Major updates to the shop and gallery space this week at Blue Ridge Alchemy!
Grateful for awesome friends that have the skills to do the job proper. Big thanks to Small Ax Forage out of Richmond Virginia for doing such a great job with all the metal fabrication. Hoods and bench tops are finished on the main work stations.
The benches and hoods were given a really cool vintage industrial look. They really fit the space nicely.
The teaching bench hood is just about done. Hanging the pipes tomorrow.
The shop is slowly coming together. Caleb has really done a nice job getting it set up. We have new cases and merch added to the retail space. Adding new artist work every week and looking for new consigners.
It's been amazing seeing it all come together and a dream come true for my husband. After 20 years of working from home, first in a garden shed and later in the basement it's been really exciting see this studio space come into fruition.
If you ever visit Floyd, Virginia be sure and stop by!
🔥Blue Ridge Alchemy🔥 is located at 115 Sweeney St SE Floyd, VA 24091
This year has me in need of some serious pampering. At the end of the day a hot soak really helps me to slow down and relax, which is very needed these days. Lucky for me, i was invited to try out #theritualsofkarma product line by RITUALS Cosmetics. RITUALS is a unique luxury lifestyle brand focused on ancient traditions for body and home. As the leading bath and body brand in Europe, they encourage ‘slow down’ moments for the mind, body, & soul.
RITUALS aims to turn everyday routines into cherishable moments, helping their customers to “find happiness in the smallest of things” with the use of their products. Inspired by ancient Eastern traditions, each product uses specific fragrance combinations to help stimulate the senses and encourages you to immerse yourself in some “me time”.
The Ritual of Karma Set: According to ancient Hindu belief, living with good intent attracts good karma. Say good words, think good thoughts, do good deeds and keep the circle positive because ultimately, you reap what you sow. The Ritual of Karma collection helps you immerse yourself in the positive vibes of summer all year round.
The Rituals of Karma salt scrub leaves your skin feeling so smooth and soft. This nourishing, sugar-based scrub is made of exfoliating particles that nourish and revitalize your skin, all with the delicate, floral aroma of holy lotus and white tea. Scrubbing is a highly effective way of purifying your body and of stimulating the flow of energy. This process is enhanced when taking a warm bath. Maintain that gorgeous glow with this body scrub from The
Ritual of Karma.
Radiate positive vibes for your soul and your skin with The Ritual of Karma foaming shower gel. Using unique gel-to-foam technology, the rich and luxurious foam is enriched with sweet holy lotus and nourishing White Tea. The foaming gel is silky smooth, thick and lathers really nicely. The scent is light, but lingers and is not overpowering at all.
The body cream is really rich, smooth and nourishing. It smells amazing and absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy feeling. Do good for your skin and good will come your way with this body cream from The Ritual of Karma.
RITUALS offers many different collections and i'm excited to explore some of the other scent combinations. So far i've tired the Ritual of Sakura, Ritual of Ayurveda and now the Ritual of Karma. i really love them all and am not sure i could pick a favorite. RITUALS is never tested on animals.
RITUALS- The Ritual of Karma is available Sept. 15th on Sephora.
For my birthday this year, Kenan took us all to William and Mary to visit the boy.
We had fun wandering around Historic Williamsburg. Grabbed some coffees at Aromas coffee shop, then got some crazy delicious ice cream from Kilwins. i highly recommend them! It was so good!
While wandering through historic Williamsburg, i spotted this Chicken of the woods growing on a tree in the front yard of one of the historic homes! i seem to spot mushrooms everywhere i go!!
After leaving Historic Williamsburg, we went back to the W&M campus and decided to walk some trails and explore the woods.
We had so much fun spotting mushrooms! i would love to come back and do some actual mushroom hunting here. We didn't have to hike very far to find these beautiful Beefsteak mushrooms! These are edible and one of the few wild mushrooms that can be eaten raw.
