Shopper Blog: Special Spaces, changing children’s lives one bedroom at a time

WEST KNOXVILLE

Special Spaces, changing children’s lives one bedroom at a time

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

Special Spaces creates dream bedrooms for children 2 to 19 who are living with cancer. The organization began in 2004, and since then has done 164 bedrooms in Knoxville and has grown to 13 chapters in 11 states.

Amy Hensley, a talented self-taught designer, came on board as the Knoxville chapter director last year. She hit the ground running and designed six bedrooms last year, with a goal 12 for this year.

The parents pay nothing.

“It’s amazing,” Hensley said. “I think the whole process restores their faith as a whole because perfect strangers came in and did this for them and then left it for them to enjoy.

“Each room presents its own challenges. Walls are not even, floors are not even and we just have to press on to do the best we can do. The results are usually amazing.

“We ask nothing of the parents but let us come in and serve you, let us be a little bit of light in this dark time that you are going through. Not only do they pay nothing, but we send them out for the day and overnight to nice area hotels in places like Pigeon Forge, which is very popular … some like to go to Nashville or Chattanooga. They get a break while we work our magic.”

Special Spaces is a nonprofit that depends on grants, volunteers, donations and fundraising to design dream bedrooms for children in Knox and surrounding counties.

“There are a lot of wonderful companies in and around Knox County that have grants available for nonprofits like us. We fill out A LOT of grant applications,” Hensley said.

Each room is allotted $7,500 for furniture, new beds, rugs, bedding, wall décor, closet organization, window décor and maybe even a set of bedding for a sibling’s room so they feel seen and recognized as going through family hardship, too.

“It seems like a lot until you start buying furniture. The allotment used to be $5,000 but with inflation, we found we couldn’t do much with that so we raised it another $2,500 so we can remake the entire room. Everything we do, we do with excellence so the bedroom will last for years to come. We do hunt for bargains, but quality is really what we’re looking for,” Hensley said.

Special Spaces is not a one-woman show, even though Hensley designs the bedrooms according to the child’s needs and desires. A team of volunteers comes in and rips out carpet, changes light fixtures, paints walls, hangs wallpaper, cleans. There are different volunteers for each room; Altar’d State Clothing helped with the last room.

The next room is already on the books and will be done by volunteers from Coca-Cola.

Info: www.specialspaces.org.

POWELL

PHS science teacher adds shine to the school day

Al Lesar, Shopper News

With every bracelet and necklace her students design, Beth Meyer hopes there is some inspiration being passed along.

Meyer has been a science teacher at Powell High School since 2016. Her specialties are physical science, biology, ecology and geology. Her background was working in soybean genetics research at her alma mater, the University of Tennessee, for 15 years before that.

“After a while, I realized I wanted to do something that was helping people,” Meyer said. “I was a perfect fit for a science teacher.”

Meyer, though, is hardly one to be typecast into the stereotype of a science teacher.

There’s a creative side of Meyer that was desperate to get revealed.

“Over the years I’ve tried different crafts like quilting and embroidery,” she said. “Then, I found jewelry making. It’s gratifying because you can work 30 minutes or an hour and have a piece of jewelry.

“Since I was young, I’ve always picked up rocks. I always loved to look at bead shows.”

Meyer has blended her love for teaching and making jewelry to have a jewelry-making club at Powell High School.

Jewelry is popular

From 11:30 a.m. until noon every day is the Paws period at Powell High School. That’s the break in the day in which there’s tutoring for those who need it and for the rest clubs such as Coffee Brewing, Weaving, Marvel Club, Dungeons and Dragons, Sports Media, Jazz Improvisation, Film Appreciation and Jewelry Making.

This is Meyer’s second attempt at jewelry. In her first semester there were about 30 students, which were a lot. This semester she capped it at 24.

“What a great break in the day,” Meyer said. “Thirty minutes of making jewelry is nice to do something different, but still teach.”

She said her first session was evenly divided between males and females. This semester, the edge goes to the girls.

“Sometimes I’m surprised to see the designs they come up with,” Meyer said. “I love to see the look in their eye when they finish something. I’m hoping this will inspire them to be creative in whatever they love to do.”

Meyer has found a special talent in senior Jair Limon. Besides jewelry, he’ll get clothes from local thrift shops and apply his flair.

“Jair’s fashion sense is very creative,” Meyer said.

While the students do the designs and the stringing of the jewelry, Meyer does the hard work − the clasps.

