature brand, while bringing luxury permanent and semi-permanent cosmetics to our list of services. Coming from an extensive training and professional makeup background, I’ve been able to take my knowledge and love for the beauty industry, combine it with a tattoo license, and give women another way to feel great about themselves. We are working hard to bring in beneficial, quality services that our area may not have been exposed to or had access to. I’m excited to offer brow micro-blading, lash extensions, semi-permanent lip tinting, lash enhancement liner and more! I will also be heading up our upcoming makeup and skin care classes that will be held in our new studio! My goal is to offer women a safe, clean place for these services, combined with a lavish, superior experience that make them feel their most beautiful!
How have you seen your work change women’s lives? Ceci: Everyone has something that when they look in the mirror, they don’t LOVE about themselves. There are certain things that are harder to change and those that are an easier fix. Something as simple as losing eyebrows or lashes as we age, can be a significant source of stress for a woman, and most do not feel comfortable creating a penciled in look themselves. I am so grateful for the outpouring of the texts, calls and referrals from happy clients. Looking in the mirror and feeling more confident, more youthful, and generally happier about their looks is life changing. It seems to give them the confidence that they may have not realized they were lacking, and for a busy woman who might generally put herself last, that’s huge for everyone around her.
Tell us a bit about the micro-blading process? Ceci: Micro-blading is my absolute favorite service to offer because of the sheer transformation and solution it provides. It’s much more simple than it even seems. During the consultation, we discuss the clients concerns, needs and wants. Color, shape and thickness all come into play. After mapping and measuring to find the
Queen City Signature offers a wide variety of services and can be thought of as a permanent cosmetics studio and a salon of sorts. Ceci Spoonmore will be offering eyebrow micro-blading, lash services, permanent eyeliner, freckles and ombre lip tinting. We’ve also added esthetician Maranda Zanandrea to Queen City Signature. Maranda will be offering derma-planing, facials, brow tinting, eyelash tinting, and eyelash extensions, in addition to a number of other services. Queen City Signature will also feature the area’s only full spectrum infrared sauna. We’re really excited about this evolution in the Queen City journey, and the opportunity to present an atmosphere and experience to the Terre Haute area that is above and beyond anything that they will experience elsewhere.
What advice would you give someone who is contemplating a tattoo, micro-blading, lips, etc? Carrie: What a great question! The first step would be to do your research. With social media, it’s never been easier to dig into your options and get an idea of what the result will be, see which artist would best fit the style of what you’re looking for (in the case of a tattoo), and ask questions. The second step would be to come to the shop! There is nothing that can replace your intuition and the feeling that you get when you walk into a tattoo shop. You should feel welcomed, not intimidated, and you should feel like a customer, not a burden. Visiting the shop of your choice will do so much to ease whatever anxieties you have about the procedure, eliminate much of the confusion and/or miscommunication that can sometimes happen online or over the phone, and more importantly, a visit will give you the opportunity to meet the staff and ask whatever questions you might have. Whether you visit Queen City or not, it’s really important to go to a reputable shop that knows what they’re doing, practices safety, conducts themselves professionally and takes care to make sure that you leave with something that you cherish, not regret. Remember, a tattoo is permanent; you want to make sure that you do it right. And while a piercing may not be permanent, there is a big difference in the result that you’ll get with a trained professional, both aesthetically and hygienically.
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Fashion-ABLE: Branded Collective Please tell our readers a little about yourself and your business?
What do the numbers and letters mean on the jewelry?
My name is Lauren Carpenter, and I’m a social entrepreneur living in Nashville, Tennessee. I started BRANDED Collective in 2012 with my friend and co-founder, Emily Mahoney, and it has been an adventure! We actually started selling tshirts and have morphed into a jewelry company over time. We provide job training and employment for survivors of human sex trafficking, teaching them the art of jewelry making, administrative skills and also setting goals with them as they move forward in their careers. I LOVE my job and feel so blessed to do it!