These were popping up everywhere. i can't remember what they are called, but i had identified them and then let them be, so i am guessing they are not edible or i would have remembered what they were. They were really pretty though and neat to see them cover such a huge area.
i found hedgehog mushrooms, also known as Sweet tooth mushrooms. These are edible, although i have never tried them before. They can be identified by the 'teeth' on the underside. These grow from the ground and not on trees like Lionsmane, another toothed fungus i like to find.
i did manage to spot a couple tiny Lionmanes as well! They were really small, but it's still always very exciting to find one! i would love to come back to Williamsburg and do some serious mushroom hunting. My boy has such a fun campus and amazing woods to explore here. He is not as excited about mushroom hunting as i am, but will still occasionally send me photos of mushrooms he's found while out walking the campus trails.
This was a fun and simple birthday. i loved getting away on a quick overnight, spending time with both of my kids again and getting to explore some woods! Pretty much a perfect birthday and that ice cream at Kilwins is so good!
My boy seems to be adjusting well to college despite all the weirdness of masks online classes and Covid restrictions. Not really ideal for his first year of college, but he'll have some stories to tell one day about life during lockdown.
My boy started his first semester at William & Mary in the middle of the pandemic. The College of William & Mary was founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and the ninth-oldest in the English-speaking world. The history surrounding this area, is really neat. We brought him to the school in late August. Masks were required on all areas of the campus. Only one person was allowed inside the dorm to help him move it. It was all very surreal.
The campus is absolutely gorgeous though. So we enjoyed exploring the area, hiking the woods and wandering the different trails. For being a college campus i was really impressed with the amount of nature surrounding it all. i expected more of a snobbish 'city' feel.
Historic downtown Williamsburg is a quaint little town that's full of history. It was pretty empty due to Covid restrictions, but still fun to walk around and see the old historic buildings. Typically they would have people in historical dress offering tours and information about the different buildings and houses, but due to Covid it was all closed when we were there. We knew we'd be back to visit soon, so it wasn't a problem. Our first trip there was really just to drop him off and head back home. It was very difficult, but a wonderful experience for my son. We are so incredibly proud of him and knew he'd do fine.
So, a bit of BIG news! Earlier this year my husband and his friend Caleb decided to rent a glass shop together. This would move Kenan's glass shop out of the basement and into the town of Floyd. The building they found was almost perfect! It has an apartment upstairs, that Caleb is renting and a store front!
The guys have been putting a ton of work into the building to make sure the ventilation is good for glass blowing, building new work benches and getting the store front ready for business.
Blue Ridge Alchemy is a functional glass shop where both Kenan and Caleb work daily. It also has space for students and visiting glass instructors. Their plan is to eventually host classes and workshops once the coronvirus madness has calmed down a bit.
The storefront just recently opened and is only open for limited days/hours. Right now it's open Friday and Sat 12-8pm. We are just beginning to fill the store, but there is lots of glass work from Kenan, Caleb, me and even a few pieces from Sequoia. We'll soon be carrying other glass artists work as well.
Just a tiny sampling of some of the things you may find at Blue Ridge Alchemy. This is a sample of Caleb's work. He works with both glass and copper electro-forming to create some really original glass work. He can also be found on Etsy and instagram.
We have a nice selection of handcrafted jewelry from Dark Gem Industries.
A small display of some of my work, which i really need to be making more. i haven't been in the glassshop since they moved it, and have been so focused on sewing and gardening i haven't had much to contribute to the store.
We have some gorgeous art prints by Kaitlyn Page , pottery by several Floyd artists. Wood crafts, bamboo flutes and more!
During store hours guests will also get a chance to watch live glass blowing!
Blue Ridge Alchemy has been a long time coming. There is still a ton of work to do to get everything set up as it should be and to get the store filled, but it's really coming along. Caleb has taken the reins on the store front, while Kenan is working on putting together classes and events they can host.
For anyone traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway and visiting Floyd, be sure and stop by The Blue Ridge Alchemy and say hello! You can follow along on our adventures here and see new merchandise and featured artists as we fill up the store. 2020 has been a real drag on our plans for the shop/store, but i really feel it will all come together and work out fine. #visitfloydVA #floydartisans #shoplocal #thisisfloyd