A side business

Spring and summer are busy times for Meyer in her home work area. In a 10 x 15 area of her basement, she has her supplies and tools laid out. She’ll spend a couple nights a week down there making sure her inventory is good for her every-Saturday visits to the Knoxville Farmers’ Market.

“I have my style,” said Meyer, whose business is called The Fat Calico. “My pattern is influenced by the American Southwest and Asian.

“I also like to incorporate vintage; kind of a mid-mod. I use old rhinestones and pearls that were popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s.”

She uses a lot of her remnants at school. Recently, she put out a call for materials to work with and was overwhelmed by the donations. However, with growing interest, she’s always looking for more for the students.

To contact Meyer, go to The Fat Calico Facebook page.

WORDS OF FAITH

How to love one another? Consider the sheep-flippers

John Tirro, Shopper News

I was talking with a rabbi friend, Alon Ferency − formerly of Heska Amuna, now a creativity coach (EclecticCleric.com) − about Psalm 23, the most comforting of psalms, read in our church every funeral I can remember, just before the committal. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters…”

I’ve been recalibrating a bit, having stepped down as a campus pastor, still serving as a pastor of a downtown church, but part time, devoting more time to writing songs. And I really want this next phase of my life − and the phase I’m in now − to have that deep peace of God my shepherd, restoring my soul, guiding me along right pathways − you know, the whole Psalm 23 experience.

Alon said, “I read somewhere that the staff” − also called a crook, a long stick with a crooked end, kind of like a candy cane but heavier and less sticky (that’s my description, not his) − “is useful for flipping sheep.”

I’m like, “Wait, what?” He said, “Yeah, apparently sheep can get stuck upside down and can’t right themselves, and you use the staff to flip them upright.”

We both wondered if that could actually be true, and he couldn’t remember where he’d read it, so I looked it up online, and darned if there isn’t some truth to it! What I found is mostly videos from the British Isles, shepherds in pastures with upside down, stuck sheep, explaining that this is actually really serious and can be deadly for the little sweater-makers.

It happens especially to pregnant sheep near shearing time, when their wool is long. They get top-heavy, even more if wet from rain. They lie down, not realizing they’re next to a little divot or hole, and they end up on their backs, tiny feet waving in the air, unable to get up.

All you have to do is give them a little push to flip them back up. In one of the videos, a female shepherd jumps into the frame and says, “When they’re upside down they get really gassy, so once they’re up, if you rub their tummy a bit it helps them burp.”

Seems to me, people are a lot like that. We get turned upside down all sorts of ways − spiritually, emotionally, economically, socially, even physically now and then − and we need help to get on our feet again.

I really think most religions, and certainly Christianity, the one I know best, are about forming us into people who help each other up − sheep-flippers, if you will. All the lessons about love God, love your neighbor, forgiveness, grace, and self-sacrificial giving, it’s pretty much about sheep-flipping, helping each other up, when we’ve gotten stuck with our feet in the air.

When has someone helped you up, emotionally, spiritually, or any other way? How might you do the same? How might you be part of God’s staff, a sheep-flipper?

John Tirro is pastor of worship at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Info: sjlcknox.org.

HALLS

Hear the people sing in Central High's spring musical, 'Les Miserables'

Ali James, Shopper News

Central High School theater students are traveling back to early 19th century France and transporting the audience with them May 4-7.

"Les Misérables" is the stage adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel with the same name. It is the story of a French peasant called Jean Valjean and his desire for redemption. He is released from jail after serving 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child. Police inspector Javert pursues him throughout the play, and Valjean and the other characters are swept into the revolutionary time in France.

“This one is obviously a lot more serious than the previous shows,” said Bethany Lay, Central High School choral director and music director for the spring production. “ 'High School Musical' and 'Beauty and the Beast' were much lighter. 'Les Mis' has real themes including mercy, redemption and despair. Pretty much any feeling that humans have. It has required the students to dig deeper to portray those emotions.

“It is sung through; there are no spoken lines,” Lay said, “which is positive and negative, but it does mean they have been able to memorize lines more easily.” It has also meant that the cast needs to pay special attention to keeping their time to the music and their entrances need to be really clean, she added.

Despite the heavier material, Lay said the students loved the challenge.

“I felt that they are much more invested. They dove right in and wanted to know the symbolism and really understand their characters' intentions.

It's "been wonderful for the director, Madison Hicks. They have taken on so much themselves and really enjoyed learning.”