Each item that we sell at BRANDED Collective is stamped with initials and a number. The initials represent the survivor who made the piece, and you can actually read a little bit about that person by visiting the “Survivors” page on our website and clicking on her initials. The number is the number of pieces that we have made and it also becomes your unique number in our collective of abolitionists. You can actually register your number on our website voices.brandedcollective. com and share a message of hope with the survivor who made it. We love reading through these. If you have a minute, go check it out! Our collective voices are so inspiring and empowering.
Tell us your “why” and “hope” for your company? Our mission is to empower survivors of trafficking through meaningful employment and economic independence. We hope each employee will be inspired to rediscover the dreams she has lost and be motivated to go forth and pursue them. We also seek to unite a collective of survivors and patrons to advance the abolition of human trafficking.
So many of us are unaware of the extent of sex trafficking in the United States. What can you tell us about it? The sad fact is it’s happening all around us, in large and small cities alike - all across the country. It’s the second largest and fastest growing crime on earth after drug trafficking. It’s estimated that 600,000 - 800,000 people are trafficked each year, half of them minors under the age of 18, and 80% of them female. My city (Nashville) is a hub because it’s located at the intersection of three major interstates and also has a lot of things traffickers look for: tourism, truck stops, a military base, new businesses, and a thriving economy. We are also close to Atlanta, which is one of the major child sex trafficking hubs in the United States. The statistics are absolutely astonishing and the problem is huge.
Protecting the identity of survivors is crucial, but can you describe the process and how it works when you employ these survivors? And how it creates professional and economic empowerment? We work with a local non-profit called End Slavery Tennessee (ESTN) that provides rescue, restoration and safe housing for survivors of trafficking. ESTN helps us hire the women who are ready to be employed. We employ two survivors at all times so that we can provide ten hours of work per week to each survivor and really make a deep impact in her life. We work with each employee to train them in job skills like punctuality, teamwork and the detail-oriented art of making jewelry. We are there to help them learn and grow. For some women, it might be the first time they’ve had a job like BRANDED. So we teach them basic skills that they can use as they move forward in their lives. One of our greatest joys is seeing women move forward to other careers and being able to provide good job references for them.
Tell us about how you came up with the name of your business. We wanted to raise awareness about branding, which happens quite frequently in trafficking. Many victims are branded by their captors with a marking, scar or tattoo, which is typically the trafficker’s name, a number or a symbol. When Emily and I first learned about branding, we were shocked and wanted to find a way to redeem the story for those who have been branded. So we ask our patrons to “wear a number to restore a name” and become a part of our collective, which stands against the brutal practice of branding.
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Where can readers purchase BRANDED Collective pieces? We sell online, at shops around the United States and at events. Visit our website at and can check out the “Shop” page to buy online, or scroll through the “Shop Local” page to see the shops near you sell our products.
What is your hope for the future of your company? We hope to grow to employ survivors both part-time and full-time. We want to keep adding products and keep branching out into different retail locations to raise awareness about trafficking and cultivate a community of abolitionists. Our longterm dream is to duplicate our model in other states to provide more jobs for survivors who need them.
Who inspires you? I’m truly the most inspired by our INCREDIBLE survivor employees. They face so many more obstacles and setbacks than I have personally experienced, and I’m constantly encouraged and inspired by how they are able to rise above and move forward with hope and determination.
What advice do you have for families that are going through this with their children? Be vigilant. Be determined. Contact local law enforcement for assistance and use every single network you can to find your daughter or your son. They’re out there, somewhere, and they need you more now than ever before. So don’t give up!
- Yvette Morgan For more information and to purchase items, visit the BRANDED Collective website at www.brandedcollective.com.
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Every
night before you fall asleep,
give heartfelt thanks for the
wonderful day you just had, no matter
what kind of day you had.
Think
about
the next day, and intend that it is
going to be wonderful.
Intend
that is
going to be the best day of your life.
Intend
that it is going to be filled
with love and joy.
Intend
that all
good is coming to you and everything
is going to flow perfectly.
Then when you wake in the morning, BEFORE you get out of bed, again declare your intentions for the day and give deep thanks as though you have received them all.
As
you do this, you will
begin to create your life deliberately, and you will experience firsthand the power that is within you to create the life you want.
- The Secret
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