The content heaviness and language for this high school musical have been preserved, but Lay said that the songs and the length of the production are a little shorter than for a Broadway production of "Les Misérables."

“It maintains the same songs and content and the maturity, just some of the songs are shortened,” said Lay. “The kids have been very mature about it, we have tried to be sensitive and protect the integrity and not water down the content.  We wanted to meet the kids where they are at, and they seemed to be very comfortable.”

"Les Miserables" is suitable for ages middle school and up due to some of the violence, language and suggestive thematic materials, according to Lay. “We do want to be sensitive about that. That way no one is taken aback if they hear a bad word,” she said.

Both Lay and Hicks knew that this spring would be a good time to present "Les Misérables."

“We have a lot more guys this year, so that was really encouraging,” said Lay. “We knew it would be a good year to take on this role.”

Not only is there a big cast, but the sets are also large and imposing. “It has been an undertaking,” said Lay. “Our main platform has been reused to match this time period.”

In the show, a group of young idealists attempt to overthrow the government at a street barricade in Paris.

“That was the most difficult (to stage). You want it to look like a pile of stuff, but you have to make it look old and be able to roll it on and off the stage,” Lay said. “We also have large panels across the whole stage to create a town feel to transport the audience.”

Nathan King has been in charge of the set build, while Gretchen Adkins has been in charge of the set aesthetic/artistry and Ayla Little has been hard at work as the stage manager.

What: Les Misérables MusicalWhen: 7 p.m. May 4-6 and 2:30 p.m. May 7, 2023Where: Central High School AuditoriumCost: $15 per person, available in advance and at the door. https://t.co/dOiElm3gvu

What was lost when Tennessee banned horse race betting in 1907? One can only imagine

POWELL

Honey'd Beauty Lounge taking leap to The Front Porch

Al Lesar, Shopper News

Options were available to Taylor Canup and Brianna Weiss as they were relatively new to the beauty industry.

Recent graduates of the Tennessee School of Beauty, both were learning the real-life part of the business as estheticians at a salon in South Knoxville. Problem was, they weren’t getting paid.

Options included staying at the same location and hoping circumstances changed, renting space at another salon and working there, or going out on their own and opening their own shop.

“We decided to take the leap and trust the process,” Weiss said. “We felt that the Powell area was underserved (in the beauty business), so we thought it would be the right place for us.”

Last June, Honey’d Beauty Lounge was established at 5917 Clinton Highway, near the Expo Center. This June, the business will make its move to The Front Porch (1509 W. Emory Road) antiques, where it will have 1,200 square feet upstairs.

Relationships are key

Weiss and Canup teamed up in beauty school. Weiss is the dreamer and the decorator of the tandem, while Canup is the partner charged with making sure the dreams can be financially realized.

Both of them firmly believe in the power of friendship overcoming any hurdles they might encounter.

“Clients will always take care of you,” said Canup. “Lots of time our clients become our friends.”

“Clients will become our friends before our friends will become our clients,” said Weiss.

Before turning to the beauty industry, Canup worked in medical records. Two weeks before the pandemic shut the world down, she left her job in search of spending more time with her young son.

“The time with my son was great,” Canup said. “But, after a while, we both needed a little time away; I could use just an hour away to recharge.”

Canup carried that feeling with her into her new line of work.

“Now, I get to come to work and serve women who need that hour to themselves,” she said. “When I give a facial, it’s the best hour of my day.”

New skin care line

In their first year of business, Canup and Weiss are confident they have built up a loyal clientele base that will follow them to their new location.

“Coming to work is a social outlet for me,” said Weiss. “I love to hear the stories from my clients and catch up on their lives. I love the connection.”

The estheticians provide a wide range of services from facials to waxing to eyelash extensions and everything in between. In December, they pivoted to the Eminence skin care line.

“They provide everything,” said Canup. “A lot of people have been interested. There are test products available that can be tried.”

Almost a year later, Weiss is still thrilled with the option she chose.

“I love the beauty industry,” she said. “I love the environment. When people leave, they feel beautiful.”

“I just want other small business owners to know it’s OK to dream,” Canup said. “If that’s your dream, your people will take care of you.”

For more information or for an appointment contact Honey’d Beauty Lounge at: honeydbeautylounge@gmail.com, go to its website or Facebook or Instagram pages or call 865-253-7864.

NORTH KNOXVILLE

North Hills Garden Club plant sale is this weekend

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

Recent extraordinarily beautiful spring days − sometimes several in a row − have brought gardeners out of their houses and into their yards. So they’ll undoubtedly be flocking to one of the most popular events of the year for gardeners: The annual North Hills Garden Club plant sale, which happens this weekend.

In a city that has been a certified Community Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation since 2017, with its own arborist employed and many abundant parks and greenways, North Hills is one of the greenest, lushest neighborhoods in town. It’s the home of the North Hills Arboretum, with over 40 labeled species of trees and more than 400 individual trees integrated into the historic neighborhood’s boulevards and park. No wonder Keep Knoxville Beautiful recognized it − and the garden club − with their City Bright Spot Award.

The North Hills plant sale is a convivial affair featuring not only green growing stuff, but local vendors offering beautiful handmade items. This year you can snag anything from outdoor mobiles and sculptures to baked goods, jewelry, cornshuck dolls and more from vendors − plus there’s the Garden Shed, which features gently used garden tools and other items at bargain prices.

“We’ll also have plenty of gorgeous hanging baskets from Knox Seed and some special baskets made by one of our members, Kris Mahoney,” says longtime garden club member and this year’s event chair, Sally Wilcox. “She also made some moss balls for us − very cool.”

But the main draw is the huge variety of plants offered for sale at great prices. Many aren’t available in typical retail settings.

“You’re not going to find trillium at a garden center,” says Wilcox. “You can order it online but you get some teeny-tiny specimen.” Wilcox says that because of the December cold snap, trilliums are limited and they’ll go fast.

This year, Solomon’s seal is a star. “We used to have a hard time finding Solomon’s seal, but so many neighbors have bought it from us over the years that it is now plentiful in North Hills. It is such a well-behaved plant. It spreads easily but just in its own clump. It doesn’t go wandering around!”

There are also hard-to-find woodland perennials such as bloodroot and ostrich fern.

Other more-easily-found East Tennessee mainstays are available, but instead of small, overpriced specimens, you’ll find big, happy plants just waiting to be snapped up at affordable prices and planted in their new home. Wilcox says of a large Lenten rose, “Our price for this healthy beauty is less than half what a nursery might charge.”

In addition to Wilcox, thanks go to Mahoney, who is in charge of the Garden Shed and art vendors; and Jennifer Linginfelter and Erin Webb, publicity chairs. And of course the many North Hills residents who aren’t afraid of a shovel and some hard work, all the better to spread the beauty of their own yards − and lots of good will − all over town.

The North Hills Garden Club plant sale happens from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday, May 6, in North Hills Park near the intersection of Kennington and Kenilworth. The event will take place rain or shine. Proceeds from the plant sale support beautification of the neighborhood’s boulevards and park. For more information on the garden club, visit facebook.com/NorthHillsGardenClub and northhillsgardenclub.wixsite.com/nhgc.

SOUTH KNOXVILLE

Healing and health are what's in it for Drip Juice Bar owner

Ali James, Shopper News

Alexis Gillespie had planned on becoming a sports agent, but when she discovered she had an aptitude for languages she earned two degrees in Spanish and marketing within four years at Middle Tennessee State University.

Ready to leave school behind, Gillespie moved to Atlanta and modeled for 4½ years.

“I was always health conscious and noticed that I was keeping my local juice bar in business in the mornings and sometimes in the afternoons,” said Gillespie. “When COVID slowed down the modeling work, I bought a juicer and started juicing at home playing around with fruits and vegetables.”

When friends came around, they would raid her refrigerator. Gillespie said they could not believe she made the juices herself.

“I had time on my hands to come up with the website, the logo and perfect the recipes,” she said of her decision to launch Drip Juice Bar. “I started reaching out to local gyms and doing pop-up events.”

Soon Gillespie had her juices in gyms all over Atlanta and Nashville.

Since Gillespie was familiar with Nashville from her college days, she decided to return and focus on selling Drip Juice Bar products at a private gym with a much bigger market. “That was the end of 2020. Then at the beginning of 2021, I had just finished selling juice cleanses, then in March I had a very bad accident and broke my pelvis in three places and fractured my sacrum,” she said. “I was in a wheelchair for two months, rehabbing and on blood thinners for a blood clot. My surgeon asked why I was healing so fast.”

When Gillespie revealed that she drinks lots of fresh pressed juices with beets and kale, her doctor suggested that could be why she was healing faster than normal.Gillespie decided to jump start her business again while she was working for a holistic chiropractor.

“The owner asked if I wanted to partner with them and to put some of my organic, cold pressed juices in the fridge,” she said.

Tragedy struck again when Gillespie’s father died early last year. “I took another break and came back to Knoxville to navigate that.” After selling her juices at Armor Gym, a friend told her about a vacant café space at the Health Factory on Alcoa Highway.

“In January we had our health inspection and I have been juicing here and remodeling the former bakery space,” she said. “I put my juices in the fridge at the Health Factory and put a QR code on the door so that people can pay via my Cash App, Venmo or use the Clover link. Most clients are very honest; I haven’t had any issues.”

To start, Gillespie wants to build her customer base through a preset menu and consistency before expanding into smoothies.

So far, the most popular eight-ounce Drip Juice Bar products are Beet It! and Sunshine flavors.

“Beet It! is for the avid juicer. Drinking the beets, carrots, apple, ginger and lemon will give you the highest benefits,” said Gillespie. “Sunshine is for those that want to get into a healthier eating lifestyle, but are tiptoeing in. The celery hides behind oranges, cantaloupe, pears, pineapple, lemon and ginger.”

Some customers like to purchase their cold pressed juices in the mornings, others like a pick-me-up in the afternoons, and some purchase three or four juices at a time to last a few days.

In June, Gillespie will start sending out a newsletter with monthly deals, seasonal recipes, upcoming events, juice cleanse packages and a referral program for Drip Juice Bar. Gillespie prints her own Drip Juice Bar merchandise in house, and to celebrate her grand opening she is offering 40% off T-shirts and gym towels with a purchase for the month of May.

The Drip Juice Bar will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday inside the Health Factory at 2900 Dresser Road in South Knoxville.

OPINION

In search of the perfect day

Leslie Snow, Shopper News

I’m in bed sipping coffee gratefully on a Saturday morning when my husband says, “I know it’s a little muddy and rainy today, but let’s take Buttercup for a long hike.” I reach under the covers to pet my Great Dane’s soft ears and reply with a grin, “That sounds perfect.”

Suddenly, I’m in a hurry to get the day started. I jump out of bed, brush my teeth, and put on my grungiest hiking gear. It isn’t until we’re on our way to the trailhead that I realize I never even brushed my hair.

I pull down the visor to check the mirror and laugh. I’m a mess. My hair is wild and wavy and won’t be tamed. I find the hair tie I keep on my wrist and put my hair in a ponytail. I check the mirror again and shrug my shoulders. I’m still a mess, but it doesn’t seem to matter.

When we get to Hall Bend, the rain has stopped but the ground is still saturated. Every step I take splashes mud on my legs, but I don’t mind. I’m happy to be traipsing through the woods with my two best friends.

I find a few worms struggling in standing water and decide to rescue them. I jump across a small creek and miss, landing in wet mud up to my ankles. I walk into a pricker bush and scrape my face and neck, but I don’t mind the sting. As Ethan likes to say, I’m a “creature of the forest,” and I know the name suits me.

When we’re done hiking, we decide to head to the nursery to pick out some plants for the raised beds on our back deck. Part of me wants to go home and shower before heading out in public, but it doesn’t make sense to shower before planting flowers. So we go as we are, wet and mud-covered, but appropriate enough for a roadside garden center.

I spend the next hour picking out beautiful plants I hope I won’t kill. When I’m satisfied with my selections, we head back home to arrange them in the new planters. We fill the two long containers with rich black soil, then, too impatient to find my gardening gloves or a trowel, I use my hands to part the warm soil and place each plant in the perfect position.

When I’m finished, I stand back to admire my handiwork. The planters are beautiful. They’re wild but orderly and they’re exactly how I pictured them.

I look at my watch and realize the day has slipped away. My body is tired, but my mind is relaxed and happy. I head upstairs for my long-awaited shower but stop short when I catch my reflection in the bathroom mirror.

I have leaves and mud in my hair and a fine streak of blood on my cheek where I ran into the pricker bush. My hands and nails are covered in dirt, and I smell like soil and earthworms. I smile reflexively at my reflection and think, “Today was my perfect day. This is how I should look at the end of every rainy Saturday, messy and alive and covered in dirt.”

And I know those words are true. For me. Because I am a creature of the forest. But a perfect day is a personal thing, a sacred thing. Each of us needs to discover it for ourselves and then try to live it as often as we can.

Leslie Snow may be reached at snow column@aol.com.

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